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About C-Change
Communication for Change (C-Change), implemented by AED, is USAID's flagship program to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of social and behavior change communication applied to programs, activities, and tools. C-Change works with global, regional, and local partners to incorporate knowledge about the social determinants and underlying causes of individual behaviors and takes into account research and lessons learned from implementing and evaluating activities. Employing innovative and tested methods, C-Change works to meet the continuing challenges posed by evolving health issues that require a behavior change communication approach. C-Change also works to strengthen the capacity of local organizations to plan, implement, and manage programs, thus ensuring sustained local knowledge and skills.
The program works in the major health areas, including family planning and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, maternal and child health, and malaria. The program can also provide communication support to other sectors, including environment.
C-Change works to:
Identify and influence the social determinants of behaviors.
A key component of the C-Change approach is shifting social norms to bring about positive behavior change. For example, reducing the risk of HIV infection or improving family planning behaviors may require addressing gender roles and cultural practices.
Build the capacity of local institutions, including NGOs, CBOs, and FBOs.
C-Change will increase local institutions' ability to plan and implement behavior change communication by strengthening both their technical and program management skills.
Conduct state-of the-art research that informs program development and implementation.
C-Change research provides evidence about the effectiveness of different communication approaches. In addition, C-Change identities and examines how programs can utilize key social determinants of sexual and family planning behavior—social norms and social networks—that influence and reach beyond the individual.
Achieve scale and sustainability.
C-Change can assist programs to achieve scale by engaging and strengthening existing institutions and social networks and building strong coalitions to support program growth.
Engage the media as a partner.
C-Change involves journalists and other media professionals as full partners in the process of social change.
Streamline communication tactics and tools.
Models for communication planning and implementation have become complex and costly, making it difficult to transfer skills. C-Change will streamline formative research and pre-testing methods and create easy-to-use frontline teaching tools and hands-on, skills-based training.
Expected program outcomes are:
Evidence-based communication programs carried out at scale. C-Change will achieve large-scale, population-based impact by applying integrated communication approaches at national and regional levels. Major strategies include:
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Enlisting and strengthening the behavior change communication (BCC) skills and programs of NGO networks
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Engaging the media to stimulate social action
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Strengthening district and community planning for BCC
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Building system-wide coalitions and commitment to BCC programs
Communication skills and knowledge transferred to developing country institutions. In each country where the program operates, C-Change will build the capacity of NGOs and networks, using a competency-based approach to training that includes both technical and management skills. Major activities include:
* Developing and strengthening communication courses in academic institutions
* Developing local networks of communication excellence among research institutions, advertising and public relations firms,and NGOs
* Supporting the design of tailored BCC strategies with measurable benchmarks
State-of-the-art information and research in communication applied to implementation. Through its global research agenda, C-Change is generating lessons learned to improve communication for behavior and social change. A critical challenge for C-Change is how to best integrate findings from research, implementation, and evaluation activities to facilitate social change. Major cross-cutting research questions include:
* Understanding how social norms change and developing ways to facilitate this change
* Improving interaction and communication among organizations around common goals and building social capital
* Demonstrating the application of innovative social change approaches
* Developing valid, reliable indicators