Concept Note_Regional Workshop on Strengthening Political Commitment for the Demographic Dividend (DD) and Social Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC)

Sahel Women’s Empowerment and the Demographic Dividend Project (SWEDD)
Concept Note
Regional Workshop on Strengthening Political Commitment for the Demographic Dividend
(DD)
and
Social
Behavio
u
r Change
Communication (SBCC)
Nouakchott, Mauritania
May 24 – June 1
st
2016
DRAFT 0
3
Concept note
Context and justification
:
The combined effects of population growth
,
poverty

and the impact of repetitive economic, nutritional, humanitarian
and food crises

pose
serious challenges to the countries of the Sahel, particularly those participating in the SWEDD project.

The
combined
population of these countries approaches 90 million and more than 70%
of their populations
are less than 35 years of age, with high fertility, low access to health and reproductive health services, poor levels of girls’ education, and high prevalence of child marriage, unemployment and poverty.
These conditions are at the centre of why these countries need to appropriately approach the risk that population growth places on their economic and social development. Only investment in human capital through education, health
,
and human rights,
presents
a unique opportunity to convert
high dependency ratios to a population age-structure that favours
development and assure the capture of the demographic dividend
(DD)
.
In order to reinforce the political commitment of the countries in this domain, the SWEDD project
has planned a series of actions
under
the framework
s
of component
s
1 and 3
.

C
omponent 1
.1
is centr
ed on “
Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) that changes social norms and practices for women’s and girls’ empowerment
”
;
and component 3 is intended to
“
Support
political commitment and build
the capacity of politicians concerned with the d
emographic dividend during the p
roject’s implementation
”
.
Component 1.1
Component 3
The development of a r
egional SBCC strategy and campaign
is founded on the following ideas
:
Social change focuses on the community while behavioral change focuses on the individual, making them complementary approaches that not only change behaviors but also help the development of positive
behaviors.

D
ifferent types of communication
can be used to
promote and facilitate healthy
behaviors and behavior change.
SBCC works
on
the behavior or action taken by groups, social and cultural structures, and the enabli
ng environment.
T
wo primary SBCC approaches
–
mass media and community-based
Building political commitment and capacity to support the demographic dividend
will occur
through:
Strengthen
ing
advocacy and political commitment on RMNCAHN at regional and national levels
Creating and reinforcing c
apacity for policy making
and
monitoring and evaluation related to demographic dividend issues
Understanding best practices for project implementation
A cross-cutting component of the SWEDD project is the Social and Behaviour Change Communication regional
campaign.
C
ountry partners
’

will
develop a regional
SBCC
strategy
in a participatory and structured way
at the Nouakchott workshop
. Their strategy will

target
policy makers, religious and community leaders, media practitioners, as well as communities and other stakeholders
.

The strategy will incorporate
partnerships with civil society organizations, including women’s organizations, faith based organizations, celebrities and media outlets
,
and be
tailored to countries’ res
pective socio-cultural contexts.

The use of d
ifferent
media
and communication
channels, with the input of religious leaders,
will
reinforce countries’ political commitments
to achieving the demographic dividend
.
N
ational data and challenges
will inform the regional SBCC strategy
and would provide the framework to guide the delivery, monitoring and evaluation of communication interventions. A situation analysis will review national data on key results areas (i.e. exposure to RMNCAH
N
information)
and current health and nutrition policies and strategies within the region.
This will also serve as a launching pad for countries that intend to implement n
ational-level SBCC activities.
The regional SBCC strategy
can also
be adapted to national and local context and
can
serve as
a
national framework to guide the delivery, monitoring and evaluation of communication interventions.

The project will help with the implementation of a regional mechanism to monitor data
relevant to
policies aimed at
achieving
the demographi
c dividend at the country level and their implementation progress.

Participants will plan how to launch a
regional report
on the state of advancement that
assist
s
politicians, religious leaders and NGOs to receive and understand the
project’s implementation
plan
, advocate
for its activities
and reinforce political commitment
for
achieving the demographic dividend
.

The project will also help
equally
facilitate a network of
demographic dividend
observatories at the regional and country level to ensure
:
the collection of data,
the project’s implementation
,
and revising
policie
s related to population growth through the
integration of
the
demographic dividend, in addition to
building the capacities
of national leaders’
and
af
filiated institutions with the p
roject.

Principal Objective
s
:
Discuss the most appropriate approach for
regional and national plans between countries

and the international and regional institutio
ns engaged in the SWEDD project in order to
:

R
einforce political commitment to RMNCAHN,
Strengthen capacity and coordination
to collect and analyse data
,
as well as
formulate policy
Realize
a regional SBCC
strategy
.
Specifically
,
the Nouakchott workshop aims to
:
Share the results of the diagnostic
study
on national institutions responsible for
managing population data
 ;
Share best practices from regional and continental partners
;
Discuss implementation road maps (on component 1.1 and component 3)
;
Develop and enhance a regional SBCC strategy
through key results and problem definition

Create
a
calenda
r of events for the development and implementation of the
SBCC campaign
based on the newly-created SBCC strategy, identifying possible
appropriate m
onitoring mechanisms at the regi
onal and national level
;
Share the terms of reference for consultants in charge of the regional
SBCC
campaign and their link with country partners;
Strengthen
countries’ action plans in line with Component 1.1 and Component 3
;

Discuss the necessary mea
s
ures to support existing institutional mechanisms concerning population
data collection and policies
in order to reinforce SWEDD countries’ political commitment to the demographic dividend
;
Exchange experiences
concerning political engagement
in this domain
;
Discuss the function and
actions
of demographic dividend observatories
;
Exchange
methods on how
politicians, relig
i
ous leaders and NGOs can advocate and
increase
political commitment to the
DD,
Discuss how entities like CERPOD, can support technical methods and build capacity at the country and regional level
.
Results
:
Participants know the challenges and development
stakes
associated with the demographic dividend;
Participants have a better understanding of component 3 and the
necessity of an
implementation
strategy
for
the regional SBCC campaign
;
Participants developed a regional SBCC strategy that is informed by key barriers and communication channels for behaviour change
Participants established a problem statement and key results in the SBCC strategy
Participants identified key actors for partnership and different media channels that can effectively carry out the future SBCC regional campaign
A road map for the regional implementation of the SBCC
strategy
;
Participants have a good understanding
of how data is important
for building and reinforcing political commitment for the demographic dividend
;
Participants adopted a road map that incorporates the necessary measures to build and reinforce political commitment in favo
u
r of the demographic dividend
with
the input of politicians, religious leaders and NGOs in this domain;
Defined role of
national and regional
demogra
p
hic dividend observatories in component 3’s implementation
;
Identification of necessary elements for the institutional capacity building of national commissions for population and national technical frameworks
;
Country action plans aligned with both component 1.1 and component 3.
Methodology
:
Opening and technical workshops
Plenaries
Work in groups by country
Exchange of best practices and experiences between countries
Facilitation and moderation
(UNFPA
,

World Bank
,
Consultants)
Organis
ers
:

SWEDD

Technical Secretariat
,
UNFPA
WCARO
,
World Bank

Duration
:
6

days

Date
:
May 24 – June 1, 2016
Place
:
Nouakchott (Mauritania
)
Participants
:
60 participants
representing

the
6
countries
(10
per country
)
plus representatives

from
UNFPA (
country offices
,
regional office

and HQ
) and

from the WB
,
and

supporting “resource” partners and

identified consultants
.
Country representatives will be primarily responsible for the implementation of
the project
(
Profile Directors
),
and
be responsible for decisions or to clarify positions including: the National Commission of Population (CNP),
Ministries
, the Statistics office or institute,
Ministry of Communication
, Ministry for Women’s Empowerment or Gender, Ministry of Youth, politicians, religious leaders and organizations, NGOs, and the SWEDD project National Coordinator.
In addition to country delegations, consultants, supporting resource partners, technical financial partners are equally invited:
For each UNFPA country office: the SWEDD Representative and Focal Point
A representative from the UNFPA regional office and
UNFPA
HQ
The World Bank Project Coordinator from
Brussels
(TTL)
Supporting resource partners and consultants (to be determined)
Invitees who have
relevant

experiences to share (to be determined
)
Summary of action
:
Organized jointly by the SWEDD Technical Secretariat, UNFPA, the
World Bank, this workshop will
:
Background Information
Promote a
common understanding of component 3 and sub-component 1.1, the envisioned actions and respective roles of different parties associated with the reinforcement of political commitment and advocacy for the DD and SWEDD;
Present
the demographic situation at each country’s level, a simulation of the impact that population growth will have for them, and the actions they could take to advocate and reinforce political commitment for policies in favour of the DD at the regional level;
Component 1.1
Identify the
cross-cutting elements of
a
SBCC
strategy
,
and the communication channels necessary to

implement

the SBCC campaign
at the regional and country/local level;
Promote best-buy
methods
by regional experts
to effectively
develop a
SBCC
strategy

that

addresses
access to RMNCA
H
N services and
discuss
key barriers
associated with these efforts;

Component 3
Demonstrat
e
the importance of collecting, analysing and using demographic data
to reinforce
political commitment in favour of the demographic dividend
;
Facilitate the exchange of
different
approaches for

advocacy
and
reinforcing
political commitment by political decision makers on the demographic dividend,
and
best practices by
knowledgeable
country level affiliates in this domain
;
Discuss the role of national population commissions and observatories on the demographic dividend during SWEDD’s implementation at the country and regional
level and how to
utilise

component 3’s
results in an effective manner
towards the DD
.
AGENDA
Day 1 – Wednesday May 25
th

8h00-9h30
Arrival and
welcoming
of participants
Organisers
09h30-10h30
Opening Ceremony
Short speeches by
(
Ministers etc.
, UNFPA,
World Bank
)
Master of Ceremonies
10h30-11h00
Coffee Break
11h00-12h00
Presentation of SWEDD Project
,
Video on the Demographic Dividend
Presentation on Component 3 and the importance of Political Commitment
Guide participants through SWEDD’s framework
Highlight how
C
omponent 3 is important for the SWEDD project
’s success

Outline the workshop’s activities and how they contribute to component 3
SWEDD Secretariat
12h00-13h00
Presentation of diagnostic study results on national institutions managing population data
World Bank Consultants
13h-14h30
Lunch
14h30-15h30
Discussions on the diagnostic study
Facilitators
15h30-16h30
Presentation of case studies
Outline

specific case study
expenses to inform discussions on budgets and political strategies
Invited Experts
16h30-16h45
Coffee Break
16h45-18h
Additional case study presentations
Offer advice

and ask for comments concerning how to develop country strategies that use and
develop
best practices

Invited Experts
20h00
Cocktail
Hour
Day
2
– Thursday May 26
th

8H30-10h30
Presentation and discuss
i
on
of
the road map facilitating political commitment

World Bank
UNFPA –
WCARO
10h30-10h45
Coffee Break
10h45-13h00
Working in Country Groups
Identify (in their countries) the most important factors influencing population growth
Begin to develop political strategies to address these factors

Estimate the budget needed for
catalysing
and thematic investments/policies
Brainstorm strategies on how the government can support
national institutions that collect,
analyse
and use population data and enhance their work.
The institutions will have to
(i)
collect data

related to population
, (ii)
analyse the data
,
and
(iii)
prepare annual reports

Country representatives
13h-14h30
Lunch
14h30-16h00
Continue Country Group Work
Think and conceive how the government will use the data, and how it will provision finances for these activities.

Facilitators
16h00-16h15
Coffee Break
16h15-17h00
Continue Country Group Work
Identify national and regional partners who the government can support with additional advocacy at the level of political decision makers.
Specify and analyse country data th
at is relevant to
the SWEDD project
’s themes

Country
representatives
20h00
Dinner
Day 3
– Friday 27
th

8H-10h30
Review/Summarization of group work
*** Create a role for a regional mechanism that monitors and evaluates the SWEDD***
Country representatives
10h30-10h45
Coffee Break
10h45-13h
00
Presentation of Country Group Work
Feedback from facilitators and regional partners
Country representatives
13h00-14h30
Lunch
14h30-16h00
Develop regional understanding on population data and policy strategy exchange
Understand how national observatories will share their best practices for data collection and analysis
Create regional approach to monitoring and evaluate project implementation
Facilitators and country representatives
16h00-16h15
Coffee Break
16h15-17h00
Plenary
on
next steps for regional collaboration on Component 3
Facilitators and country representatives
Day

4
– Saturday 28
th

8H30-10h30
Introduce the roadmap for the development of the SBCC regional strategy
Outline the two phases of the regional SBCC strategy
R
e-
examine the

institutional mapping results
to establish the regional pool of experts

World Bank
UNFPA –
WCARO
10h30-10h45
Coffee Break
10h45-1
3
h00
Develop a common regional problem tree, based on countries’ analysis
Country representatives
1
3h00-14h3
0
Lunch
14
h
30-16h0
0
Regional analysis of the population
Identify members of the population who would be most important to target with campaign messages
Country representatives and facilitators
16h00-16h15
Coffee Break
16h15-17h30
Continue with group work on the regional analysis of the population
Day 5

– Monday 30
th

8h30-10h30
Regional context analysis (SWOT analysis)
Country
representatives
and facilitators
10h30-10h45
Coffee Break
10h45-1
2
h00
Continue with SWOT analysis and discussion
Country representatives and f
acilitator
s
1
2
h00-1
3
h
0
0
Gaps in formative research
Country representatives and facilitators
1
3
h
0
0-1
4
h
3
0
Lunch
1
4h3
0-16h
00
Identify pertinent partners and allies for the implementation of the SBCC regional strategy
Country representatives
16h00-16h15
Coffee Break
16h15-17h30
Continue and synthesize SWOT analysis and identification of relevant partners
Country representatives and World Bank
Day 6
– Tuesday 31
st

8h30-10h30
Develop
a regional

SBCC strategy
:
Create a strategic framework including objectives, target groups, communication techniques, key messages, and communication channels
;
Develop an organizational framework
including
a
training and capacity building plan, work plan, monitoring and evaluation.
Country representatives and facilitators
10h30-10h45
Coffee Break
10h45-1
3
h00
Continue work on the regional SBCC strategy
Country representatives and facilitators
13h00-14
h30
Lunch
1
4
h30-1
5
h
3
0
Plenary: Validate the declaration
Country representatives
15h3
0
-15h45
Coffee Break
15h45-16h30
Next steps for the development of the regional
SBCC strategy
SWEDD Secretariat
16h30-17h00
Closing Ceremony
MAED
UNFPA
World Bank