For the past seven months, a Flow Communications team has been collaborating with the European Union (EU) and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to develop a communications and visibility strategy and action plan to expand the profile of their Teaching and Learning Development (TLD) Programme.
The TLD Programme is a collaboration between the EU and the South Africa government, with the DHET as the main implementing agency.
Its aim is to support effective teaching and learning in the country’s different education sectors, specifically focusing on developing teaching capacity for early-childhood and primary education, technical and vocational education and training, and community education and training.
How it all started
For the project to be successful, it was critical for Flow’s team to gain a full understanding of the TLD Programme, the work that had already been done, and the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for all stakeholders.
The EU and the DHET hosted the Flow team at the EU offices in Pretoria for a communications and visibility workshop. The aim was to have an interactive discussion to identify the communications challenges and to make recommendations on the way forward.
As a collective, we also identified the TLD Programme’s relevant audiences, developed key communications objectives and messages, and identified tactics for effective communications.
Data collection
Flow was also tasked with collecting and creating content to highlight the TLD programme’s successes to date.
With the assistance of the DHET, Flow team members visited the University of the Witwatersrand’s Centre for Deaf Studies, the Vaal University of Technology and North-West University. At these institutions, the Flow team interviewed project managers who were instrumental in doing the groundwork for the TLD Programme at university level.
The interviews were an eye-opener, says Flow account manager Mohau Ravhudzulo. “Through this process, we learnt how the number of women in post-school learning institutions had steadily increased since 2004. The number of doctoral graduates had also grown – from 737 doctoral graduates in 1994, the number increased to 2 051 in 2013. This was a good achievement, indicating an increase in available supervisors for the students.”
After these extensive interviews, we were able to compile four case studies and five factsheets, detailing the progress achieved through the TLD Programme.
The full picture
At the end of the project, Flow Communications produced a communications toolkit that comprised a strategy, an implementation plan, case studies, factsheets and communications templates.
Flow also conducted a handover workshop, attended by stakeholders instrumental in the implementation of the strategy. They were taken through all the key processes to implement a successful communications and visibility strategy.
Flow also took the stakeholders through all the templates, as well as the process of identifying newsworthy projects and how to turn these into content that will ensure visibility.
The project was a huge success. Flow achieved all its objectives by using creative ideas to develop a holistic and practical strategy that will help the TLD Programme team with its communications and visibility efforts. Flow is honoured to have been part of this life-changing project.