mediadev library

"Improving state accountability is a central preoccupation of development efforts. How individuals and institutions can and do hold governments to account for their actions and decisions differs radically between societies. Furthermore, what accountability actually means can differ greatly from one ... more

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Topic Guide on Communication and Governance

Huma Haider, Claire McIoughlin, Zoë Scott

Birmingham; Washington, DC: Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (GSDRC), University of Birmingham;World Bank, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), 2nd ed. (2011), 67 pp.

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Accountability Through Public Opinion: From Inertia to Public Action

Sina Odugbemi, Taeku Lee (eds.)

Washington, DC: World Bank (2011), xxv, 507 pp.

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Generating Genuine Demand for Accountability Through Communication: A Trainer's Guide

Anne-Katrin Arnold, Helen Garcia

Washington, DC: World Bank, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP) (2011), viii, 62 pp.

"This guide is designed for development practitioners in donor organizations, governments, and civil society, who are setting up capacity-building programs for promoting sustainable accountability and governance reform. A conceptual framework for communication and accountability provides trainers wi ... more

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People, Politics and Change: Building Communication Capacity for Governance Reform
Key Guidance

Cecilia Cabañero-Verzosa, Helen R. Garcia (eds.)

Washington, DC: World Bank (2011), viii, 465 pp.

"This is an applied facilitator’s guide for reform managers, change agents, development practitioners, and training professionals who need to use smart communication techniques—the relevant concepts, frameworks and applications—to promote change through governance reform. It is grounded on the ... more

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Draft Summary Record of the Seminar on Trends in Support of Accountability: Media Assistance Today

In: Draft Summary Record of the 15th Govnet Meeting

DAC Network on Governance

Paris: OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) (2011), pp. 19-25

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Mid-Term Review BBC World Service Trust Project ‘A National Conversation’

Mary Myers

DFID Governance and Transparency Fund (2011), 57 pp.

"A National Conversation' is a 5-year project funded by DFID's Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF) delivered by the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST). Its purpose is to 'enhance media's capacity to cover governance issues by increasing transparency, accountability and citizen participation in med ... more

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Pera Natin ‘To! Citizen Action for Good Governance

Red Batario (ed.)

Quezon City: Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) (2011), 154 pp.

"The starting point of PPTRP has been that real and lasting transparency and accountability are best built from the ground up piece by piece and by ordinary people taking their responsibilities as citizens seriously. It is one of the reasons we subtitled the project and website “Pera Natin ‘to!� ... �� (It’s Our Money!). We wanted to help build public ownership in the issue. Our concern was – and remains still today – that changes introduced at the top by one administration – can so easily be taken away by another unless that change is deeply rooted in the ground and in its people. So we believed- and still believe – that real sustainable change in governance comes only from active and continual participation of citizens. It needs action and engagement at both the national and local level. It needs groups, sectors and communities finding new ways of coming and working together to develop new ideas and build new constituencies and avenues for change. It needs to involve and energise all those hundreds of thousands of honest and professional civil servants across the country who for way too long have quietly despaired going to work each day given the failure of leadership in their own departments and agencies. All this required and still requires a combined response that uses new thinking and approaches. It required first and foremost the start of a public literacy campaign around public finances since citizens cannot ever hope to adequately monitor or engage in things that they don’t understand. So it was that we built our project equally around information, education, training, capacity building, networking, advocacy and campaigns. So it was that we worked with people’s organizations, civil society groups, media and ordinary members of the public at one and the same time. We figured that everybody had a role to play in building and securing transparency and accountability – and so everybody should get involved. We started work on a website full of the basics – (www.transparencyreporting.net) accessible and easy to understand information about all aspects of public finance. We assumed little – partly because we knew little ourselves and were learning on the job as we went. We wrote, commissioned and edited material designed to give readers a sense of understanding about how public finances, systems and cycles worked and what kind of issues and problems there were. We tried to identify how and where money was raised and how it was allocated and spent and why and by whom. Invariably it comes down to money. If you can follow the money, you can find the problems and perhaps even help suggest some solutions. We developed training modules too – modules aimed equally at journalists and activists and ordinary members of the public. And we toured around the Philippines going north and as far south as Tawi-Tawi where we were told few groups ever venture. We encouraged people to report allegations of corruption – but equally we sought out instances of where government was working well and deserved highlighting. It is easy to be negative – but far better to be critically constructive. We received many more allegations than we could investigate – in large part because sources were scared even to follow up and meet with us in confidence. Protection for whistle-blowers remains very much a pressing issue today that needs sorting ... While all projects must by necessity always remain above the political fray, we were naturally delighted that as things turned out, the new incoming administration made improving transparency and accountability a primary goal. When an initiative finds itself working in support of government policy, it is always easier. So we were delighted to see the issue of political abuse of public projects taken up as were the appointment of some leading proponents of open government to key positions in the administration. We were very fortunate also for the chance to work closely with officials in several key departments and on various initiatives linked to the national budget. [...] Perhaps one key achievement we might be remembered for, alongside the website which will remain as hopefully a useful resource for those wanting to learn more about public sector finances -- is having set up four local citizen watchdog groups that demonstrate how easy and important it is for ordinary people to get involved and play their part. We hope more groups can follow their lead. People power needs to be much more than a slogan and become a way of life." (Introduction, page 16-19) more

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Public Sentinel: News Media and Governance Reform
Top Insights

Pippa Norris (ed.)

Washington, DC: World Bank (2010), xxi, 420 pp.

"This book highlights the importance of the news media as watchdogs, agenda setters and gatekeepers for the quality of democratic deliberation in the public sphere. At the same time, it theorizes that the capacity of journalists and media systems to fulfill these roles depends on the broader context ... more

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Reporting Tax Research: Connecting Researchers and Journalists for Improved Media Coverage and Debate in Kenya

London: Panos London (2010), 20 pp.

"In late 2009, three newspaper articles appeared in the Kenyan press, contributing to a newly emerging debate in the Kenyan media over government transparency and accountability. Media reporting in Kenya on governance issues, particularly in relation to corrupt practices in public spending, is not n ... more

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Médias et bonne gouvernance en Afrique: Concept et cas pratiques

Libreville: UNESCO (2010), xix, 209 pp.

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Do Informed Voters Make Better Choices? Experimental Evidence from Urban India

Abhijit V. Banerjee, Selvan Kumar, Rohini Pande, Felix Su

[authors] (2010), 20 pp.

"Disclosure laws for politicians exist in over a hundred countries. But can disclosures about politician performance and qualifications influence electoral accountability in settings characterized by weak institutions and less educated populations? In the run-up to elections in Delhi we implemented ... more

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The Role of Media Literacy in the Governance Reform Agenda

Johanna Martinsson

Washington, DC: World Bank, Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP) (2009), 12 pp.

"To navigate a complex and an ever-evolving media landscape, citizens must obtain the critical abilities and necessary communicative skills to participate actively and meaningfully in a democratic public sphere—the space where free and equal citizens come together to discuss and debate current aff ... more

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From Mouthpiece to Public Service: Donor Support to Radio Broadcasters in New Democracies

Simon Milligan, Graham Mytton

Development in Practice, volume 19, issue 4-5 (2009), pp. 491-503

"State-run broadcasting organisations in the South are usually ill-prepared for their public-service role in new democracies. They are often poorly funded compared to their new, commercial rivals and often still bound by the same ‘rules of the game’ that governed them prior to the democratic era ... more

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SkillCity Master Trainers Manual on Investigative Journalism with a Focus on Accountability and Transparency in Afghanistan

Wali Zahid

Kabul: Saba Media Organisation (2009), 143 pp.

"This guide, compiled with the most updated sources at the time of going to press in early 2009, will take you step by step towards becoming an effective investigative journalist, gaining and practicing the necessary skills and thus gaining the self-confidence required to do a job that is both effec ... more

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Comunicación y construcción de ciudadanía: Aportes para el desarrollo

Laura Cárdenas Lorenzo

Madrid: Libros de la Catarata;Instituto Universitario de Desarrollo y Cooperación (IUDC-UCM) (2009), 157 pp.

"Esta obra parte de la idea de que sin comunicación no es posible el desarrollo, pues ésta compromete de manera participativa a todos los sectores que conforman nuestras sociedades. A pesar de la existencia de innumerables medios masivos, locales y globales, y de nuevas tecnologías de la informac ... more

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Governance and the Media: A Survey of Policy Opinion

Kathy Lines

London: BBC World Service Trust (2009), 40 pp.

"In total, 23 people were interviewed for this report, a mix of those from different parts of the development and media communities, from differently located organisations, and from those based in different geographic locations. The bulk of the interviews were with development agencies - multilatera ... more

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Broadcasting, Voice, and Accountability: A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law, and Regulation
Top Insights

Steve Buckley, Kreszentia Duer, Toby Mendel, Seán Ó Siochrú

Washington, DC: World Bank (2008), 402 pp.

"According to the introduction, this 'guide is intended as a tool for media reform particularly in developing and transitional democracies. At the same time, it should be useful anywhere people aspire to a deeper democracy. Building democracy is a process, often long-term, and promoting free, plural ... more

People, Politics and Change: Building Communication Capacity for Governance Reform Key Guidance

Public Sentinel: News Media and Governance Reform Top Insights

Broadcasting, Voice, and Accountability: A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law, and Regulation Top Insights

People, Politics and Change: Building Communication Capacity for Governance Reform
Key Guidance

Public Sentinel: News Media and Governance Reform
Top Insights

Broadcasting, Voice, and Accountability: A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law, and Regulation
Top Insights