80 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN POLICY AND SECTOR REFORM
Dissemination and Communication of SEA Results It should be acknowledged that dissemination and communication of SEA results is not an area that SEA practitioners or government sponsors of SEA traditionally specialize in. The tendency has been for SEA to be supported only until the completion of the SEA report, with little thought given to the possible benefits of communication and dissemination. This is a major weakness of SEA which, if not addressed, may significantly impair SEA effectiveness in policy and sector reform. Objectives A number of the pilot evaluations showed that stakeholders can become frustrated with lack of feedback and follow-up from SEA activities. This is a fairly simple problem to deal with, but ignoring it can create a considerable challenge to the legitimacy of SEA. The main objective of this activity is therefore to disseminate the results of SEA activities as widely as possible. Process to Be Followed Terms of reference for SEA in policy and sector reform should include followup activities after the SEA report is completed. They should require consulting teams to organize consultation exercises so that stakeholders can see how their views have been addressed. Communication of SEA results can be more difficult in some jurisdictions than others. For example, lack of media freedom and poor communications infrastructure can inhibit wide dissemination in some developing countries. These problems, and others such as lack of access to funds, mean that communication strategies will probably vary depending on the jurisdiction, the particular political economy context, and the interests and perspectives of stakeholder groups. A general model for developing a policy SEA communications strategy would consist of the following steps: 1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Identification of the overall objectives of the strategy Refinement of the objectives for each stakeholder group Development of the communication channels and budget Development of communication materials Implementation of the communication activities Monitoring and evaluating of the communication strategy’s impact4
SEA practitioners who are not schooled in communication strategies tend to choose the form of communication materials and communication channels without thinking about the ultimate purposes of communication, or about the specific needs of different stakeholder groups. In general, there tends to be too great a focus on dissemination in document form at a cost of engage-