Media development: An evaluation of five capacity strengthening projects. Research Report
Abstract
This research report articulates BBC Media Action’s evolving approach to capacity strengthening within the media development sector. It shares findings from the recent evaluation of five different capacity-strengthening interventions in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Nepal and the Palestinian Territories.
Central to our capacity strengthening approach is an embedded mentoring model, where local mentors spend extended periods embedded within a media organisation to support the production of programme outputs and to ensure that skills and knowledge gained from this process become ingrained in individual and organisational practice. Our findings broadly support the effectiveness of this model across the four, inter-related levels at which we work: audience, practitioner, organisation and the wider media system. But a number of long term challenges remain – political, financial and institutional - which will need to be addressed in order to secure sustainable change. The report concludes with concrete recommendations for the media development sector as it seeks to improve the systematic evaluation of its capacity strengthening initiatives.
Citation
Parkyn, R.; Whitehead, S. Media development: An evaluation of five capacity strengthening projects. Research Report. BBC Media Action, London, UK (2016) 72 pp.