Development Communication

Development communication has been defined, alternatively, as either a type of marketing and public opinion research used to develop effective communication, or the use of communication to promote social development. As the former, it often includes computerized linguistic analysis of responses to qualitative surveys and may involve psychological "right brain" (emotional) research techniques. In the latter definition, development communication refers to the practice of systematically applying the processes, strategies and principles of communication to bring about positive social change by supporting sustainable change in development operations; it aims to do this through engaging key stakeholders, establishing conducive environments, assessing risks and opportunities, disseminating information, and inducing positive behavioral and social change. As the first form, known also as "communication development research", uses approaches that cannot be elaborated upon without revealing proprietary information, the remainder of this article focusses on the latter definition.