Communication for Participatory Development (CFPD)

Special Topics code: CCMS 770/870

Course Co-ordinator and Lecturer: Dr Lauren Dyll-Myklebust 

CFPD is a post graduate module offered by The Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal under the public health communication research programme. The research programme is offered in partnership with Johns Hopkins Health and Education in South Africa (JHHESA) with funding from USAID/PEPFAR. The central objective of the programme is to specifically build the capacity of South Africans and Africans to research, design, implement, monitor and evaluate public health communication strategies. Communication for Participatory Development (CFPD) is defined as a process of public and private dialogue through which people define who they are, what they want, what they need and how they can act collectively to meet those needs and improve their lives. The module takes students through an academic journey of discovery and discourse by tracing some of the key development theories and public health theories which inform HIV and AIDS communication design today. The module traces the critique, debate and application of various health communication models and frameworks which have been adapted or developed for a South African perspective. It further covers a range of case studies which demonstrate the critique or use of the CFPD process and Entertainment Education (EE) as a communication strategy. Some of the case studies include the campaigns of Soul City, Tsha-Tsha, and 4Play: Sex Tips for Girls that mainly use television drama to communicate HIV and AIDS information. Other case studies that the module explores include participatory theatre projects using the Freirean-inspired method of forum theatre that involves community participation through a problem-posing and problem-solving methodology. The CFPD approach and the use of EE, also highlights the important role that technology and large-scale media can play. This is discussed through case studies of Scrutinize, Brothers for Life, and the award-winning television series, Intersexions. 

Communication for Social Change/Participatory Development

CFSC is a fast growing approach, initially pioneered by JHU-CCP and later the Rockefeller Foundation to use various forms of communication to bring about development and social change. It emerges from decades of theory and practice across a variety of domains involved in communication, such as social marketing, communication for development and community organising. CFSC has increasingly been used to empower communities and achieve improvements in areas such as health, governance, agricultural development and environmental protection. Although the CFPD model (like CFSC) identifies the influence of mass media on communities, the main focus is on how communities organise for their own development via community dialogue and collective action. CFPD uses local media and dialogue among various stakeholders about a common problem or shared goal to develop, implement, and monitor and evaluate activities that contribute to its solution or accomplishment (Bessette, 2004). Finally, it also needs to identify social, as well as individual, outcomes. Social and behaviour change are best understood within a social ecological framework that takes into account the interconnected influences of family, peers, community and society on behaviour (cf. Sallis, Owen & Fisher, 2008).

Entertainment Education (EE)

Developed in Mexico in the mid-1970s, EE shares behaviour-change premises with the above theories and models. EE is not a theory but a strategy to maximise the reach and effectiveness of health messages through the combination of entertainment and education. Students during the module are exposed to the use of both mass media and more grassroots community initiatives to address public health issues. EE is concerned with behaviour and social change through the dissemination of health communication in an entertaining and educational way. Some of the examples the module explores includes Scrutinize, Intersexions, 4Play: Sex Tips for Girls, Soul City and Tsha Tsha and the work of Drama in Aids Education (DramAidE) and Dance for Life in the field of participatory health communication. 

Module Learning Outcomes 

• an understanding of the key theories of public health communication;

• an application of the key theories of behavioural and social change communication including CFSC and CFPD, the associated models such as the social ecology model (SEM), and strategies such as the P-Process and EE;

• an understanding of social marketing techniques;

• an ability to structure strategic communication interventions and campaigns in both Third and First World contexts;

• an understanding of monitoring and evaluation in public health communication;

• an acquisition of research analysis skills in light of the module’s conceptual frameworks. 

Module Lecturers

The module is co-hosted by CCMS and JHHESA. Professionals from the field facilitate the different seminars based on their specific expertise in the field. The module coordinator is Dr Lauren Dyll-Myklebust ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ). As many of these lecturers will be visiting CCMS for short periods, students who wish to discuss their studies individually with them will need to make appointments in advance via Dr Dyll-Myklebust. 

Students are examined by means of an individual:

i)          Theoretical /literature review assignment (40% of the total module mark). It needs to be written up as a proper academic essay that involves relevant theory and literature for the research project. Use Harvard referencing style (consult Tips on Writing) in Times New Roman or Arial.

ii)          Research project (60% of the total module mark).  An ethical clearance/proposal form is required.