case: Aga Khan University communications capacity building plan
The ask: Foster a communicative organization by advancing the communications skills, competencies and abilities of communicators and leaders in the five diverse countries the university operates in (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Pakistan, Afghanistan); create, coordinate and facilitate capacity building workshops
In a nutshell: Consultation, evidence-based research, competency identification and development, planning, curriculum development, capacity building, teaching, evaluation
The work: Use research, stakeholder analysis, experience and expertise to identify leadership communications competencies most applicable to AKU and build a three-year prioritized and sequenced communications capacity building plan geared towards leaders and communicators in the organization. Establish clear objectives and learning outcomes for each module, identifying how the module is cultivating relevant communications competencies. Determine curriculum, develop teaching guides and facilitate in-person and on-line modules.
Insight: Building communications bench strength is a multi-pronged proposition that meets people where they are at and repeatedly draws an arrow-straight line to strategy. Facilitating communications learning must be holistic, purposefully building confidence step-by-step through a balance of gentleness and provocation.
case: Aga Khan University medical college communications strategy for East Africa
The ask: Create greater cohesion and integration internally within the medical college and foster understanding of the role and impact of AKU’s medical college in Kenya and Tanzania to external stakeholders.
In a nutshell: Consultation, analysis, prioritizing and planning
The work: Use extensive stakeholder analysis and one-on-one consultation to understand current state, wading through the complexities to hone in on root causes for ineffective communication patterns. Develop an integrated and cohesive strategy with three inter-related priorities along with a 24-month action plan to build trust through a phased-in change in communications channels, practices and processes.
Insight: Strategic communications must fit culture and context. How best practice is manifested in different countries can be vastly different, especially when layered with complex organizational culture. A clear understanding of preferences and sensitivities, history and system, norms and values will impact communications solutions.
Expanding the picture
As I stood captivated by the 2000+ people offering mid-day prayers, for some reason, I turned to my left and saw this: a woman, her back to the worshippers, humbly eating lunch, in her own world of solitude and freedom. Laser focus is necessary and so is broadening the picture to see what is happening just outside, in the periphery where the context and reality shift and insight can be found.