The Arena Model as a Basis for Communication Strategy Formulation for the National Development Plan

The National Development Plan (NDP) is South Africa’s most recent socioeconomic development plan. Regardless of its positive goals, it has been met with some scepticism, specifically from political stakeholders. Strategic communication is necessary for reducing the resistance to change that often comes with the introduction of a new economic plan. An effective communication strategy would therefore be needed for the implementation of the NDP. The purpose of this study is to use Aula and Mantere’s Arena Model (which proposes eight possible communication strategies an organisation could use) to determine the most effective communication strategy for the NDP. To do so, the researcher conducted a discourse analysis (supplemented by thematic and summative content analysis) of the discourse surrounding the NDP to determine the communication strategy best suited for it. The researcher analysed three sets of data: Parliament Hansards (596), newspaper articles (1625) and semi-structured interviews (10) in which members of the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) were consulted. The study concluded that based on Aula and Mantere’s (Strategic reputation management: towards a company of good. Routledge, New York, 2008) Arena Model, the NDP falls into the “offense” arena and should use a “champion” strategy which would entail the identification and communication of the unifying aspects of the NDP, among other things.