Effective Communication Plan Management in Extension Training

Learning Outcomes

• Apply communication principles to design a plan for extension and development activities.
• Implement the communication plan using appropriate channels and resources.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the communication plan against objectives.
• Identify and address barriers to effective communication in simple settings.
• Demonstrate stakeholder engagement strategies within the communication plan.
• Analyze feedback to improve future communication plans.

Target Audience

Extension officers, community development workers, and project coordinators who need to manage communication plans in rural or simple development settings. This course is also suitable for supervisors overseeing extension programs.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment. However, learners should be involved in or have an interest in extension and development work.

Course Outline

Practicals

Overview

Practicals provide hands-on experience in developing, presenting, and evaluating communication plans. Learners will apply tools and techniques in simulated extension scenarios, reinforcing planning, facilitation, and digital communication skills.

Practical Activities

• Practical 1: Audience Analysis and Message Design — Learners conduct a mini audience analysis using surveys or interviews, then design tailored messages and select channels for a given extension scenario. (8h)
• Practical 2: Developing a Communication Plan — In small groups, learners create a full communication plan for a real or simulated extension project, including objectives, activities, timeline, budget, and M&E indicators. (12h)
• Practical 3: Facilitation and Presentation — Learners facilitate a short group discussion and deliver a 10-minute presentation on an extension topic, receiving constructive feedback. (8h)
• Practical 4: Digital Content Creation — Learners create a social media post, a short video, and a simple infographic for an extension message, then evaluate each other’s work. (8h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total

Component	Out of	Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored)	100%	30%
Daily Average (multiple choice)	100%	20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice)	100%	50%
Final Total	—	100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

How it works

• Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
• Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
• You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
• If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.

Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates	Discount
5	3% off
10	6% off
15	9% off
20	12% off
25	15% off
30	18% off
50	30% off
75	35% off
100	40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.