According to Srampickal (2006) in ‘Development and Participatory Communication’, development communication generally refers to the planned use of strategies and processes of communications aimed at achieving development. As a concept, development communication stems from the belief that telephones, radio, television, Internet, or group media could support the overall betterment of less privileged people in underdeveloped countries. Though these sources are available, poor knowledge on proper usage and access have made them worthless. Development communication was informed by a theory that became a science of producing effective messages (Quarmyne 1991). After decades of intervention, the failure to address poverty and other structural problems in the Third World needed to be explained on the faulty theoretical premises of the programmes. Any intervention that was focused on improving messages to better reach individuals or only change their behavior was not effective in implementing social change. The emphasis on the diffusion of media technologies meant that modernization could be measured and quantified in terms of media penetration. The number of television and radio sets and newspaper consumption was accepted as indicator of modern attitudes (Inkeles and Smith 1974). But the development of the individuals was not measured and also the researcher and others had not established that modern attitudes have really benefited the society. Communication acts as a bridge between the people and the country which brings changes through information sharing. Also Lazarsfeld and Katz (1955) found that interpersonal relations were crucial in channeling and shaping opinion. This insight was incorporated in diffusion studies, which proposed that both exposure to mass media and face-to-face interaction were necessary to induce effective changes in society.
According to Rogers (1962), development communication entailed a process by which an idea is transferred from a source to a receiver with the intent to change his/her behavior. The communication of modernization to rural and indigenous people did not serve to bring the real change needed. As the development had been centrally planned without any consultation with people, the wrong solutions were often pumped down to startled communities (Yoon 1996). Over the past few decades, the study of communication for development and social change has gained so much attention among development practitioners and scholars (Servaes 2007). Many issues affecting people, especially in rural areas were brought to the forefront in changing the policies and strategies towards progress. In any aspect the development is about change and if development initiatives of any kind are to be sustainable it should start with mechanisms that ensure broad participation by all those who have some interest in the intended change. Communication, by its very nature, is the essential ingredient in ensuring meaningful participation, capable of resulting in the active exchange of knowledge and perceptions needed to successfully define problems and plan solutions (Santucci 2005).
According to Mefalopulos (2003), communication is about dialogue, participation and the sharing of knowledge and information. It takes into account the needs and capacities of all concerned through the integrated and participatory use of communication processes, media and channels. Mefalopulos states that communication responds to three main functions:
• Facilitating participation: Giving a voice to different stakeholders to engage in the decision making process.
• Making information understandable and meaningful. It includes explaining and conveying information for the purpose of training, exchange of experience and sharing of technology.
• Fostering policy acceptance: Enacting and promoting policies, especially when these bring in new opportunities for rural people to access services and resources.
The penetration of newspapers, radio and television sets have substituted development. In many countries, where people were more exposed to modern media, more favorable attitudes towards modernization and development were seen. The governments and specialists agreed to champion the media as instruments for the dissemination of modern ideas that would improve agriculture, health, education and politics (Agunga 1997).
Sivaramakrishnan (2011) states that communication is needed to bring about any social change. New roles and relationships between nation and government, the private sector and civil society are required to address the challenges posed by an urbanizing and globalizing world through communication development.
Inagaki (2007) opines that this kind of communication could be articulated at three different levels: changes in the life constitution of an individual, of an institution and of the society as a whole. The social parameters within which the changes occurred were class struggle, class value and class compromise (Class struggle is defined as the struggle between the capitalist class and the working class. In class compromise, the working class and the capitalist class find forms of mutual co-operation. Class value is the value associated with each other) (Wright 2012). The development in communication can also make development initiatives scalable by employing different communication techniques and devices that address the varying spatial requirements for local, regional, national and international levels of action. Knowledge revolution, together with increased globalization and rising intensity of international trade, presents significant opportunities to those countries that are not able to keep up with the rapid pace of change for promoting economic and social development. Those countries face the risk of falling behind in technology, production and welfare frontiers (Priest 2010). The traditional relationship between knowledge suppliers and users has changed and has blurred the boundaries between the public and private sectors with respect to innovation. Thus, a growing number of studies in developing countries continue to prove the value of innovation as a driver of socio-economic transformation that leads to sustainable development. Developmental challenges concern both advanced and developing economies. However, it is necessary to look at innovation activities in developing and least developed countries through a different lens. The latest research in this area in developing countries has identified innovative activities such as video participation, community radio participation and similar interactive practices to be the most effective. Further research is needed, however, to validate the results of this emerging literature and to fully unpack the specific characteristics of innovation in developing countries.
The revolution in communication like the rise of mass media, presents new opportunities to innovators and creators to more effectively communicate both technology and knowledge directly to the users and to improve the society (Murell 1996).