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Interrogating the Theory and Practice of Communication for Social Change pp 20–38Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Revisiting CSC Practice

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change ((PSCSC))

Abstract

Over the past two decades, CSC has been practised under a wide variety of names, such as Communication for Development (abbreviated in different ways such as ComDev, C4D and DevComm), Information, Communication and Technology for Development (ICT4D), Learning for Social Change, and Social and Behavioural Communication, to name a few. This has created confusion and sometimes misunderstanding of what CSC is or should be. Even within the United Nations, which have been organising biennial Inter-agency Round Tables on Communication for Development since 1986, and have agreed on one universal definition for Communication for Development, different agencies still use different terms and definitions that are context specific within their own programmes (UNESCO, 2010). Different organisations also seem to have different expectations of what CSC is expected to contribute to their mission in terms of impacts, some with a stronger emphasis on predetermined behavioural change and others on empowered decision making by constituencies. As a result, there is wide variability in implementation strategies and whether it is the process that counts or the product, with academics arguing which of these strategies can reasonably be called CSC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Queensland, Australia

    Pradip Ninan Thomas & Elske van de Fliert

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  1. Pradip Ninan Thomas
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  2. Elske van de Fliert
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© 2014 Pradip Ninan Thomas and Elske van de Fliert

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Thomas, P.N., van de Fliert, E. (2014). Revisiting CSC Practice. In: Interrogating the Theory and Practice of Communication for Social Change. Palgrave Studies in Communication for Social Change. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137426314_2

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