One of the mandates of the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) in South Africa is to facilitate and co-ordinate capacity building amongst its constituent members. This document outlines the NCRF’s capacity building framework, which aims to develop an integrated, relevant, appropriate, and coherent strategy to ensure sustainability amongst its member community radio stations.

The document takes into account various research studies conducted on community radio capacity building interventions that have evaluated existing projects and offered recommendations around the need to build capacity. This means that the NCRF’s vision of sustainability amongst community radio stations is aligned with its mandate, as well as with the strategic vision of other stakeholders.

The NCRF holds the view that performance improvement of radio stations needs to take place in the context of an accepted and approved radio station capacity building framework. This document therefore aims to serve as a guide pointing to possible performance areas in which community radio stations require developmental support. A baseline study at each existing radio station will further inform implementation of relevant and appropriate change necessary to improve performance.

According to this report, the NCRF supports the adoption of a sector-wide and organisation-wide approach to the performance improvement of community radio stations. The research reports conducted on community radio stations clearly indicate that performance improvement interventions have taken place on a piecemeal basis with little integration across such interventions.

The NCRF also holds the view that a holistic approach is required to address performance problems and/or opportunities at community radio stations. As such, the capacity building framework focuses on two key areas namely, organisational and human performance improvements.

Most interventions implemented thus far tended to work with single areas within community radio stations. These interventions were conducted in isolation and at times overlapped with other interventions. The NCRF is proposing solutions that intervene at various levels within the organisation and in an integrated manner. As part of the process, the capacity building framework aims to provide a basis from which to develop approaches, methods, tools, and procedures for identifying and understanding issues affecting radio station performance as well as addressing performance improvement at an organisational and/or individual level.

The NCRF further recognises the importance of transforming current practices at community radio stations so that stations become results-orientated and successful. This means that the interventions must provide capacity to radio stations to enable such stations to, amongst other things, provide quality products and services, demonstrate flexibility and adaptability to changing customer/constituency needs, and manage internal resources cost-effectively and efficiently. In this case, it is also imperative to implement solutions at an organisational and individual level. The report suggests that what is good for the organisation is good for individuals operating within those organisations. Organisations in which productivity is high and quality is maintained are those where morale, employee self-esteem, and worker satisfaction are also at a high level. Excellent performance often translates into greater job security, improved salaries, and higher levels of employee interest and satisfaction. This in turn means improved performance by the community radio station and a better response to audience needs.

NCRF website on May 13 2008 and on September 2 2009.