How to write a communication strategy for an NGO

A communication strategy explains how communication will help your organisation reach its goals. It is not a list of posts, a logo guide or a calendar. Those come later, as the plan that puts the strategy into action. A good strategy also helps the team say no to requests that do not serve the goal, which is often its most practical use.

The UK Government Communication Service uses a five-step model called OASIS: objectives, audience insight, strategy and ideas, implementation, and scoring or evaluation.¹ A long-standing NGO communications guide from Frontline AIDS covers the same ground: aims and targets, strategies and tactics, audiences and channels, core messages, and a timetable and budget.² Whichever model you use, the order matters. Decide what you want to change before you decide what to make.

A workable communication strategy template for an NGO can be as short as the headings below. Most strong strategies fit on a few pages, with a separate action plan table that the team updates as the work moves forward each month.

• Context: the organisational or project goal communication must serve
• Objectives: measurable and time-bound
• Audiences: who, what they know now, what you want them to do
• Key messages and proof points for each audience
• Channels, content and partners
• Timeline, roles and budget
• Risks and approvals
• Monitoring and evaluation

Start from the organisation's strategy or the project's results framework, not from communication activity. Ask what has to change for that goal to be reached, and which part of that change communication can realistically influence. Some goals need policy, funding or services first; communication cannot replace them.

The OASIS guidance says objectives should be achievable, measurable, expressed in numbers where possible, and focused on outcomes, not outputs.¹ In practice, "publish 40 posts" is an output. "Increase the number of district health officers who use the new referral guidelines" is an outcome that communication can contribute to.

Keep the list short. Three to five objectives that the team understands are more useful than fifteen that nobody can track. Give each one a deadline and a named owner, and check that the data you will need to measure it can actually be collected.

"The general public" is rarely a useful audience for an NGO. Name the groups whose knowledge, attitudes or behaviour you need to change: community members, local leaders, ministry officials, journalists, donors, partner organisations, your own staff. Internal audiences matter too: field teams and partners often carry your messages further than any campaign.

For each group, write down what they already know, what they care about, which barriers stand in the way, and where they get information. The OASIS guidance stresses that understanding your audience is critical and recommends building insight from research, existing data and public information, and thinking about accessibility and inclusion from the start.¹

Plain language guidance from the US government makes a related point: mixing material meant for different audiences can confuse readers, so address separate audiences separately.³ One strategy can serve several audiences, but each should get its own message and channel.

Key messages are the few things you want each audience to understand and remember. Write one overarching message that explains why your work matters, then two or three supporting messages for each audience, each backed by a proof point: a verified figure, a result or a real example.

Write them in plain words and test them with people from the audience, in the languages they use. In East Africa that often means Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, French or English, and sometimes all four. Messages should also end with something the audience can do, such as attend, apply, vote, report or fund.

Stories carry messages further than statements. A short film or photo story showing one person's experience, told with their informed consent, often explains a programme better than a page of results. Make sure every story supports at least one key message, so that it serves the strategy rather than standing alone.

Pick channels because your audiences use them, not because they are fashionable. Community radio, WhatsApp groups, local meetings and SMS may reach rural audiences better than a website. Ministries and donors may respond best to briefings, reports and events. Journalists need clear press material and access to spokespeople.

Plan how content will be reused. One field visit can produce a short film, a photo series, quotes for reports and social media clips. Budget for distribution as well as production. The European Commission's guidance for partners it funds suggests that, where there is a strategic communication budget, roughly 30 to 50% goes to content production and 50 to 70% to dissemination.⁴ Even outside EU projects, that is a useful reminder that content nobody sees achieves nothing.

Project-level strategies must also meet donor rules. The European Union, for example, sets out a general obligation for funded partners to acknowledge the origin of EU funding and ensure its visibility, and states that visibility counts as an eligible cost.⁵ Its guidance treats the EU emblem, with a funding statement, as the main visual sign of support.⁵

Requirements change, so read the current rules for each grant. The EU's own FAQ notes that, since its 2022 guidance, partners generally no longer include a separate communication budget and plan in their project, unless this is agreed in advance with the EU.⁴ Other funders still ask for a full plan at proposal stage. Agree early who approves content and how co-funders are credited, to avoid delays later.

The implementation section turns strategy into a schedule. The OASIS guidance recommends a clear plan that allocates resources and sets timescales for delivery.¹ Name an owner for every activity, link activities to the project calendar, and include approval time, translation and consent processes.

Decide how you will measure success before you start. The same guidance advises monitoring outputs, outtakes and outcomes during a campaign and evaluating them at the end.¹ Collect a baseline, choose a few indicators per objective, and review the strategy at least once a year. In our own practice, we find that a short mid-point review catches more problems than a long final report.

• Communication objectives linked to the organisation's or project's goals
• Objectives written as measurable outcomes
• Named audiences, each with insight on barriers and channels
• Key messages and proof points tested in local languages
• Channels chosen by audience, with a budget for distribution
• Donor visibility and approval rules confirmed
• Owners, timeline and consent process agreed
• Baseline, indicators and review dates set