Whether building a new road or training future environmental workers, good communications are critical to the success of every international development project. By improving access to information and the quality of that information, International Resources Group promotes improved governance through a more informed civil society and helps build expertise and improve cooperation among beneficiaries. IRG provides a range of communications and outreach services, including stakeholder analyses, communication strategies, guidance on branding and project identity, helping projects produce top-notch promotional materials, and advising on media relations, the design of public awareness campaigns, and behavior change marketing.

Capabilities:

• Communications and Marketing Strategy, Planning and Implementation
• Branding and Project Identity
• Media Relations
• Promotional Materials – from Project Brochures to Success Stories
• Official Briefing Materials
• Website Development
• Event Planning and Implementation
• Media Training

Select projects include:

Promoting Heating Reform through Public Campaigns
To help Ukraine better manage its energy consumption, IRG is implementing a social marketing campaign promoting cost-effective heating practices among consumers. The national campaign is a key component of the USAID-funded Municipal Heating Reform (MHR) Project that aims to help Ukraine transform municipal heating into a financially viable, well-managed, consistent, and fairly-regulated sector. Given Ukraine’s dependence on imported energy, and emerging environmental concerns, the campaign is targeting stakeholders with two core messages: the opportunity to control their own energy costs and the potential threat to this opportunity due to Ukraine’s heavy dependence on foreign energy imports.

The national campaign creates awareness for energy conservation, with practical steps for consumer energy conservation and resulting cost savings. Building on the education campaign, communication experts are helping prepare those consumers in pilot cities across Ukraine who will be receiving individual heating controls in their homes. Further steps include sharing success stories and practical results with the goal of promoting replication of these energy conservation practices throughout Ukraine. To date, the Project has installed more than 700 information billboards in partner cities, including Kyiv and launched public service announcements on national and local television channels in pilot cities. Another initiative known as Energy Efficient Schools and Campuses is targeting future consumers of heating services with a “green” curriculum for school children in which students learn the basics of heat supply and conservation. Ukraine: Municipal Heating Reform Project

Developing Awareness to Save Water Resources
Cyprus is struggling with growing demands on a dwindling water supply. In northern Cyprus, these issues are complicated by a dearth of public understanding of how household water use affects the water supply. To help address the situation, IRG launched the “Damlaya Damlaya Yok Olur – Drop by Drop It Disappears” public awareness campaign across the Turkish Cypriot community. The campaign uses a wide range of media and delivery mechanisms to focus public attention on water supply issues and provide simple tips for saving water. Damlaya Damlaya Yok Olur was developed by the local communications team of IRG’s Support Activities that Value the Environment (SAVE) project and grew out of a public survey of 900 households with follow-up focus groups. The campaign reached 76% of all households and more than 40% changed their water habits based on the campaign. Cyprus: Supporting Activities that Value the Environment

Managing the Environment with the Help of Public Opinion
Bangladesh’s Forest Department was long responsible for the wholesale illegal logging of teak plantations. Bangladesh’s government faced a herculean challenge in communicating a new and positive imagine to present alongside better conservation efforts of national parks and protected areas. Called Nishorgo, IRG began implementing a project designed to engage local stakeholders in the joint management of these sites in 2003. Efforts to present the department as reformed have taken root within the Forest Department and have expanded into 19 park systems, with a new departmental Code of Conduct emphasizing transparency. With communications tools including movies, pamphlets, and key field visits by key officials and stakeholders, the Forest Department is succeeding in creating a reinvigorated image for openness and professionalism with the local populace. Bangladesh: Co-Management of Tropical Forest Resources

Building on Nishorgo’s success, IRG is helping Bangladesh establish a network of wetlands and forest areas throughout the country that are co-managed, protect the natural ecosystems and create benefits for people living nearby. With a new logo, a name selected through university student contests, local events and staged high-level events, the information and outreach program will create broad public awareness and commitment to Nishorgo’s sustainable future. Bangladesh: Integrated Protected Area Co-Management

Building Support for Government Initiatives, Teaching Social Responsibility
During its prolonged civil war, Liberia’s electricity infrastructure was largely destroyed both physically and institutionally. IRG’s communications experts supported a USAID-funded reconstruction program aimed at delivering power through institutional strengthening of the Liberian Electricity Corporation (LEC) in this post-conflict environment where power theft is common and few are accustomed to paying energy bills. IRG’s experts managed a public information campaign with the LEC to inform consumers of the need to pay their electric bills and how to pay them, issue safety notices surrounding high voltage facilities, and present the legal and safety ramifications of power theft. Liberia: Emergency Power Program

Empowering Local Municipalities, Building a Solid Foundation for Sustained Economic Growth
To improve livelihoods in Lebanon’s underprivileged, economically-deprived communities, IRG is assisting the USAID-funded project called Baladiyat in its outreach and education activities. The goal is to promote effective democratic collaboration among municipal governments, communities, and the private sector, thereby increasing economic opportunities for budding entrepreneurs and interested investors. Communications staff leverage regular community meetings with all stakeholders, driving interest with accessible signage, television, and radio shows detailing project success stories – a new olive mill, an ecotourism site, a milk cooperative, a tailoring business run by women - brochures and informational fact sheets, and high-profile official site visits. A Baladiyat web portal that links to a Facebook community and economic sector case studies, allows all stakeholders – from public and private sectors, even the Diaspora – to learn best practices, seek training and small grants, build on others’ successes and find fruitful business opportunities. Lebanon: Empowering Municipalities through Local Economic Development