From process to purpose: How you get there matters in communications strategy development

By Lisa Ritchie, Communications Strategist and Founder of EngagingDev

In recent years, the EngagingDev team has had the opportunity to develop around a dozen communications and public diplomacy strategies for new and ongoing development programs. We have also supported teams to implement these strategies – an experience that continues to reinforce just how important the process of strategy development really is.

There’s no single template that works for every program, but some consistent lessons have emerged. One that stands out is that the strategy development process itself plays a defining role in shaping how well a strategy is understood, used and sustained over time.

Here are 6 principles we have found essential to developing communications and public diplomacy strategies that actually work.

Communications and public diplomacy strategy development is a core service provided by the EngagingDev team – each is unique, contextualised to context.

1. Start with ‘why’, not ‘how’

A strategic communications strategy doesn’t begin with tactics - and certainly not with a content calendar. It begins with purpose. To understand that purpose, you need to understand:

What change is the program trying to support?
Who needs to understand, influence or lead that change?
How can communications help position the program and its partners for success?
What are the risks if the program does not communicate effectively?

Strategies that begin with a clear purpose are more likely to align with program delivery. The tools and tactics come later.

2. Involve the right people

Team leaders, senior managers, donor counterparts and technical leads all bring valuable perspectives. But it’s not just about who is involved – it’s about when and how.

Early engagement in key discussions about strategy purpose, positioning, resourcing and messaging will set the tone for how communications will be viewed and used throughout the life of the program.

As communications is everyone’s responsibility, involving the wider team is also important.

3. Use the process to build shared understanding

When done well, the process of developing a strategy can:

Clarify what communications is (and what it isn’t).
Distinguish between strategic communications and public diplomacy.
Set realistic expectations around priorities and capacity.

A strategy then becomes a tool for engagement and internal alignment, not just a 'ticked-off' program deliverable.

4. Be patient, be constructive

Strategy conversations can generate a lot of ideas and competing priorities.

That’s a good thing.

But not everything belongs in the strategy. This is where a calm, constructive approach – informed by experience – matters. It’s about listening well, understanding the program’s political and delivery context, and then helping shape a focused, achievable and contextually-relevant strategy.

5. Understand the available resourcing

Too often, programs want ‘gold class’ communications without adequate budget or support.

These days, we encourage a resourcing discussion early in the process. This includes time, staffing, systems and access to specialist expertise. In several cases, simply walking through what is required to deliver quality communications has helped unlock additional investment.

Without resourcing, even the best strategy is just a wish list.

6. Don’t cut and paste

No two programs are the same. While strategy structures may be similar – especially when developed for the same donor – the content should never be.

A good strategy reflects the specific goals, audiences, risks and delivery mechanisms of the program it supports. Copy-paste jobs are easy to spot, and they rarely result in strategic impact.

The takeaway

A strong communications and public diplomacy strategy is not just about the final document: it’s about the conversations that shape it, the people who own it and the systems that enable it.

Get the process right, and the strategy is more likely to deliver real value to the program, the donor and the partners they aim to collaborate with.