Communications for Development
Communications for development (C4D) uses listening, dialogue and storytelling to help people understand issues, share their views and take part in decisions that affect their lives. It is about working with people, not simply sending information to them.
DASTPO puts this into practice through communication strategies, campaigns and content that connect evidence with lived experience. We help governments, NGOs and development partners explain their work, involve communities and share results. DASTPO leads communications assignments, drawing on creative and technical expertise from our consortium as each project requires. Support can cover a defined output, a campaign or ongoing communications work.
How DASTPO can help
A practical breakdown of our communication strategy, campaigns, content production and storytelling services. Engage DASTPO for specific deliverables or ongoing support, with the scope and specialist inputs agreed around your needs.
Build a practical plan for who to reach, what to communicate and which channels to use. We connect audience needs with your programme objectives, then turn that into messages, activities and a workable content schedule.
Develop and deliver a public-awareness, advocacy or engagement campaign. DASTPO can lead the agreed campaign scope or support your team with specific planning, creative or coordination tasks.
Commission a specific set of materials or ongoing production. We shape the story, coordinate the inputs and produce content that explains your work to the people you need to reach.
Help your team apply communication planning and storytelling in its own work. Sessions use practical exercises and your real communication needs, with materials participants can use afterwards.
Featured case study · 2021
COVID-19 vaccine communication
A Jamaican campaign addressing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation through television, radio and social media. Funded by The Commonwealth Fund and developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, it brought together trusted doctors and familiar, intergenerational conversations to answer people’s concerns and support informed decisions.
Explore the campaign strategy and process ↗Climate change communication · SODECO
Mangrove restoration
Communications support for UWI SODECO’s IDB and UK DEFRA-supported mangrove restoration initiative in southern Clarendon, Jamaica. Dervin produced videos, designed a project snapshot and developed an organisational communications strategy to explain the science, engage the public and demonstrate the project’s potential impact to donors and stakeholders.
View the content ↗Maritime policy & Caribbean voices · UWI-CSL
Digital communication · Ongoing work
For the Caribbean Shipping Lanes (UWI-CSL) Project, Dervin is developing content that connects maritime decarbonisation with the people and perspectives behind it. Interview-led storytelling, short-form clips and accessible digital updates bring technical discussions beyond the negotiating room, while an emerging podcast explores the region’s maritime journey.
View the content ↗Chevening Scholarship · Jamaica
Dervin used scholar stories, promotional videos, profiles and public webinars to challenge assumptions about who Chevening was for. The approach helped attract applicants from more diverse backgrounds and broaden the fields of study pursued, alongside a 300% increase in applications across Jamaica and The Bahamas during his tenure.
Explore the Chevening case study ↗Capacity building · USAID/LHSS
A practical guide to planning messages, choosing channels and communicating health information clearly, with examples from Jamaica’s public-health context.
Dervin developed this resource under the USAID-funded Local Health System Sustainability Project to support private health-care professionals communicating about COVID-19 vaccination and other health services.
Read the guideThe DASTPO communications approach
Drawing on Dervin’s professional practice, this is the approach he brings to DASTPO: connecting people, evidence and creative decisions. Each step informs the others.
People at the centreHear the concerns, experiences and questions of communities, participants, technical teams and partners. Recognise the different voices within every audience.