Mohammad Shahjahan - Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP)

Mohammad enjoys working in communication because it contributes to saving lives and helping people. In the 1980s, he attended training where he was introduced to the P-process and Johns Hopkins' ideas about the importance of communication. This sparked his interest and he got a job at Hopkins' Center for Communication Programs (CCP) field office in Bangladesh. He moved up through the ranks and eventually became director. About ten years ago, the field office became an independent NGO, now called Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP). In this interview, he shares some of BCCP's best practices in its own program activities.

BCCP best practices

Entertainment-education can move people and affects changes in behavior.

Mass media can be a cost effective tool.

Electronic media can often address issues that can't always be discussed openly in many societies.

Although the reach of television is not universal in Bangladesh, it is widespread, even in rural areas. With the increase in the use of TV and other electronic media, one can reach millions of people at the same time. Although the costs are high, they get lower per person with the use of mass media. This makes mass media a very cost-effective tool. Electronic media can encourage people to bring up and discuss certain issues with their friends and families after a program that they might never have discussed without having seen or heard this program. So it has an indirect affect. People like entertainment and they pay more attention while they are being entertained. They really listen. Entertainment can stir the emotions and empower people at the same time. BCCP has evidence that it can impact behavior, for example in HIV/AIDS or antenatal and postnatal care. For example, antenatal and postnatal clinic attendance increased after the broadcast of several serial dramas in Bangladesh that promote these services.

Lessons Learned about Using Entertainment-Education
BCCP's methodology in developing its entertainment-education programs includes the following points:

Know the audience's preferences.

Figure out what is acceptable subject matter to cover.

Always use the best quality products because you are competing with the commercial sector.

Get commercial sponsors to cover your airtime, which can be very expensive. Also get them to cover other costs if you can.

Recruit the best performers, especially well-known ones, so that their name can bring attention to the project. It's another way to advertise your project.

Work as a team in partnership with the private sector.

Always make monitoring and evaluation a part of the project. Your results are your best teacher. Whatever result you are getting is important, whether it is what you expected or not.

Evaluation of Mass Media Activities
BCCP uses two types of monitoring and evaluation tools:

National media reach and impact surveys. They allow BCCP to know not only the impact and reach of its own program, but also that of other programs. You can also measure the impact of other media like outdoor media. BCCP compares viewing statistics for its own programs with other programs and with other media.

Evaluation of the campaign as a whole. For BCCP, dramas serials are usually one component of a larger campaign. The drama is evaluated as part of the evaluation of the entire campaign. So they have two data sets, which also give them something to compare.

After-project Evaluation
When a campaign is completed, BCCP reviews it a couple of times. After each campaign, BCCP conducts a series of assessments or reviews with all the program managers involved. These assessments include:

In-house review to identify what happened, what was the root cause - in order to do a better job next time.

BCCP also conducts dissemination seminars with other organizations in Bangladesh where they share with them what worked and what did not.

Finally, they have the JHU connection. They can call on experts at JHU to review BCCP's work with and point out things that might be overlooked. JHU also provides short-term consultancies and technical assistance. BCCP finds this connection to be invaluable because it them access to a pool of talented staff that can provide different kinds of assistance as needed.

How to Work with Advertising Agencies
Working with an advertising agency gives you access to creative people but you must be careful to be very specific about what you want from them. Don't give them the work and sit back. Work with them. Spell out exactly what you want from them. Plan what you want before you get them involved in the project. Otherwise you risk spending a lot of time and money. You will benefit from your association with them, but know what you want before going in. In the past BCCP wasted time and money going back and forth with ad agencies. Now BCCP does the formative research itself before going to an advertising agency. BCCP has its own in-house research team. Once BCCP knows what it wants to do, then it brings in the ad agency.

BCCP's Unique Cross-Functional Team Structure
About five years ago BCCP reorganized after a strategic planning exercise. BCCP now has nine teams divided into two groups. There are five functional teams and four support teams. The functional teams follow the steps of the P-process and include:

Formative research team

Strategic design and campaign team

Materials development team

Implementation team

Monitoring and Evaluation team

The four support teams are more structural in nature and are charged with tasks that contribute to running the organization. They are:

Training team. This team does capacity building training for other organizations and conducts workshops on strategic communication. This team also does skill-based training for BCCP.

Advocacy and social mobilization team. This team links BCCP with the community.

Corporate team. This teams looks after systems and processes. It is in charge of implementing best practices within the organization. It is also in charge of public relations and policy development. This team is responsible for organizational development, organizational sustainability, and staff development. It works to ensure that everything BCCP does is evidence-based. This team is also responsible for BCCP publications.

Administration and Finance team.

For each new campaign or project, BCCP forms a design team. This team lasts for the lifetime of that project and includes representatives of each of the functional teams as well as representatives from partner organizations, the advertising agency, and the government. This team conceptualizes the issues that will be addressed, as well as roles and responsibilities of each team member. As work progresses, team members take ownership of the process. This is one of the reasons why BCCP believes its programs are successful. A lot of organizations can produce good dramas but they don't get sponsorship or airtime. But BCCP is more successful because it follows a process to develop ownership and adapt the product as it goes along. This process requires groundwork and teamwork. People don't see the groundwork but it is there. Unlike the commercial sector, BCCP emphasizes process as well as product. The process is really the key.

The team does brainstorming and shares experiences. If there is disagreement within the design team, it's better to have it at the very beginning when there is time to share ideas. BCCP also puts a lot of emphasis on making every aspect of its campaigns evidence-based. They try to hook up with sponsors later in the process, after setting the basic parameters for the project (title, key players, issues to be address, writers, etc.). Sometimes sponsors are interested from the beginning. Other times BCCP has to develop some scripts and come back to them.

Every mass media production is part of a bigger campaign. BCCP also produces TV spots, radio spots, posters, press releases and leaflets. They never do a TV program as a standalone thing. They try to create synergy between activities.

BCCP's ultimate goal is to create behavior change, create an overall environment that allows people to talk about a subject, and to create space for debate and discussion. How does BCCP measure change in the overall environment? It is a challenge to measure this type of change using traditional methods of evaluation, but that's what BCCP is trying to do.

Contact Information Mohammad Shahjahan Bangladesh Center for Communication Programs (BCCP) http://www.bangladesh-ccp.org/ House 3A Road 74 Awlsham-2, Dhaka, Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-9893362