1.     How do I use this site?

 

Follow these six steps to use this site effectively.

 

Step 1: Identify your target audience

Step 2: Identify the most risky behaviours in your project area and the key messages

Step 3: Identify what type of materials you are intending to produce

Step 4: Search the site with the basic search engine to get a quick review of existing materials

Step 5: Use the advanced search to find all examples of existing materials that satisfy steps 1 – 3

Step 6 and onwards: Download or send an email to request the material.

 

Remember each material was developed for a unique target audience. Rigorous pre-testing with the target audience should be conducted prior to using or adapting an existing material.

 

2.     Were the materials reviewed or evaluated?

 

Most  of the materials on-line have undergone documented evaluation. One of the outcomes was first to develop a 5 star rating based on reviewers’ comments. The star rating is incorporated in the database but not shown on the search results or material files. This is due to the fact that the process was conducted only by a group of consultants while the materials were published for multiple target audiences. However, the star rating is still implicitly used for ordering the search results – those that have higher star rating will be listed first.

 

Instead of displaying star rating, the search results provide with 2 reviewers’ comment options: Highly Recommended or Recommended based on star rating. For materials that do not have these reviewers’ comment options: either they are not assessed or the reviewers do not express their opinion.

 

3.     Was the star rating based on evaluation conducted with the target audience?

 

Unfortunately very few of the collated information, education and communication (IEC) materials have undergone any form of documented evaluation with the target audience. It was therefore necessary for us to conduct a desktop assessment based on best practice principles for effective water and sanitation (WES) materials. All future contributions to the library will be asked to provide information on their evaluation.

 

4.     Why did you develop a star rating for the printed materials?

 

Over 500 materials were collected by the library. The Working Group developed the star rating to prioritise printed materials that followed best practice for effective communication materials. It is hoped this will encourage and support the development and implementation of more effective IEC materials in Vietnam.

 

5.     What criteria did you use to develop the star rating?

 

Through consultation with international and national IEC experts the Working Group developed a weighted star rating for printed materials. The star rating was based on international and Vietnamese reviews of best practice for WES-related IEC materials. The assessment criteria were developed for leaflets, posters, picture sets and training manuals.

 

For example, the criteria used for assessing leaflets included; 1) Appropriate language, 2) Practical and social messages, 3) One or two key messages, 4) Uncluttered layout and design, 5) Equitable gender roles depicted and 6) Sources of further information provided.

 

6.     Is the star rating an endorsement of the material by CERWASS, UNICEF and PLAN in Vietnam?

 

No. The star rating was conducted by independent consultants to identify those materials that followed best practice in communication materials in the water and sanitation (WES) sector. Each material is unique and should be pre-tested with the target audience prior to use. 

 

7.     How did you assess materials that provided technical information?

 

Technical materials have very different aims than hygiene promotion materials as their aim is to enable households to maintain water and sanitation infrastructure. Separate criteria were developed for these materials. The criteria included; appropriate language, accuracy of technical information, layout and design and sources of more information.

 

8.     Did you assess supporting materials for social marketing campaigns?

 

No. As only few organisations have applied a social marketing approach to water and sanitation in Vietnam, and these are at an early stage of implementation, we decided it would not be appropriate to develop criteria for these materials.

 

Social marketing in the water and sanitation sector uses the principles of commercial marketing to support and encourage products or processes that have health benefits. Supporting materials for social marketing campaigns have very different objectives to hygiene promotion materials.

 

If we had developed assessment criteria it would have included; 1) Core benefit oriented (highlight "significant benefits of product or hygiene practice" through careful customer's research); 2) Stimulation (stimulate target group to "buy" product or to adopt hygiene practice); 3) Clear: understandable to the audiences; 4) Simple: easy to understand; 5) Suitable with local culture and 6) Accurate: believable, based on emic (insider view) and etic (outsider / scientific view).

 

9.     Why aren’t all of the materials assessed?

 

There a many different types of IEC materials including games, books, dramas, songs, competitions and many more. We decided to focus our efforts (and limited resources) on the most common materials which were leaflets, picture sets, posters and training manuals.

                                                     

10. How did you determine the target audience for the material?

 

Experienced IEC national and international consultants determined the target audience for each material. The assessment was based on the language, images and design layout of each material. All future submissions to the library will be asked to fill out a contribution form that will include identifying the target audience.

 

11. Are all the WES IEC materials in Vietnam posted on the website?

 

No, the collection is limited to only those materials that were provided by organisations during the inventory stage of this website. The collection also focussed on material that was developed after 2001. We are actively seeking new material for contribution to the collection.