Building a Communication Strategy for ReliefWeb

"Launched in 1996 by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, ReliefWeb is a website that assists the international humanitarian community by delivering timely, reliable, and relevant information concerning global emergencies and disasters. ReliefWeb posts vital information 24 hours a day from over 2,000 stakeholder sources (including the UN, OCHA, national governments, NGO field and HQ offices, and the International Red Cross). ReliefWeb partnered with the Capstone team to create a communication strategy targeting these stakeholders to: 1) promote further awareness and usage of ReliefWeb; and 2) encourage stakeholders to deepen their partnerships and increase their contribution of information to ReliefWeb. To accomplish this goal, the Capstone team consulted communications and marketing experts to gain insight into research methodology. Stakeholders were interviewed (including a field visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) to better understand how the humanitarian relief community obtains and disseminates information. From the findings, the team created targeted messages tailored to each of the stakeholder groups. "