community radio monitoring handbook1

COMMUNITY

RADIO

MONITORING

Framwork

Syed Tamjid ur Rahman, ChangeMaker

April, 2010

Prepared for

Bangladesh NGOs Network for

Radio and Communication

www.bnnrc.net

Supported by

Article19

Introduction: ________________________________________________________________ 9

What is CR? Formal definition in CR policy __________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Definition – Community Radio: _____________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Conceptions of Community in the Community Radio ________________________________________ 10

Models of Community Radio ____________________________________________________________ 11

Different between CR and other media __________________________________________ 12

Difference between Community Radio and other Radios: ____________________________________ 13

Basis of Comparison: ______________________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Different Radios __________________________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Role of Community Radio _______________________________________________________________ 12

Rational: _____________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Purpose for A Monitoring Handbook ______________________________________________________ 14

Applications of M&E ___________________________________________________________________ 30

Internal and External Applications ___________________________________________________________________ 30 Knowledge Capital ________________________________________________________________________________ 30 Transparency and Accountability ____________________________________________________________________ 30

Objective of the CR Monitoring Hand Book ________________________________________________ 14

Methodology __________________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.

monitoring of Community Radio________________________________________________ 17

CR Monitoring Framework (CRMF) _______________________________________________________ 18

The Design of the Community Radio Monitoring System _____________________________________ 19

Main Stakeholders in Monitoring _________________________________________________________ 20

Demand Side ____________________________________________________________________________________ 20 Supply Side: _____________________________________________________________________________________ 26

The five-step approach to monitoring and evaluation _______________________________________ 20

Steps of Monitoring ____________________________________________________________________ 19

Conclusion _________________________________________________________________ 30

Understanding Readiness __________________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined. Three Main Parts of the Readiness __________________________________________________________________ 31

1. Incentives and Demands for Designing and Building M&E System ____________________________________ 31 2. Roles and Responsibilities and Existing Structures for Assessing _____________________________________ 31 3. Capacity Building Requirements for the System ___________________________________________________ 32

Recommendation ___________________________________________________________ 33

Sample Code of Conduct ______________________________________________________ 33

Content Analysis : content analysis is a summarizing, quantitative analysis of

messages that relies on the scientific method (including

attention to objectivity, inter-subjectivity, a priori design,

reliability, validity, generalizability, replicability, and

hypothesis testing) and is not limited as to the types of

variables that may be measured or the context in which the

messages are created or presented

Balance sheet : A summary of a station's assets and liabilities

Commercial : Paid advertising announcement; spot

Copywriter : One who writes commercial or promotional copy

Cost Per Thousand

(CPM or Cost Per Mil)

: Estimate of how much it costs an advertiser to reach 1,000

listeners

Demographics Audience statistical data pertaining to age, sex, race, income,

and so forth

Ethnic Programming for minority group audiences

FM Frequency

Modulation

Method of signal transmission using 88-108 MHz band

Frequency Number of cycles-per-second of a sine wave

Licensee Individual or company holding license issued by the

Government for broadcast purposes

Live copy Material read over air; not prerecorded

Persons using radio

(PUR)

Measurement of the number of persons listening to stations

in a market

Market Area served by a broadcast facility; ADI

PSA Public Service Announcement; noncommercial message

Psychographics Research term dealing with listener personality, such as

attitude, behavior, values, opinions, and beliefs

Rate card Statement of advertising fees and terms

Rating Measurement of the total available audience

Reach Measurement of how many different members of an

audience will be exposed to a message

Remote Broadcast originating away from station control room

Signal Sound transmission; RF.

Signature Theme; aural logo, jingle, ID.

Sponsor Advertiser; client, account, underwriter

Spots Commercials; paid announcements

Station log Document containing specific operating information

Stringer Field or on-scene reporter; freelance reporter

Talk Conversation and interview radio format

Total Survey Area

(TSA)

Geographic area in radio survey

Media monitoring and analysis service– A firm that aggregates information

gathered by traditional and social media content providers, using its software

to compile and analyze that information – sometimes further refined by human

analysts. The resulting media intelligence is packaged according to client

specifications and delivered to those clients in a timely fashion, i.e., as close to

real-time as possible. Organizations use this media intelligence to determine

what is being said – positive or negative – about the organization itself, its

brand, or an issue that can affect it. Among other things, media monitoring and

analysis can help organizations track publicity campaigns, discover the nature

and extent of various social trends, and obtain insight on how media and other

opinion leaders are responding to their products and messages.

Prominence refers to the attention a story on an organization, brand, issue,

message, etc. gets in the media. It can be measured by a number of factors that

measure the quantity and quality of media coverage, including type of media,

extent (of coverage), share of voice, story size or length, placement, media

circulation or audience share, media relevance (to the organization's audience),

story treatment, use of visuals, type of coverage, etc.

Media type – the type of media – daily newspaper, blog, television station,

community newspaper, business publication, etc. – covering the story.

Scope – the geographical area the media reach, including national, provincial,

regional, and specifically defined and selected areas.

Share of voice – the organization's share of media attention in the total

coverage of a product, issue, industry, cause, etc. This information can

contribute to competitive intelligence studies.

Story size/length – the space the story occupies in print media (half a page, 400

lines, a tiny mention, etc.), the time (10 seconds, one minute, etc.) devoted to

it in broadcast media, and the space/time it earns in new media.

Placement – where the story was placed in the media. In print, it could range

from the front page to page 52 or in the sports or world news section. In

broadcast, placement is where the story was aired in the newscast (lead story,

story number five, etc.) In new media, it could refer to the space it occupies on

a blog, the number of mentions on Twitter, etc.

Circulation/share – the total number of copies of a publication delivered to

print audiences (media circulation). Audience share is the percentage of

listeners or viewers within a defined market of listeners/viewers who are tuned

in to a broadcast outlet. For more information, see print circulation as well as

listenership/viewership below.

Media relevance – the criteria that determine the relevance of a specific

medium to the organization's target audience. This can be assessed by how

closely the composition of the media audience – demographics and/or

psychographics – matches that of the organization's audience.

Story treatment – how a story is treated in the media. It could be a cover story,

a running story earning coverage day after day, a one-shot mention, or a story

earning multiple mentions in one issue, one broadcast or one Twitter day. (See

related articles)

Use of visuals – information on the content and placement of such visuals as

photographs

Type of coverage – the context in which an item is presented in the media

(news, opinion/commentary, community service, etc) It can be further

identified as an editorial, news story, blog post, news brief, bumper, letter to

the editor, comment to a blog post, etc.

Tone or sentiment measures how a person, group, organization, or issue is

portrayed in the media. Tone is normally categorized as positive, neutral or

negative, with various degrees of negative and positive tones. (Toning can be

enhanced when a human analyst – able to recognize sarcasm, irony, and

various human quirks – serves as a filter.)

Message fidelity delivers information on how well the message conveyed by

the media matched the message or messages the organization wanted to

communicate.

Content and nature of quotes – an amalgamation of what was said/printed in

the media, who was quoted in the story, including the quotes themselves as

well as the source – media, organizational spokesperson, and/or third party.

Impact is determined by measuring how prominence is amplified by tone

and/or message fidelity. For example, a positive front page story – with an

accompanying large flattering photo and multiple spokesperson and third-party

quotes delivering the desired messages – in a daily newspaper reaching an

audience that matches that of the organization could be judged to have a high

impact. While impact evaluation processes for social media are ever-evolving,

one such measurement revolves around engagement.

Engagement – a measurement of the nature and extent of audience

engagement through two-way conversations, the sharing of information, and

other interactions such as subscribership. Included in this measurement are

such considerations as reach and tone delivered by blog posts and comments,

link backs, tweets, and re-tweets.

Audiences and measurement

Demographics refers to the social and economic characteristics of a group of

households or individuals. Commonly used demographics include age, gender,

mother tongue, employment, and household income. Psychographics describe

audiences through personality traits, interests, lifestyles, attitudes, etc.

Reach refers to the number of audience members who potentially receive a

message. Most reach measures use circulation/audience share figures.

Frequency measures the number of times (within a specific period) an audience

potentially receives a message.

Impressions tally the total number of times the potential audience (including

duplications) was exposed to a message within a specific period. This is

calculated by multiplying the number of people who potentially received it

(reach) by the number of times (frequency) they potentially were exposed to it.

The use of the word "potential" is key as this type of measurement deals only

with those who might have heard something – not with those who actually

heard it, understood it, or acted upon it.

Portable People Meters (PPMs) are pager-sized, rechargeable monitoring pods

worn by respondents. When an audio code embedded in radio station signals is

detected, the unit captures the time of viewing. Tuning information is

downloaded nightly to a central audience collection point.

Listenership – data on listeners (radio) including the size of the cumulative

audience, the number of listeners as a quarter-hour average, the average hours

tuned by listeners, and the audience share in a particular market. This

information is available by specific demographic groups (age, gender, etc.)

Central area – a defined geographical area assigned to stations for reporting

purposes. All stations in a market share the same central area.

Full Coverage Area –includes all areas where respondents’ meters or diaries

indicate listenership to a station. Stations in the same markets have different

full coverage areas.

Cumulative Audience (cumes) – the number of different people listening to a

station for at least 15 minutes during a specified period of time (usually weekly)

Central reach refers to the estimated number of different listeners within the

central market area, while full coverage reach includes the estimated number

of different viewers anywhere in the country.

Quarter Hour Average – average number of listeners tuned to a station in any

quarter hour in a given time period. It is determined by adding all the individual

quarter hour audiences and dividing by the number of quarter hours involved.

Average Minute Audience (AMA) – a ratings system, that provides information

on the average number of listeners in this time period.

Audience or Market Share – the percentage of those people listening to radio

who are tuned to a particular station at a particular time

• Individual station audience x 100 = Audience Share

• Total Radio Audience

Average Hours Tuned – average number of hours people listen to a station

during a weekly period. It is determined by dividing the total number of hours

tuned by the number of listeners.

Metrics and analytics

Metrics and analytics are terms used to describe measurements, evaluations,

and interpretations of statistics and correlating them with business and public

relations objectives. Some use the terms interchangeably while others use only

one or the other. Some make a distinction between the two, using metrics for

measurements of statistics and analytics for interpretation and analysis of

those metrics, including the ultimate evaluation of whether or not outcome

objectives were met.

Content measures are evaluations of how content – facts, opinions, messages,

etc. about an organization, issue, or topic – is accessed, adapted, shared, and

amplified on a site or sites or across the web.

Conversation measures study online conversations (tweets, blog posts and

comments, link backs, etc.) related to an organization, issue, etc. The

conversation may be measured by quantity, tone/sentiment, message fidelity,

etc. One such content measure is the conversation index or conversation rate,

created by dividing the total number of posts by the number of relevant

comments and trackbacks. Sometimes, this measurement evaluates the

prominence and sphere of influence enjoyed by those participating in a

relevant conversation. Some go even further, connecting those conversations

to an organization's objectives relating to knowledge or awareness, attitudes

towards the organization, and desired behaviors.

Outcome measures are used to evaluate how content measures correlate with

outcome objectives.

Web Metrics

Page views is a count of the number of times a page was viewed. This includes

duplications.

Traffic sources – how visitors get to a site or page on a site. They may arrive

directly or through a referring site or search engine.

Unique visits adds up the number of individual people who visited a site within

a specified period of time used for reporting purposes.

New visitors – the number of unique visitors who access any page on a site –

via a web browser – for the first time

Repeat visitors – the number of unique visitors who make two or more visits to

a site.

Return visitors – the number of unique visitors who return to a site after the

initial visit.

Visit duration – the length of time visitors spend on a page or a site.

Conversation reach – the number of unique visitors who took part in a

conversation. Tone/sentiment analysis is not included.

Bounce rates – statistics on those visitors who remain on a site for five seconds

or less or those who visit only one page of a site.

Supplementary terms

Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) is the amount in dollars a story would cost

if it appeared as paid advertising. It is determined by multiplying the

size/length of the story by the advertising rate for the relevant publication or

station.

Benchmark refers to a point of reference for measuring coverage of an issue or

campaign. It's a standard or yardstick used when measuring progress in a

campaign.

Clip count refers to the total number of stories that mention a client company,

product or campaign.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to access control methods that limit

usage of digital content to protect publishers and copyright holders.

Issue refers to any subject or topic that is being tracked and analyzed. For an

issue to earn media coverage, it usually is a public issue, i.e., a problem,

opportunity, question, or choice faced by or greatly affecting society or some

segment of society.

Omnibus issues monitoring/analysis is undertaken by a group of noncompeting

organizations who share the cost of gathering media intelligence on a situation

or issue.

Related articles are those that relate to the main story. It may be a sidebar with

a human interest angle, another (perhaps opposite) point of view, an editorial,

etc.

Syndicated issues tracking is a service provided to individual subscribers who all

receive the same information on media coverage of a situation or issue.

COMMUNITY RADIO

MONITORING HANDBOOK

INTRODUCTION: “One doesn’t have to be a Marxist to tell that large media conglomerates and

transnational companies are disconnected from the lives of communities

where they operate from. Worse still, the much talked about ‘Digital

revolution’ in the contested topography of the ‘information society’ has

resulted in new forms of cyber-capitalism and digital divides. Contrary to this,

community radio provides a framework, not only to re-engage those

communities which exist on the periphery, but also gives a chance for civic

transformation, participatory democracy and mutuality. Community Radio is a

counterpoise to the egotistical profit driven media accountable to their own

selves.1”

Community radio is defined in the policy as ‘a medium that gives a voice to the

voiceless, serves as mouthpiece of the marginalized and is central to

communication and democratic processes within societies’2. Community Radio

is generally a broadcasting system established

by the efforts of a specific community,

operated by the community for the purpose of

the community’s welfare. It is, therefore, a type

of radio service that caters to the interests of a

certain area, broadcasting content that is

popular to a local audience and is often

overlooked by commercial or mass-media

broadcasters. Community radio stations serve

the local community listeners by offering a

variety of content that is not necessarily

provided by the larger commercial radio stations. Community radio outlets

often provide news and information programming geared toward the local

area, particularly focusing on the marginalized groups such as religious or

cultural minority groups that are poorly served by other major media outlets.

The policy outlines the Community Radio as “A non-profit service will be in

charge of ‘Community Radio’ broadcasting activities. It should be owned by a

particular community, usually through a trust, foundation, or association. Its

aim is to serve and benefit that community. It is, in effect, a from of public-

1 Saima Saeed, Community Radio: Policies, Power and Possibilities, Lecturer, Jamia Millia Islamia,

New Delhi 2 Community Radio Installation, Broadcast and Operation Policy 2008

•a community is a group of people living in proximity within defined borders such as a village or neighborhood

Geographical definitions

•a community is defined less by presence in a particular physical space than by real or imagined commonalities of identity, aspiration and/or values

Social psychological definitions

•emphasize commonalities of culture, kinship, religious affinity, social structure and values, together with living in a particular place.

Sociological and Anthropological definitions

service broadcasting, but it serves a community rather than the whole nation,

as is the usual form of public broadcasting described above. Moreover, it relies

and must rely mainly on the resources of the community.3”

COMMUNITY IN THE COMMUNITY RA DIO A community is a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific

locality, share government and often have a common cultural and historical

heritage. The term ‘community’ obscures many complexities. ‘Community has

been defined in many different ways. Geographical definitions emphasize that

a community is a group of people living in proximity within defined borders

such as a village or neighborhood. Social psychological definitions emphasize

that a community is defined less by presence in a particular physical space than

by real or imagined commonalities of identity, aspiration and/or values.

Sociological and anthropological definitions emphasize commonalities of

culture, kinship, religious affinity, social structure and values, together with

living in a particular place.

Within communities, there are important differences in status, wealth and

power. In fact, the term ‘community’ often implies a level of homogeneity that

does not exist. A community

frequently consists of multiple sub-

groups that differ according to

religion, socio-economic status and

ethnicity and some groups may wield

much more power and influence than

others do. In such contexts,

communities may decide to establish

community radio that reduces the

inequities that already exist within the

community. Even if the groups include members of different sub-groups, their

participation may be symbolic and their influence may be limited.

Communities in Community Radio are often a contentious and tricky debate

and will vary from country to country. Community may also often be replaced

3 Community Radio Installation, Broadcast and Operation Policy 2008

by a range of terms like "alternative", "radical", or "citizen" radio. Although

traditionally in sociology, a "community" has been defined as a group of

interacting people living in a common location, community radio is often built

around concepts of access and participation and so the term community may

be thought of as often referring to geographical communities based around the

possible reach of the radio's signal, i.e. the people who can receive the

message, and their potential to participate in the creation of such messages.

This pose the challenge in defining the community appropriately for the fact

that many community radio stations now broadcast over the internet as well,

thereby reaching potentially global audiences and communities.

According to the government policy “A ‘Community’ is considered to be a

group of people who share common characteristics and/or interests such as

sharing a single geographical location i.e. a specific town, village, or

neighborhood; sharing of economic and social life through trade, marketing,

exchange of goods and services.4”

MODELS OF COMMUNITY RADIO Philosophically two distinct approaches to community radio can be discerned,

though the models are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

• One stresses service or community-mindedness, a focus on what the

station can do for the community.

• The other stresses involvement and participation by the listener.

Within the service model localism is often prized, as community radio, as a

third tier, can provide content focused on a more local or particular community

than larger operations. Sometimes, though, the provision of syndicated content

that is not already available within the station's service area is seen as a

desirable form of service.

Within the access or participatory model, the participation of community

members in producing content is seen as a good in itself. While this model does

not necessarily exclude a service approach, there is a tension between the two,

as outlined, for example, in Jon Bekken's Community Radio at the Crossroads5.

Community media, according to Kevin Howley6, are distinguished from their

commercial and public service counterparts in three fundamental ways. First,

community media provide local populations with access to the instruments of

media production and distribution. Second, the organizational culture of

community media stresses volunteerism over professionalism and promotes

participatory management, governance and decision-making. Third, and

perhaps most significantly, community media reject market-oriented

approaches to communicative practices and are philosophically committed to

4 Community Radio Installation, Broadcast and Operation Policy 2008

5 Bekken, Jon. "Community Radio at the Crossroads: Federal Policy and the Professionalization of a

Grassroots Medium" in Sakolsky, Ron and S. Dunifer (eds.) Seizing the Airwaves: A Free Radio

Handbook. 6 Howley, K. (2002) Communication, Culture and Community: Towards A Cultural Analysis of

Community Media. The Qualitative Report, Volume 7, Number 3

nurturing mutually supportive, collaborative, and enduring communal

relations7.

In sum, community media play a vital, though largely unacknowledged role in

preserving democratic forms of communication, defending local cultural

autonomy, promoting civil society, and rebuilding a sense of community.

Community media as a development device

ROLE OF COMMUNITY RADIO Community radio is primarily an alternative media that can act as a

countervailing force to the politically motivated state media and profit-motive

corporate media. Community radio facilitates the empowerment of people

with their active participation in the process and not merely as passive

listeners. Community radio promotes people’s agenda first such as local

knowledge, cultures, human rights and social justice, environmental issues and

community problems as well as the issues related to development, community

radio can raise voices against human rights violation, oppression, promote

human rights situation, the practice of democracy and promote improved

governance through transparent and accountable relation building among

citizens and in the society.

Therefore, community radio helps create knowledge, preserve knowledge,

disseminate knowledge and apply knowledge for the advancement of the

community. It helps build a knowledge society, establishes human rights,

empowers community to raise voices and develop a pluralistic society.8

COMMUNITY RADIO AND OTHER MEDIA Globally there are three tier radio systems, i.e.

1. Public Service Broadcasting

2. Commercial Broadcasting

7 Devine, R. H. (1991) Marginal notes: Consumer video, the first amendment and the future of

access. Community Television Review, 14(2), 8-11. 8 A form of society which is made up of people from different ethnic, religious and cultural

backgrounds, a society which embraces minority groups and is tolerant towards them

•Community Empowerment

•Human Rights

•Pluralism•Knowledge Society

Knowledge Creation

Knowledge Preservation

Knowledge Dissemination

Knowledge Utilization

3. Community Broadcasting

Public service broadcasting usually public sector broadcast system aimed for

publicity of the government. It covers national issues according to

government’s priority. The peripheral or rural people eventually ignored in this

kind of media. A nationwide consensus building or reconstruction of public

consent is being propagated by public service broadcast. In commercial

broadcasting system profit is the ultimate goal. Enterprises established radio

for earning money by advertisement. So, the outreach becomes more isolated

and peripheral. Community radio is a broadcast system owned, operated and

broadcast by the community people. CR covers local issues. National and

international issues also cover in line with community interests. It creates an

environment of promoting local knowledge, cultural heritage, custom, practice

and values. Usually low power FM transmitters used for broadcasting in CR for

the specific area. Community motivation and participation are two powerful

things which make CR different from traditional media system.

DIFFERENC E BETWEEN COMMUNITY RADI O AND OTHER

RADIOS The differences of community radio and other radio can be made on the basis

of the following criteria9:

Therefore, using the criteria the following can be determined:

9 Ref: Radio Pledge, Mr. Raghu Mainali

Approach Ownership Audience

Responsibility Style Goal

Government Radio

Bureaucratic

Government

Passive

Towards Government

Formal

Propaganda

Commercial Radio

Market Driven

Private

Carefree

Towards Owners

Artificial

Profit

Community Radio

Participatory

Collective

Active/Participant

Towards Society

Natural/informal

Collective Welfare

Basis of Comparison

Approach

Ownership

Audience

Responsibility

Style

Goal

These criteria make the monitoring framework of a community radio quite

different that other radio.

PURPOSE FOR A MONI TORING HANDBOOK FOR

COMMUNITY RADIO Community Radio is a new media in Bangladesh context. This is the first time in

history, a community driven broadcasting system is about to air programs

which contain voices of the voiceless people.

There is a mind-set that media should be

monitored to make it accountable or controlled.

In case of CR, the intention is not putting control

over its operation but to ensure its effective

operation. The monitoring framework is aimed to

assist CR from the beginning to be an effective

medium for community people as mentioned in

the policy. A handbook of monitoring is needed

to address issues related license, establishment,

planning, operation, content management,

production, broadcast and evaluation. Community people don’t have practical

knowledge and expertise for operating CR in this moment. A practical guideline

could help them for smooth operation on CR station. On the supply side, this

handbook will cover issues related to efficient role-play of the policy maker and

implementer as well.

Monitoring and evaluation are important for two main reasons.

For learning and development

• Help assess how well interventions are doing and help make it better.

It is about asking what has happened and why, what is and what is not

working.

• It is about using evaluation to learn more about an organization’s

activities, and then using what has been learnt.

• For accountability - to show others that the interventions are effective

• Funders and other sponsors want to know whether a project has spent

its money in the right way. There is pressure from funders to provide

them with ‘proof’ of success. Many projects have to respond to this

demand in order to survive.

OBJECTIV E OF THE CR MONITORING HAND BOOK Community Radio Monitoring Handbook will address both the issues for

stakeholders and policy implementer. In the same time it will consider the

general audience for ensuring more listener-focused broadcasting system. CR

initiators are getting preparation for establishing stations. The proposed

handbook will offer the ground rules for fair play. Editorial guidelines, ethics,

aesthetic, national interests, development agenda, local issues, national

integration, code of conducts and many more issues are there to consider

before starting CR station. A comprehensive work plan is required to prepare

beforehand. The handbook could be a guiding force for initiators, government

and general audience as well.

WHAT IS MONITORING AND

EVALUATION? The term monitoring is primarily used for collecting information to help answer

questions about progress of activity or program. It is a planned, organised and

a routine process to understand and appreciate the activity or project more

concretely and help evaluate its performance and provide constructive

feedback for improvement.

On the other hand, the term evaluation is primarily used for applying the

monitoring information to make judgments about activity or program and

make changes and improvements.

The OECD (2002a) defines monitoring and evaluation as follows:

Monitoring is a continuous function that uses the systematic collection of data on

specified indicators to provide management and the main stakeholders of an ongoing

development intervention with indications of the extent of progress and achievement of

objectives and progress in the use of allocated funds.

Evaluation is the systematic and objective assessment of an ongoing or completed

project, program, or policy, including its design, implementation, and results. The aim is

to determine the relevance and fulfillment of objectives, development efficiency,

effectiveness, impact, and sustainability. An evaluation should provide information that

is credible and useful, enabling the incorporation of lessons learned into the decision-

making process of both recipients and donors.

It is evident that both monitoring and evaluation are distinct yet

complementary. Monitoring gives information on where a policy, program, or

project is at any given time (and over time) relative to respective targets and

outcomes. It is descriptive in intent. Evaluation gives evidence of why policies,

targets and outcomes are or are not being achieved. It seeks to address issues

of causality. Of particular emphasis here is the expansion of the traditional

M&E function to focus explicitly on compliance, outcomes and impacts of

community radio.

Evaluation is a complement to monitoring in that when a monitoring system

sends signals that the efforts are going off track (for

example, that the target population is not

approving the services, that policy compliance are

meeting standards, that there is weakness in

operation and management as agreed upon, and so

forth), then good evaluative information can help

clarify the realities and trends noted with the

monitoring system. For example, If performance

information is presented by itself (in isolation)

without the context and benefit of program

evaluation, there is a danger of program managers, regulators, legislators... and

others drawing incorrect conclusions regarding the cause of improvements or

declines in certain measures. Simply looking at trend data usually cannot tell us

how effective the program interventions are.

COMPLEMENTARY ROLES OF MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Monitoring Evaluation

Clarifies program objectives Analyzes why intended results were or were

not achieved

Links activities and their resources to objectives Assesses specific causal contributions of

activities to results

Translates objectives into performance

indicators and sets targets Examines implementation process

Routinely collects data on these indicators,

compares actual results with targets Explores unintended results

Reports progress to managers and alerts them

to problems

Provides lessons, highlights significant

accomplishment or program potential, and

offers recommendations for improvement

Evaluation, therefore, can be defined as an assessment, as systematic and

objective as possible, of a planned, ongoing, or completed intervention. The

aim is to determine the relevance of objectives, efficiency, effectiveness,

impact, and sustainability so as to incorporate lessons learned into the

decision-making process. Specifically, this kind of evaluation addresses: “why”

questions, that is, what caused the changes being monitored; “how” questions,

or what was the sequence or process that led to successful (or unsuccessful)

outcomes; and “compliance and accountability” questions, that is, did the

promised activities actually take place and as planned?

The monitoring without the intervention framework or logic does not provide

required information for decision-making. Therefore, it is important to

understand the intervention logic – its goal, outcome, output, activities and

inputs. The following diagram provides an overview of a typical program

intervention logic of a CR.

The above intervention logic can now become the framework for monitoring

and evaluation and provide information as to where the problem originated

and how it has impacted the overall performance of the intervention.

MONITORING COMMUNITY RADIOS For monitoring the community radio, the Community Radio Policy (CRP) will

become the primary guiding tool. Along with the CRP, the other broadcast

related laws, policies and directives can also become useful in the monitoring

mechanism. To monitor the CRs, it is important to categorize and understand

the functions of CR that they are expected to do. Based on the CR Policy, the

following broad categories of functions can be determined:

FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNITY RA DIO

As per the community radio policy, the total responsibilities and functions

performed by a Community Radio Initiator are about 44. These functions can

be broadly categorized under three major heads

• Compulsory Functions

Regulatory Function

•Roles which must be carried out under policy

Obligatory Function

•Roles which must be carried out under legal, social and moral conditions

Optional Function

•Roles which may be carried out for improved performance, but are not legally bound

Inputs

Station Management Information collectionResponsible Broadcasting

FundsCommunity Participants

Activities

Launch radio campaign to educate community Link service providers with the community

OutputsUpdates of Community

Development

Accessing Government

services

Knowledge about rights

Increased access to services

Increased incomeIncreased quality

of life

Outcome

Improved level of awanress on development issues, rights, and services

Goal

Improve livlihood and quality of life of rural people through knowledge and inforamtion

• Transferred Function

• Optional Functions

1. Compulsory Functions: are the functions that a CR must carry out and

reports to the relevant authority. There are 5 compulsory Functions:

i. Regulatory responsibilities

a. Technical responsibilities

b. Broadcasting responsibility

ii. Operational functions: According to the regulation, CRs

form community committees, hold regular meetings, fix

up rules & regulation and conditions of their roles

iii. Revenue and Administration functions: Help CR to collect

revenue, keep records, collect and maintenance

information. Also help CR employee who is responsible

for the same.

iv. Community Development functions: CRs are responsible

for social, cultural, economic and political development

2. Transferred Functions: are the functions that a CR is given by

authorities on special occasions. These functions become Compulsory

functions when assigned such as broadcasting, relaying or re-

broadcast nationally important and relevant programs of Bangladesh

Betar (Radio) including Special program such as address of the

president, prime minister, special program of national days

celebrations and weather bulletin.

3. Optional Functions: are the functions that are performed by the CR

initiators to improve their operation and achieving the overall goal of

the CR and community development such as broadcasting issues on

children or women issues,

CR MONITORING FRAMEWORK (CRMF) The monitoring and performance framework, performance goals and indicators

of CR programs can be reviewed on the basis of the knowledge and information

demand and supply status of a community or a community radio operation

• Overall ‘knowledge and information’ application area

• Knowledge and information suppliers (CR Initiator),

• Knowledge and information customers (Community)

Each category can be matched with the overall goal that program interventions

are trying to achieve:

• Outreach or scale: number of community people reached

• Access: the effort to provide services to people not served by existing

media;

• Sustainability: CR knowledge and information provider (CR Initiators)

• Efficiency: cost-effectiveness of program activities

• Benefits: Impact on Community

Agreeing on Outcomes to Monitor and

Evaluate

Selecting Key Indicators to

Monitor Outcomes

Baseline Data on Indicators

Planning for Improvement -

Selecting Results Targets

Monitoring for Improvements

The Role of Evaluations

Reporting Findings Using FindingsSustaining the M&E System

Government/

Regulatory

Authorities

CR Initiator Targeted Community

Improved

economic

and social

conditions

Service delivery &

change in

operational

practice

Increase in service

availability and

quality to

beneficiaries

Increase in use and

benefits derived

from the services

received

Improved quality

of life and

livelihood

performance

Program strategies,

rationale, and targets will

be the primary focus

The primary focus will on the

penetration, interventions,

quality of service, outreach,

access, volume of service

Income, employment, satisfaction,

growth of economic ventures,

quality of life, health, education,

etc

Employment, growth of

business, literacy rate,

gender issues, supply

chain, etc

THE DESI GN OF THE COMMUNITY RADIO MONI TORING

SYSTEM The design is the important and critical element in the monitoring mechanism.

The primary design of the community radio is provided by the government in

the community radio guideline. A good monitoring system would have the

following elements:

STEPS OF MONITORING Before establishment of CR station, the initiator or representative of the

community is obliged to apply for license. The eligibility criterion, technical

specification, content selection, priority of content, management process,

operation, program planning and production, quality participation of

community, accountability to the listener, financial management, human

resource management, impact of broadcasting, these are few issues should

prioritized logically. The steps of monitoring will differ from user specific needs.

Initially there are two sets of users. They are demand side users and another is

supply side user. Monitoring steps will be designed for each group and sub-

groups.

THE FIVE-STEP APPROAC H TO M ONITORING AND EVALUATION

The community radio regulator as well as the initiators has to be clear about

what they are trying to achieve and need to develop specific aims and

objectives. This is increasingly important for government, other agencies and

for community people.

There are many approaches to evaluation. The approach this handbook

describes is a model of self-evaluation that recognizes this emphasis on aims

and objectives.

MAIN STAKEHOLDERS IN MONITORING

DEM AND S IDE

1. MoI and three committees

a. National regulatory Committee

b. Technical Sub-committee

c. Central Monitoring Committee

2. Local Police Station

3. CSO/ Community/ NGO

4. Community

SUPPLY S IDE

Demand SideMinistry of Information

National Regulatory Committee

Technical Sub-committee

Central Monitoring Committee

Local Police Station

CSO/ Community/ NGO

Community

Supply Side

CR Management Committee

Local Advisory Committee

CR Station Initiator

1. CR Management Committee

2. Local Advisory Committee

3. CR Station Initiator

CR Management

Committee

Local Advisory

Committee

CR Station

Initiator

Ministry of Information ☑ ☑ ☑

National Regulatory

Committee ☑ ☑ ☑

Technical Sub-committee ☑ ☑ ☑

Central Monitoring Committee ☑ ☑ ☑

Local Police Station ☑ ☑ ☑

CSO/ NGO ☑ ☑ ☑

Community People ☑ ☑ ☑

THE MONITORING CRITERIA The Community Radio Policy of Bangladesh is quite extensive and covers

almost all the issues of technical, administrative, operational aspects of

Community Radio. Although, it may be argued that if such a comprehensive

policy is at all required at the nascent stage, however, the policy can effectively

help shape the growth of community radio in Bangladesh and help achieve the

objectives more effectively and efficiently.

The following monitoring criteria has been developed based on the Community

Radio Policy to effectively understand the

Policy Compliance Compliance Issues Who When Format

Section 5.1 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• Coverage of the Community Radio Station will for a

range of 17 km from its centre.

• Maximum limit for transmitter power could be 100

watts.

• BTRC

• Technical Sub Committee

• Vendor

Quarterly Policy

Section 5.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• Keeping the antenna tower’s height from ground

to 32 meters subject to local geological and social

conditions

• Keeping the antenna gain under 6 DB

• BTRC


• Vendor

Quarterly Policy

Section 5.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Allocation of Frequency in FM band as per National

Frequency Allocation Plan

• BTRC


During

frequency

allocation

National

Frequency

Allocation

Plan

Section 6 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Program broadcast content • Central Monitoring Committee

• Advisory Committee

Quarterly Format-1

Section 7.2.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Promoting equity and social justice with special

priority to the marginalized communities in terms of

their race, caste, religion, physical disability and

gender

• Central Monitoring Committee


Quarterly Format-1,2

Section 7.2.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Ensuring capacity building for and within the

community through formal and / or informal training

as required



Quarterly Format

Section 7.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Evaluating (mid-term and at final) CR operation during

the two year pilot phase stage of CR operation

• Central Monitoring Committee Yearly

Demand Side Supply Side


Section 7.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Non-Transferability of CR license BTRC

Section 7.5 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• Sharing of programs among different Community

Radio Station

• Relayed or re-broadcast nationally important and

relevant programs of Bangladesh Betar (Radio)

including Special program such as address of the

president, prime minister, special program of

national days celebrations and weather bulletin



Monthly Format-1

Section 7.6 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• Program contents of the community radio

broadcast service

• Reflecting the program contents to serve the

special interests of the community



Monthly Format-1

Section 7.7 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• Ensuring community peoples’ inclusion from the

point of participation, choice and sharing.

• Ensuring the participation of community people in

program planning, implementing, operating and

evaluating



Monthly Format-2

Section 7.7.1 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Developing plans to facilitate and promote community

participation



Monthly Format-2

Section 7.7.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Broadcasting speeches of government officials at

upazilla level on development issues and policies



Monthly Format-1

Section 7.7.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Developing specific program set through community

participation on local information, events and

notifications, local culture, identity, and local language



Monthly Format-1

Section 7.7.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Reflecting local culture in program broadcast format,

subject, presentation and language of programs



Monthly Format-1

Section 7.8 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Broadcasting of local development news without

political bias



Monthly Format-1

Section 7.9.1 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Broadcasting of advertisements/ commercials related

to development services, relevant and limited to the

specified area



Monthly Format-4

Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Ensuring no influence of sponsors on the content or

the style of individual programs or the overall

programming of the Community Radio Station and its

code of conduct



Monthly Format-4

Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Complying the existing government regulations for

commercials



Monthly

Section 7.10 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Regulating or monitoring the activities of any

community radio station by any Government authority



Monthly

Section 7.11 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• Providing quarterly report to the ministry of

information

• Preservation of records of broadcasted programs

during the piloting phase



Monthly

Section 7.12 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Inspecting right of the Government or its authorized

representative regarding:

• The broadcast

• Community Radio Station setup facilities

• Collecting information in connection to public and

community interests



Monthly

Section 7.13 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

The right of the Government to take over the entire

Community Radio Station, service and network

possessed by the licensee or revoke/ terminate/

suspend/ punish the license in the interest of national

security or in the event of national emergency/ war or

low intensity conflict or in any similar type of

situations



Anytime

Section 7.14 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• The final and conclusiveness of the Government’s

decision.

• The power of the Government to direct the

licensee to broadcast any special message as may

be considered desirable to meet any contingency

arising out of natural emergency, or public interest

or natural disaster and the like

• The obligation of the licensee to comply with such

directions



Anytime

Section 7.15 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Submitting audited annual accounts and

annual report to the Government



Yearly

Section 7.16 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Consequences of failing to commission

services within the instructed period

• National Regulatory Committee


Section 7.17 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Initiatives of Government to create a Community

Radio Development Fund as supplement for the

community broadcaster’s own resources, capacity

building, improvement in quality of technology,

research & evaluation purpose, etc

MoI

Section 7.18 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Complying with all conditions decided by BTRC for the

use of frequency and radio equipment

BTRC

Section 7.19 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Non-use of tower by the private telephone operators • Central Monitoring Committee

• BTRC

Section 7.20 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• Arranging overall security of the station with armed

Ansars through own funding

• Submitting monthly report to the Government

stating if any anti-state broadcasting have been

carried out by the in-charge of concerned police

station



Section 7.21 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

The rights of the government to modify any rules or

regulations stated in the policy

in support of public welfare or for appropriate

broadcasting or for public security


Section 7.22 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

The rights of the Government to revoke the license at

any time in public interest or in case of violation of the

terms and conditions provided


Section 8.1 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Submission of recordings of broadcasted programs of

community radio station to the local authority

prescribed by the Government every month



Monthly

Section 8.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• Formation of a local advisory committee under the

UNO, Officer-In-Charge of local police stations, and

Regional director of local Radio station, Principal of

locally situated education institution

• The monitoring the community radio station

activities on a regular basis by the committee

• Submission a confidential report to the Ministry of

Information every month by the committee.



Section 8.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Providing suggestions based on the strengths and

weaknesses of the community radio station

broadcasting by the advisory committee



Section 8.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Encouraging the participation of upazila level

government officials in the community radio programs

by the advisory committee



Section 8.5 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Encouragement of producing development

advertisements / government advertisements through

community radio by the advisory committee



Section 8.6 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Provide necessary counseling service to improve the

quality of programs by the advisory committee



Section 8.7 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Supervision of the overall operation related to

Community Radio and shall inform the Ministry on a

regular basis



5. Local Advisory Committee Policy Compliance Compliance Issues Who When Format

Section 6 of

CRIBO Policy 2008



Section 7.2.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008




gender



Section 7.2.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008



as required



Section 7.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Evaluating (mid-term and at final) CR operation during

the two year pilot phase stage evaluation of CR

operation



Section 7.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Non-Transferability of CR license • Central Monitoring Committee


Section 7.5 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


Radio Station








Section 7.6 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


broadcast service





Section 7.7 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





evaluating



Section 7.7.1 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


participation



Section 7.7.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





Section 7.7.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008






Section 7.7.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





Section 7.8 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


political bias



Section 7.9.1 of

CRIBO Policy 2008



specified area



Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008




code of conduct



Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


commercials



Section 7.10 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Regulating or monitoring the activities of any

community radio station by any Government authority



Section 7.11 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


information





Section 7.12 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Inspecting right of the Government or its authorized

representative regarding:

• The broadcast

• Community Radio Station setup facilities

• Collecting information in connection to public and

community interests



Section 7.13 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

The right of the Government to take over the entire

Community Radio Station

service and network possessed by the licensee or

revoke/ terminate/ suspend/ punish the license in the

interest of national security or in the event of national

emergency/ war or low intensity conflict or in any

similar type of situations



Section 7.14 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

• The final and conclusiveness of the Government’s

decision.

• The power of the Government to direct the

licensee to broadcast any special message as may

be considered desirable to meet any contingency

arising out of natural emergency, or public interest

or natural disaster and the like

• The obligation of the licensee to comply with such

directions



Section 7.15 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





Section 7.16 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





Section 7.17 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Initiatives of Government to create a Community

Radio Development Fund as

supplement for the community broadcaster’s own

resources, capacity building, improvement in quality

of technology, research & evaluation purpose, etc



Section 7.18 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





Section 7.19 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Non-use of tower by the private telephone operators • Central Monitoring Committee


Section 7.20 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


Ansars through own funding




station



Section 7.21 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

The rights of the government to modify any rules or

regulations stated in the policy

in support of public welfare or for appropriate

broadcasting or for public security



Section 7.22 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

The rights of the Government to revoke the license at

any time in public interest or in case of violation of the

terms and conditions provided



Section 8.1 of

CRIBO Policy 2008



prescribed by the

Government every month



Section 8.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008











Section 8.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008






Section 8.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008






Section 8.5 of

CRIBO Policy 2008






Section 8.6 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





Section 8.7 of

CRIBO Policy 2008



regular basis



6. Local Police Station Policy

Compliance

Compliance Issues Who When Format

Section 7.20 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




station

• Local Police Station

Section 8.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008










Section 8.3 of

CRIBO Policy

2008





Section 8.4 of

CRIBO Policy

2008





Section 8.5 of

CRIBO Policy

2008





Section 8.6 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




Section 8.7 of

CRIBO Policy




2008 regular basis

SUPPLY S IDE : 7. CR Management Committee

Policy

Compliance


Section 6 of

CRIBO Policy

2008

Program broadcast content • CR Management

Committee

Section 7.2.3 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




gender

• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.2.4 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



as required

• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.6 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


broadcast service



• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.7 of

CRIBO Policy

2008





evaluating

• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.7.1 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


participation

• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.7.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.7.3 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.7.4 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.8 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


political bias

• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.9.1 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



specified area

• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




code of conduct

• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


commercials

• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.11 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


information



• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.15 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.16 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.18 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



• CR Management

Committee

Section 7.19 of

CRIBO Policy

2008

Non-use of tower by the private telephone operators • CR Management

Committee

Section 7.20 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


Ansers through own funding

• CR Management

Committee

Section 8.1 of Submission of recordings of broadcasted programs of • CR Management

CRIBO Policy

2008



Committee

Section 8.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



• CR Management

Committee



broadcasting to the advisory committee

• CR Management

Committee



• CR Management

Committee



community radio

• CR Management

Committee


quality of programs

• CR Management

Committee


Community Radio

• CR Management

Committee

8. CR Station/Initiator Policy

Compliance

Compliance Issues How When Format

Section 6 of

CRIBO Policy

2008

Program broadcast content • CR Station/Initiator

Section 7.2.3 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




gender

• CR Station/Initiator

Section 7.2.4 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



as required


Section 7.3 of

CRIBO Policy

2008

Evaluating (Mid-term and at final) CR operation during


operation


Section 7.4 of

CRIBO Policy

2008

Non-Transferability of CR license • CR Station/Initiator

Section 7.5 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


Radio Station







Section 7.6 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


broadcast service




Section 7.7 of

CRIBO Policy

2008





evaluating


Section 7.7.1 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


participation


Section 7.7.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




Section 7.7.3 of

CRIBO Policy

2008





Section 7.7.4 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




Section 7.8 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


political bias


Section 7.9.1 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



specified area


Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




code of conduct


Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


commercials


Section 7.11 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


information




Section 7.15 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




Section 7.16 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




Section 7.18 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




Section 7.19 of

CRIBO Policy

2008

Non-use of tower by the private telephone operators • CR Station/Initiator

Section 7.20 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


Ansers through own funding


Section 8.1 of

CRIBO Policy

2008





Section 8.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008








broadcasting to the advisory committee


9. CSO/Community/NGO, Listeners Club Policy

Compliance


Section 6 of

CRIBO Policy

2008

Program broadcast content • CSO/Community/NGO,

Listeners Club

Section 7.2.3 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




gender

• CSO/Community/NGO,

Listeners Club

Section 7.2.4 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



as required


Listeners Club

Section 7.3 of

CRIBO Policy

2008

Evaluating (Mid-term and at final) CR operation during


operation


Listeners Club

Section 7.6 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


broadcast service




Listeners Club

Section 7.7 of

CRIBO Policy

2008





evaluating


Listeners Club

Section 7.7.1 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


participation


Listeners Club

Section 7.7.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




Listeners Club

Section 7.7.3 of

CRIBO Policy

2008





Listeners Club

Section 7.7.4 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




Listeners Club

Section 7.8 of

CRIBO Policy

2008


political bias


Listeners Club

Section 7.9.1 of

CRIBO Policy

2008



specified area


Listeners Club

Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy

2008




code of conduct


Listeners Club

Providing suggestions based on the needs and

expectations of the local community for program

broadcasting


Listeners Club

Encouraging the participation of civil society in the

community radio programs


Listeners Club

Encouraging of producing development public service

announcements through community radio by the

advisory committee


Listeners Club

CONCLUSIONS

APPLICATIONS OF M&E The M&E systems can be used to monitor and evaluate at all levels of

intervention as well as at operational, management and policy levels. The

required information and data can be collected and analyzed at any and all

levels to provide feedback at many points in time. The information can be used

to better inform key regulators, decision-makers, the general public, the

initiators, and other stakeholders.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL APPLIC ATIONS

M&E can also be conducted at local, regional, and national levels. So whether

one thinks of M&E in relation to levels of administrative complexity (project to

program to policy) or geographically, the applications are evident - though they

need not be identical. Again, the specific indicators may necessarily be

different, as the stakeholders’ needs for information will also be different for

each level of government and civil society.

KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL

Good M&E systems are a source of knowledge capital. They enable

governments and other organizations to develop a knowledge base of the

types of projects, programs, and policies that are successful, and, more

generally, what works, what does not, and why. M&E systems provide

continuous feedback in the management process of monitoring and evaluating

progress toward a given goal. In this context, they promote organizational

learning.

TRANSPARENC Y AND AC C OUNTABILITY

M&E systems aid in promoting greater transparency and accountability within

implementing organizations, governments and the community in general.

External and internal stakeholders can have a clearer sense of the status of

intervention, projects, programs, and policies. The ability to demonstrate

positive results can also help garner greater political and popular community

support.

CHALLENGES M&E systems can be built on a number of models; however, generally what are

often missed are the complexities of the wider context. The design, creation,

and use of M&E systems generally place too little emphasis on existing political,

organizational, cultural and often technological factors and contexts. The

tendency is to start by jumping straight into building a M&E system - without

even knowing where a given situation stands in relation to a number of critical

factors, including organizational roles, responsibilities, and capabilities;

incentives and demands for such a system; ability of an organization to sustain

systems; and so forth.

THREE MAIN PARTS OF THE READINESS

1. I NC E NT I V E S A ND D E M A ND S F O R D E S I G NI N G A ND B U I L D I N G

M&E S Y S T E M

It is important to determine whether incentives exist - political,

institutional, or personal - before beginning to design and build M&E

system. The demand would dictate the design of the monitoring system

The following can identify the demand and the related incentives for

designing the monitoring:

1. What is driving the need for building the M&E system - legislative

or legal requirements, citizen demand, donor requirements

(National Development Plan, National Poverty Reduction Strategy,

MDG, or others?

2. Who are the designers and users of the system - government,

parliament, civil society, donors, others?

3. What is motivating the designers to build the system - a political

reform agenda, pressures from donors, a personal political

agenda, or political directive?

4. Who will benefit from the system - politicians, administrators, civil

society, donors, citizens?

5. Who will not benefit from building the system - politicians,

administrators, civil society, donors, citizens? Are there counter-

reformers inside or outside the system?

2. R O L E S A N D R E S P O NS I BI L I T I E S A N D E XI S T I N G S T R U C T U R E S

F O R AS S E S S I N G

Performance of Community Radio

The readiness assessment will enable one to gauge the roles and

responsibilities and existing structures available to monitor and

evaluate development goals.

• What are the roles of central and line ministries in assessing

performance?

• What is the role of parliament?

• What is the role of the regulatory agency?

• Do ministries and agencies share information with one another?

• Is there a political agenda behind the data produced?

• What is the role of civil society?

• Who in the country produces data?

- At the national government level, including central

ministries, line ministries, specialized units or offices,

including the national audit office

- At the sub-national or regional government level,

including provincial central and line ministries, local

government, NGOs, donors, and others

• Where in the government are data used?

- Budget preparation

- Resource allocation

- Program policymaking

- Legislation and accountability to parliament

- Planning

- Fiscal management

- Evaluation and oversight.

3. CA P A C I T Y B U I L D I N G R E Q U I R E M E NT S F O R T H E S Y S T E M

The readiness assessment generally reviews of the current capacity to

monitor and evaluate along the following dimensions:

• Technical skills

• Managerial skills

• Existence and quality of data systems

• Available technology

• Available fiscal resources

• Institutional experience

This is an important part of the assessment in emerging intervention,

because it can help identify any gaps in capacity needed to build and

sustain the monitoring systems.

Such an assessment can direct one to examine existing or possible

barriers to building the monitoring system, including a lack of fiscal

resources, political will, political champion, expertise, strategy, or prior

experience.

A number of key questions can be considered in this regard:

• What are the skills of oversight and monitoring committees in the

local and national level in each of the following areas:

- Community Radio project and program management

- Monitoring data analysis

- Community Radio goal establishment

- Monitoring budget management

- Community Radio performance monitoring and

evaluation?

• Is there any technical assistance, capacity building, or training,

orientation in community radio and monitoring and evaluation

provided at any level (national, regional, or local)?

• Who can provided this help and under what framework or reform

process?

• Are there any organizations that have been identified to provide

such technical assistance and training orientation for committee

members and others in performance-based monitoring and

evaluation particularly for community radio?

Now we will build on this material and explore the eight key areas covered by a

readiness assessment in more detail.

RECOMMENDATION

SAMPLE CODE OF CONDUCT

Internal Operational Plan/List of Document for CR station:

• Advertisement policy

• Gender policy

• HR policy

• Financial policy

• Editorial guideline

• Archiving policy

• Green policy

• Business plan

• Strategic plan (short and long)

• Flow-chart (compliance)

• Feedback

• Baseline before starting CR station, community participation, PR

policy, etc

ANNEX

MONITORING FORMATS

Section 6 of

CRIBO Policy 2008



Quarterly Format-1

• Date and Time:

• Name of the Program:

• Duration : � 5 minutes � 10 minutes � 15 minutes � 20 minutes

� 25 minutes � 30 minutes � Others:

• Program Format: � Interview � Group Discussion � Report � Drama

� Song � Others:

• Topics and Key issues: � Education � Health � Agriculture � Business

� Youth Development � Children � Disability

• Objective of the program:

• Target Audience: � Youth � Women � Entrepreneurs � Government

� Local Authorities � Community Leaders � Marginalized

� Disable � Minority

• Presenter/Speaker/Participants:

• Language/dialect:

• Program Producer:

• Program Sponsor:

• Program Ownership: � own � Government � Others

Section 7.2.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008




gender



Quarterly Format-1,2

• Date and Time:

















• Program Consultation with community: Date:

Participants:

Demography:

• Program Planning and Evaluation meeting with community participation

Date and Time:

• List of Participants:

Section 7.2.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008



as required



Quarterly Format

• Orientation and capacity building program:

• Date and Time:


• Venue:

• Resource Persons:

Section 7.5 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


Radio Station








Monthly Format-1

• Date and Time:


















Participants:

Demography:


Date and Time:


Section 7.6 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


broadcast service





Monthly Format-1

• Date and Time:


















Participants:

Demography:

Section 7.7 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





evaluating



Monthly Format-2


Participants:

Demography:


Date and Time:


Section 7.7.1 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Developing plans to facilitate and promote

community participation



Monthly Format-2


Participants:

Demography:


Date and Time:


Section 7.7.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





Monthly Format-1

• Date and Time:

















Section 7.7.3 of

CRIBO Policy 2008



notifications, local culture, identity, and local

language



Monthly Format-1

• Date and Time:


















Participants:

Demography:


Date and Time:


Section 7.7.4 of

CRIBO Policy 2008





Monthly Format-1

• Date and Time:

















Section 7.8 of

CRIBO Policy 2008


political bias



Monthly Format-1

• Date and Time:

• News collection by:

• News Headlines:

• News Editor:

Section 7.9.1 of

CRIBO Policy 2008

Broadcasting of advertisements/ commercials

related to development services, relevant and

limited to the specified area



Monthly Format-4

• Date and Time:

• Name of Advertisement:

• Duration : � 1 minute � 2 minutes � 3 minutes � 4 minutes


• Product/Services: � FMG � Agro � Health Care � Food

� Home Care � Others:

• Key Message:

• Objective of the Advertisement:




• Origin of Company:

• Origin of Product:



Section 7.9.2 of

CRIBO Policy 2008






Monthly Format-4

code of conduct

• Date and Time:

















• Name of Advertisement:

• Duration : � 1 minute � 2 minutes � 3 minutes � 4 minutes


• Product/Services: � FMG � Agro � Health Care � Food

� Home Care � Others:

• Key Message:

• Objective of the Advertisement:

• Origin of Company:

• Origin of Product:

MEDIA CODE OF CONDUCT

The following are principles of ethical behaviour for the media, based on the

Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists10

, the Associated Press

Managing Editors’ Statement of Ethical Principles11

and Gannett Newspaper

Division’s Principles of Ethical Conduct for Newsrooms12

. [3]

Report the truth

• Be a watchdog of the political and electoral process.

• Ensure accurate, balanced and impartial coverage of the news. Make

sure the news content is substantiated, accurate, complete and in

context.

• Do not make assumptions. Check facts, and make a good-faith effort

before publication to get comments from the persons or organizations

involved.

• Seek solutions along with exposing problems and corruption.

• Use neutral words to ensure impartial, dispassionate reporting. Be

careful with technical terms, statistics, estimates and election results.

Be careful with headlines and make sure they reflect the facts of the

story.

• Avoid inflaming emotions over controversial issues.

• Label opinions and personal interpretations as such, and limit opinions

and editorials to the editorial pages.

• Label advertising clearly so it is not confused with the news.

• Be honest and fair in the way the news is gathered, reported and

presented. Do not lie or fabricate. Do not pretend to be a police

officer, public official or anyone other than a journalist in pursuing a

story. Do not plagiarize. Do not alter photographs or graphics to

mislead the public.

Minimize harm

• Be transparent and honest with the reader.

• Act honourably and ethically in dealing with news sources, the public

and colleagues.

• Do not expose the private life of a private citizen without reason.

• Be sensitive when interviewing, and recognize that gathering news can

cause harm or discomfort.

• Respect the rights of persons involved in the news. Observe common

standards of decency, and treat people with dignity, respect and

compassion.

• Balance the right of an accused person to a fair trial with the public’s

right to know.

Act independently

10 Society of Professional Journalists, Code of Ethics for Journalists, 1996

11 Associated Press Managing Editors, Statement of Ethical Principles, 1994

12 Gannett Newspaper Division, Principles of Ethical Conduct for Newsrooms, 1999

• Avoid conflict of interest by refusing to accept gifts, favours or other

benefits from anyone being covered in an article or from newsmakers,

politicians or other journalists.

• Avoid being influenced by advertisers on the content of your

reporting.

• Do not give favourable rates to one political advertiser and not others.

• Do not give money for sources or stories.

Be accountable

• Be accountable to the public for the fairness and accuracy of what you

write.

• Honour pledges of confidentiality to a news source; otherwise, identify

sources.

• Be accountable for how you behave and collect news. Obey the laws

and the standards of ethical journalism.

community radio monitoring handbook1

Documents