Development action with informed and engaged societies

After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. 

Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future. 

On the transfer, co-founder Victoria Martin expressed her pleasure to see this work continue under Wits' leadership, knowing that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction. 

As Wits, we honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades and look forward building from that strong base. This includes co-founders Warren Feek (1953-2024) and Victoria Martin as well as La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA), which continues independently at lainiciativadecomunicacion.com with links to The CI Global site. We are also eager to forge new partnerships and entertain new ideas as we consider how best to contribute to social and behaviour change in our rapidly evolving environment.

If you are joining the International Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Summit in Panama, please join Wits and CILA on Monday, 22 June, to share your thoughts and suggestion for the relaunch of the Communication Initiative. We will be in Pacifica 5 from 12-1:25 for the Refuel, Reflect, and Renew Lunch Series: The Communication Initiative: celebrating a driving force for Communication for Social Change and the way forward. We will reflect on the legacy of Warren Feek and family in creating the Communication Initiative, consider the contributions of CI over the years and then turn our attention towards the future in this dynamic session. 

If you are unable to join us in Panama, we still want to hear from you. Please contribute your thoughts by following this link: https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026 or reaching out to ci_surveys@commint.com

You can also follow the QR Code:

 https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026

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Business as Usual or Business Unusual: Has SBC Methods Integration Led to Radical Insights, Ideas and Innovations?

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Summary:
The field of social and behavior change communication (SBCC) is constantly evolving. From its roots in, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) to its transition to behavior change communication (BCC) and subsequent expansion to SBCC, the latest version, social and behavior change (SBC), aims to integrate multiple fields of study. Rather than limiting the field to communication-focused solutions alone, the integration of SBCC, design thinking, behavioral economics and other relevant disciplines is thought to result in deep new insights and groundbreaking solutions that wouldn't have otherwise been achieved by any one approach alone. Is this, in fact, the case? Are we getting to unique discoveries and radical innovation through SBC methods integration? What makes an insight new, and an innovation radical? What evidence do we have, if any, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts? This Blue Sky Session will bring together some of the greatest minds behind SBC methods integration to kickstart a provocative discussion. Moderated by USAID's Center for Innovation and Impact, speakers will hail from IDEO.org, Pact, Sonder Design, ThinkPlace, and the Vihara Innovation Network. Panelists will offer their varying perspectives on these highly debatable questions, then invite participants to share their thoughts and experience with SBC methods integration.

Discussion/Implications for the Field:
These pioneers in the rapidly emerging field of SBC methods integration will raise, attempt to answer, and throw back to the audience some of the most difficult questions facing practitioners today. This rubbing of minds and open, honest look at the issues many have been wrestling with both philosophically and practically will help to question our assumptions around SBC methods integration, yield new insights, and advance the thinking in the field.

Abstract submitted by:
Jennifer Orkis - Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs
Chris Larkin - IDEO.org
Divya Datta - Vihara Innovation Network
Rohan Doherty - ThinkPlace
Damaris Rodriguez - Sonder Design
Michelle Risinger - Pact
Source
Approved abstract for the postponed 2020 SBCC Summit in Marrakech, Morocco. Provided by the International Steering Committee for the Summit. Image credit: IDEO.org