3.3 WHAT CAN BE AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION POLICY FOR TCG?

From the above, we can get a fair idea of the strategies and policies that TCG needs to adopt in order to make a success of its objectives. In fact, in their individual capacity, the TCG members did come up with a few suggestions that can help them reach their objectives.

Ballyn is hopeful that TCG can undertake some project work and gain experience in developmental work. The experiences could be analysed and circulated to interested parties, or presented at seminars and conferences to attract a wider membership. The ensuing debates and discussions would bring forth any weaknesses in TCG proposals.

In fact, he did attempt to establish projects which would involve TCG in the utilisation of design processes. He tried to establish contact with colleges of art and design education institutions in Kyrgyzstan and Romania, to explore the potential for collaboration between those academies and similar educational establishments in the UK. “Having stated that there was no money currently available, it was suggested that a project could be drafted and TCG members could source funds through their own contacts. Reciprocal visits as well as student exchange programmes were suggested as long-term collaborations” [Ballyn, interview: 2004]. But, sadly enough, neither academy has responded.

Coward, on the other hand, is more interested in identifying suitable case studies and researching them because he feels that would help realise the original aims and objectives of the Group to a significant extent. He has identified a major role for the Internet — to disseminate the Group’s work and interests — and thus act as a development tool. And, when they have some exemplar project, they will target funding bodies, including government organisations, NGOs, foundations and charities.

However, the Internet cannot be considered to be a tool for development communication, as most of the developmental projects are targeted at the rural population where there is no access to the Internet whatsoever.
But, Aley says that TCG had started as an organisation of like-minded people interested in a particular cause, but it doesn’t have a clear message and is still very premature. Attending conferences and submitting papers would entail sharing ideas with the academia and catering to a richer audience. But, what is ideally required is a direct impact on the poor segments of the society. Talking about it will not have a positive impact on the target population. Instead, the Group should conduct some sort of training courses to convey ideas about creativity, formulate mini syllabuses to teach design to the developing population and come up with ideas on how craftsmen can market their products.

Thus, Aley’s recommendations appear to be more practical. In addition to those, an effective communication policy for TCG would entail:
• Adopting SMART objectives; it means that they should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound
• Conducting a proper feed-forward on the target population (in this case, the indigenous producers of designs) to facilitate participatory communication; and using innovative methods to involve the people in all aspects of decision-making, implementation and evaluation of the project
• Using different strategies to generate awareness among different target groups in the same project. For example, use of campaigns and media to reach the general public (that is the local designers), but workshops and seminars for staff and partners (e.g. the funding bodies)
• Having clear-cut notions about funding and evaluation by following a CNA (Communication Needs Assessment) programme to ensure a user-friendly communication plan
• Evaluating whether the target group (the design producers) has learnt to modify its behaviour in keeping with the message communicated, so that they can sustain such changes once the project team has left the site
• And last but not the least, avoiding the use of jargons at all times so that the target group does not get a wrong impression