This 28-page evaluation report explores the role community radio stations (CRS) can play in poverty alleviation by sparking dialogue about social issues. As is illustrated by the excerpt below, the authors of this piece find that (at least in the 3 West African countries examined here) CRS has contributed to civil society development - and, thus, indirectly, to economic development - especially in societies that have been impacted by conflict.

An excerpt from the Summary, Conclusions & Recommendations section follows (footnote numbers have been omitted from this selection)

Introduction

"In November 2005, RNTC (Radio Nederland Training Centre) and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Directorate for International Cooperation – Dienst Culturele Samenwerking, Onderwijs en Onderzoek / DGIS – DCO/OC) requested the external consultants, Martin Faye (Director Intermedia Afrique – Dakar - Senegal) and Roy C. Kessler (NEDWORC Foundation – Zeist – The Netherlands), for a joint review of the INFORMO(T)RAC (Initiative for Mobile Training of Community Radio) programme.

The implementation of this programme in three West-African countries: Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone started on January 1, 2003 and will end on 31 December 2006.

This report reflects the findings of the consultants.

RNTC Community Radio

RNTC believes that media plays an important role in a structural approach to fight poverty from the bottom up by stimulating active participation in social processes. This should be realized through information and dialogue about relevant social issues.

In line with this belief RNTC designed the INFORMO(T)RAC (Initiative for Mobile Training of Community Radio) programme, IP for short, in support of Community Radio Stations (CRS). These CRS are instrumental in realizing RNTC's, above described, vision.

On November 28th, 2002, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Directorate for International Cooperation – Dienst Culturele Samenwerking, Onderwijs en Onderzoek / DGIS – DCO/OC) approved RNTC's programme proposal with a total subsidy of € 3,527,792 through the TMF funding 2003-2006. The IP concerns a capacity building programme for 31 community radio stations in three West-African countries: Senegal, Guinee Bissau en Sierra Leone.

Results

The IP started on the 1 January 2003. During the first year of the IP, in each country, the OPC (Overall Programme Coordinator) organized the start of the programme with Future Search Conferences, Needs Assessments, Taskforce recruitment, and the renting of adequate office space for the IP coordination centre. Training of CRS staff started in Guinea-Bissau in October 2004; in Sierra Leone in November 2004; and in Senegal in January 2005. The IP coordination centres were fully operational and equipped (including the studio), by February 2005 (Senegal and Guinea-Bissau) and June 2005 (Sierra Leone). Training of the taskforce took place earlier, e.g. National Coordinators (NC) in the Netherlands (October-December 2003), Training-of-Trainers (September 2004).

During their review, this joint review mission observed a well established IP (INFORMO (T) RAC programme) in each of the three countries.

In each country, a well managed, efficiently equipped, taskforce is in place. This taskforce consists of a national coordinator, two programme trainers, one (part-time) technical trainer-instructor, one office manager, one driver, and one caretaker/watchman. The taskforce operates from a well situated building with adequate offices, a broadcast studio for training purposes, and a suitable training/meeting space. Each taskforce has a 4W-drive vehicle.

The IP has an overall programme coordinator (OPC) who operates from the RNTC office in Hilversum (Netherlands).

As a result of the needs assessments, the IP selected 31 CRS (Community Radio Stations) to be supported by the programme: Twelve in Guinea-Bissau, eight in Senegal, and eleven in Sierra Leone. The staff of all the CRS received various training in the handling and operation of modern broadcast equipment; programme production; organizational and financial management. Twenty-eight out of the thirty-one stations received modern studio, and some received broadcast equipment, which the IP helped installing. In four stations this equipment still need installation due to seasonal wheather conditions (2), theft of relevant equipment (1 in Sierra Leone), and late commissioning of the building (1 in Sierra Leone).

In the course of 2004, the IP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with each of the responsible ministries in the three countries.

The review mission commends all the IP personnel for the many achievements of the programme. They managed to realize a valuable support programme to CRS under very difficult circumstances. Especially in Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, the programme operates in a still difficult post-war situation, with in Guinea-Bissau still recent (October/November 2005) political unrest. Until the mission’s visits, both countries did not manage to (completely) re-install the national power grid yet.

FSC (Future Search Conference) is a unique planning meeting to assist diverse groups of people to discover values, purposes, ambitions, and projects they hold in common; it enables people to create a desired future together and to start working towards it right away.

The mission met in all the three countries very satisfied and appreciative staff of the CRS which are serviced by the IP. They especially appreciated the combination of hardware and training with 'hands-on' experience, which the IP brought to this radio staff. All had the feeling that they now operated their equipment, receiving a higher ‘yield’ than before when they just received hardware and had to find out by themselves how to operate it. Besides their own satisfaction, they based their appreciation on the many reactions of their listeners who appreciate the better quality of, as well the broadcasting (sound quality and further outreach), as the programme productions, since the IP supported their radio station. All the reactions were positive till extremely positive, e.g. 'when the INFORMO (T) RAC programme came to our radio station, it was as if God had landed in our community'.

Conclusions

The mission fully supports RNTC's believe that Community Radio Stations (CRS) could play an important role in a structural approach to fight poverty from the bottom up by stimulating active participation in social processes.
As the mission saw, CRS do contribute to Civil Society Development (CSD), and as such, the INFORMO(T)RAC programme (IP) certainly (indirectly) contributes to poverty alleviation, especially in societies where previous war situations have destroyed various bases of the society. Improved functioning of CRS does improve the opportunities for information and dialogue about relevant social issues.

Recommendations

Although the review mission have come to a positive review of the INFORMO(T)RAC programme (IP), it would like to make the following recommendations to further improve the programme and to safeguard the programme for the future of the Community Radio Stations (CRS), and further contributions to Civil Society Development (CSD).

1. The mission are convinced, and have lived through the experience, that CRS could play an important role in a structural approach to fight poverty from the bottom up, by stimulating active participation in social processes.
   
   

   The mission have seen and heard that CRS play an important role in CSD through the strengthening of the impact of CSO by enhancing their capacity to inform, and educate the marginalized population and to stimulate their awareness.

   By the end of 2006, the IP just would have had one and a half year of full operations (in Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, in Senegal a bit longer). This is too short to expect the IP to continue its valuable services to CRS independently.

   Although the missions are impressed with the results sofar of the IP, the missions realize that these results are still fragile and still will need re-enforcement.

   Therefore, the missions recommend to continue the support to the operations of the IP in all the three countries with a period of two years, so till 31 December 2008. This will mean an extra financial contribution of approximately 430,000 euros (just for operations).

2. To take advantage of the dynamic momentum, existing in all the three taskforces and the (visited) CRS, the mission recommend to take the decision about the above recommendation as soon as possible to prevent loss of well trained and prepared human resources in the on-going IP;
3. Furthermore, the mission recommend that the existing IP coordination centres in the three countries develop to organizations with a suitable legal status (e.g. what is going on in Sierra Leone to become an NGO) which will function as a BSO (Business Service Organization) for CRS (also see chapter 5.5.4.2 on page 26). The mission see ample opportunity for a BSO which facilitates CRS development with training, participative programme production, technological innovation, lobbying/fundraising, and other identified services which are in demand by the CRS;
4. CRS have to comply with some basic conditions to really qualify as a COMMUNITY radio station. AMARC (Association Mondiale des Associations Radio Communautaire) defined the concept and the conditions to qualify as a CRS, as summarized in appendix 2. The mission recommend the IP to accompany and influence the CRS to become (in some cases) even better examples of real CRS than that they are at present;
5. After that the mission analyzed the weekly broadcasting programmes of the visited CRS (see appendix 3, 4, and 5), it recommend that the IP trains the radio stations in producing more balanced programming, to better reflect the COMMUNITY aspect of CRS (e.g. less popular music, more educational and informative programmes about the position of women in the society; about hygiene and health; about agriculture; and others);
6. Other aspects of CRS is the participative approach for programme productions, behavourial studies, and audience profiling. The IP can and should teach these techniques to CRS staff, to better include the community in community radio programme making;
7. Although the mission has seen good examples of the IP management training, it recommend to structurally train all the CRS in the correct organizational structures and management techniques to improve the organizational sustainability of the CRS;
8. Furthermore, the mission recommend that the IP structurally train all the CRS in proper financial management to give them better chances to obtain financial sustainability. The outcome of this training process should be an appropriate business plan for the CRS, including fundraising, depreciation of equipment, etc.;
9. In Guinea-Bissau, the mission noticed the absence of a national guideline for CRS. Therefore the mission recommends that the IP, together with other stakeholders, assist the national authorities with the formulation of adequate guidelines. Similar guidelines which exist in neighbouring countries like Senegal and Sierra Leone can be used as good examples;
10. The mission observed the production of various training materials by the IP. The mission recommend to develop this material in a standard format and to disseminate this material to each CRS in the IP in a specific file which will be available in an accesible spot for all the collaborators of the radio station, rather than that training materials are locked up in cupboards or drawers of just the trained person. In the future, these files will also be useful for the CRS of the new countries which will benefit of an IP."

INFORMOTRAC website on June 13 2006 and November 12 2007.