Hope against hope_An exploratory study of perceptions of current and future global progress among communication for development experts

Abstract: Multi-country surveys indicate widespread pessimism about global progress and about the effectiveness of the international development sector, despite indicators showing significant advancement in most areas. These perceptions are especially noteworthy because they can influence the public’s opinion on other social issues such as multilateralism, migration, or poverty. This pessimism originates in part in the information about development that organizations working in that sector produce. Development communicators are both creators, as well as audiences, of this material, but empirical evidence on the impact their world views have on the content they create is limited. This thesis aims to address this gap.Findings were canvassed using a qualitative method in the form of in-depth interviews. Seven participants were selected for having a decision-making position within their organizations, along with a mix of nationalities, type of organization and work experience – headquarters and field. The approach for this research was informed by postdevelopment critique, which examines the power of the discourse of development in constructing ideas about people and development. This study concludes that development communicators are as pessimistic as the general public, although it remains unclear to what extent this pessimism impacts the messages and content they produce. A key finding is that communicators deny being influenced by their personal views, citing instead organizational rules and Communication objectives as their main influences when creating content. They also deny being influenced by the media, not recognizing their role as audience. In general, this study points to a lack of self-reflection and self-awareness among development communicators of their personal input and biases in their work, and the full impact of their output on their audiences’ perception of the world. This study also indicates that, while acknowledging the negative information about development that the general public is exposed to, communication experts mainly credit the media for this information, and don’t recognize how the development sector influences media content. The study also reveals that the communicators’ pessimism about the world is likely connected with a disillusionment with the sector and their work. Development communicators are key actors in the global development sector because of their role in constructing the way the sector is presented to the global public. This research directly contributes to understanding their role as mediators of global perceptions, a process with significant moral and political implications.