The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative

After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. 

Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future. 

On the transfer, co-founder Victoria Martin expressed her pleasure to see this work continue under Wits' leadership, knowing that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction. 

As Wits, we honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades and look forward building from that strong base. This includes co-founders Warren Feek (1953-2024) and Victoria Martin as well as La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA), which continues independently at lainiciativadecomunicacion.com with links to The CI Global site. We are also eager to forge new partnerships and entertain new ideas as we consider how best to contribute to social and behaviour change in our rapidly evolving environment.

If you are joining the International Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Summit in Panama, please join Wits and CILA on Monday, 22 June, to share your thoughts and suggestion for the relaunch of the Communication Initiative. We will be in Pacifica 5 from 12-1:25 for the Refuel, Reflect, and Renew Lunch Series: The Communication Initiative: celebrating a driving force for Communication for Social Change and the way forward. We will reflect on the legacy of Warren Feek and family in creating the Communication Initiative, consider the contributions of CI over the years and then turn our attention towards the future in this dynamic session. 

If you are unable to join us in Panama, we still want to hear from you. Please contribute your thoughts by following this link: https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026 or reaching out to ci_surveys@commint.com. 

You can also follow the QR Code:

 https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026

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Impact Data - Click It or Ticket - North Carolina, USA

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Date
Practices
As a direct result of the Click It or Ticket campaign, the average seat-belt usage rate in North Carolina jumped from 65 percent to over 80 percent in the first six months of the program, and currently stands at 84 percent. The dramatic increase in seat-belt usage has led to a 14 percent reduction in fatal and serious highway injuries and a corresponding savings of $125 million in health care-related costs since the programme began in 1993. The decrease in the number and severity of auto injuries also resulted in a $33 million reduction in insurance premiums paid to North Carolina auto insurers.

When the communication was withdrawn and the enforcement left in place, seat belt use dropped dramatically. Once the communication component was restored, compliance went back up.

Attitudes
Survey results showed that, of those who knew about the programme, 57 percent said that it had made them buckle up more often; 86 percent of all of those surveyed said that they favored programmes to increase seat belt use.
Access
Results from a telephone survey taken after the first year of the Click It or Ticket programme indicated that 76 percent of North Carolina citizens were aware of stepped-up enforcement of belt use and child restraint laws. Of those that knew about the programme, 88 percent said they specifically knew about the belt use checkpoints.
Other Impacts
Because of the Click It or Ticket's system of checkpoints throughout the state, law enforcement officials have discovered more than 56,000 other auto-related criminal offences since the programme's start, including stolen vehicles, felony drug violations, illegal firearms, and fugitives from justice. During a three-week period of the first year, police officers discovered 1,829 driving while intoxicated (DWI) violations and 2,043 drivers with revoked licenses. Funds generated as a result of these offenses and the more than 200,000 seat belt citations, which amounted to $1.6 million after the first year alone, go to benefit local public schools across the state.
Source
Social Marketing Institute webite.