Research for the Environment

GreenCOM's primary role was to conduct formative research to help local projects develop comprehensive communication strategies to spark behaviour change related to protecting the environment. Here is a synopsis of the key research strategies, which led to the development of activities that are varied in terms of communication tool and approach:

• Participatory Formative Research - For example, GreenCOM sought to involve a wide variety of stakeholders (especially residents) as it assisted the Charles Darwin Foundation and Research Station in creating a communication strategy to increase awareness of and compliance with a proposed quarantine system designed to halt the introduction of exotic species on the Galapagos Islands. GreenCOM provided technical assistance and training to research station staff in formative research, communications planning, and participatory processes. Project staff also conducted an assessment of the environmental education and communication activities that were already being carried out, and provided recommendations on how to strengthen capacity in this area. Then, in-depth interviews were conducted with 40 decision-makers representing key Galapagos stakeholder groups - government institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector, military, fisherfolk, and residents. More than 70 participants from 3 of the Galapagos Islands then took part in a series of workshops; the result was a 5-year quarantine system implementation plan and the creation of an inter-institutional team that would collaboratively develop, implement, and evaluate the education and communication strategy.




• Participatory Marketing - For example, the city of Machala had developed a plan to collect solid waste with tricycles in several neighbourhoods. GreenCOM was asked to conduct a market study in order to provide information to city decision makers on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of pilot system clients, clients with regular trash collection service (by truck), and potential clients who did not have any collection service. The results of this study were used to develop a marketing strategy for the new service the city developed, which centred around the development of 3 community-based businesses that would use tricycles to collect trash. Organisers worked closely with neighbourhood leaders to form the businesses, which were to be managed by up to 15 community members. GreenCOM worked with the municipality to develop a promotion, public relations, and publicity plan.




• Training in Participatory Community-based Evaluation - For example, as part of the Sustainable Use of Biological Resources (SUBIR) initiative (which was designed to develop and test economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable resource models in Ecuadorian parks and their buffer zones), GreenCOM designed the project's creative strategy and promotional materials. It also developed and implemented a participatory community-based methodology to evaluate project impact. Specifically, GreenCOM facilitated a participatory process involving SUBIR staff, extension agents, and stakeholders to develop behavioural objectives and indicators for the component on improved land use in the Cuellaje project site. GreenCOM then trained a team of local extension agents and farmers in designing, implementing, and analysing the research needed to measure the level of behaviour adoption and identifying factors. (The research consisted of structured observation and in-depth interviews). GreenCOM then trained the local team to analyse and present the research results at a workshop with community members from the villages where the research was conducted. The team graphed the observational data in colourful bar charts on large sheets of paper to make the information more understandable to community members. The workshop participants used the results to fine-tune and finalise the objectives and indicators and to develop recommendations for the project work plan and communication strategy.




• Attending to Gender Issues, and Involving Women - In 1993, the municipality of Quito initiated a pilot recycling programme in several lower-middle and lower class neighbourhoods, but participation on the part of residents was low and compliance with programme guidelines had dwindled. GreenCOM worked with Corporación OIKOS to assess the situation by carrying out a qualitative research process (involving individual interviews and focus group discussions) and then a quantitative phase. The results of the study indicated that women's involvement in programme promotion would be a critical element in its success. (Although men had more leadership positions in neighbourhood committees, women performed most of the committees' daily activities and maintained relationships between the various committees within a municipality.) These, and other, findings informed the development of business and marketing plans for the recycling service.




• Advocacy Involving Partnership and Citizen Engagement - Again working with Corporación OIKOS, GreenCOM developed a creative strategy for the "We Protect What We Value" campaign. The goal of that campaign was to promote the debate and passage of a new environmental law by the Ecuadorian legislature. To counter the perception that environmental protection hinders economic development, part of the strategy was to involve the private sector in the development and passage of the law - e.g., by holding meetings with private sector representatives to involve them in writing the actual legislation and involving banks, local and transnational industries, and so on in sponsoring advertisements that promoted passage of the law. Another strategy involved motivating secondary audiences to call or write their congressmen or sign a petition supporting passage of the law. A flyer outlining salient points of the law and its benefits was distributed at central locations such as banks, supermarkets, and pharmacies. Radio and television spots were developed to encourage people to obtain a copy of the law and to take action.

Environment.

Launched in 1993 by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) - with technical assistance from the Academy for Educational Development (AED) - GreenCOM is a strategic environmental communication project that works with developing country community groups, schools, and government agencies around the world.