"Citizens’ Voice and Accountability (CV&A) work has emerged as a priority in the international development agenda from the 1990s onwards. In their CV&A work, donors recognise the importance of context: it shapes relation to that context. However, context awareness has not proven sufficient to enab
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le donors to grapple with key challenges posed by the interaction between formal and informal institutions, the prevalence of the latter over the former in many instances, and underlying power relations and dynamics. Some examples of positive impact of CV&A interventions have emerged from the interventions analysed for this study. This is mostly at the level of positive citizen awareness, empowering certain marginalised groups, and encouraging state officials. However, within the sample analysed, such impact/effects have remained limited and isolated, and have so far proven difficult to scale up. A critical factor leading to the observed limited nature of results is related to the fact that donor expectations as to what such work can achieve are too high, and are based on misguided assumptions around the nature of voice and accountability, and the linkages between the two. There is a tension between the long-term processes of transforming state-society relations and donors’ needs/desires to produce quick results. Scaling up sustainability are also issues not currently sufficiently addressed within intervention design and implementation." (Executive summary, page v)
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"This edition (2007/2008) continues the tradition of providing an analytical overview of the state of ICT4D in Asia Pacific. It covers 31 countries and economies, including North Korea for the first time. Each country chapter is an attempt to provide a relatively comprehensive coverage of the variou
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s aspects of ICT4D in each of the countries at the time that the chapter was written (in 2006). To provide a broad perspective of the issues covered, the chapters are written by a team of authors representing different sectors, such as government, academe, industry and civil society. There are also fi ve thematic chapters providing a synthesis of some of the key issues in ICT4D in Asia Pacific today." (Introduction, page xii)
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"This report provides essential insights to how the indigenous peoples of Nepal are organized and represented by the national and local media. The report describes the media landscape in three districts inhabited by indigenous peoples and reveals that Nepal has one of the most vibrant media environm
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ents in Asia, particularly in community radio, yet these channels could be strengthened for ensuring voice and participation for indigenous peoples in the future. Alternative channels, using modern technology, should also be explored as a means to bringing information and giving a voice to indigenous peoples, especially in the most remote areas of the country. The report points to specific recommendations and proposes activities that can mutually benefit the media and indigenous peoples." (Foreword)
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"We examine the sustainability of Community radio (CR) as a tool towards achieving the overall development in the South Asian region. A cross-country comparison of CR in areas including people’s participation, regulatory scenarios, human resource development, technology usage trends, financial pra
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ctices etc. shows a wide variety of CR applications and challenges. An indepth analysis of financial data and practices of several Nepalese CR stations (rural, urban, and semi-urban) alongside regulatory and anecdotal references from India and Bangladesh shows potential viability through advertising and other mechanisms. Even with an advertisement cap of 5 minutes per hour, every station shows the potential of achieving financial sustainability by selling a fraction of the allotted ad time (7%-46%). Our model shows that the monthly operating expenditure of types of stations turns out to be more significant than the annualized capital expenditure. In our analysis (and borne out in the real world), of the three considered stations, the semi-urban station has the highest cost per listener. Stochastic cost modeling of real world CR data show the trend of increased cost for content development is a trade-off for expanding the listener base and transmission time. We conclude with a proposed set of policy and operating recommendations to enable CR to play a significant role in overall South Asian development." (Abstract)
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"IPDC’s support for community radio in Nepal has been a strategic, defining factor in the growth of the community media sector. The Programme has regularly supported small, distinct projects that have catalyzed the growth of the sector at different times by promoting replicable models, establishin
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g precedents and benchmarks, and building the capacity of key organizational players. Between 1993 and 1997, IPDC played a key role in the establishment of the country’s first independent broadcaster, Radio Sagarmatha. In 1999, the Programme was instrumental in setting up Nepal’s first rural radio licensee, Community Radio Madanpokhara. In 2002, IPDC provided critical support to Radio Lumbini, the region’s fi rst cooperative broadcaster, and Radio Swargadwari, a station in the heart of the country’s armed conflict. In 2006, IPDC supported the Nepal Association of Community Radio Broadcasters in a broad, sector-wide initiative. Community radio has gone from one license in 1997 to nearly 90 at the end of 2007." (Page 3)
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"This report is one of the first studies comparing systematically different aspects of community radio practice in developing countries. Based on five country surveys - Colombia, Mali, Nepal, Peru and South Africa - it provides descriptions and analyses of: participatory processes and volunteerism;
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relationship with the community; exertion of rights; accountability and good governance; community radio networks; financing and financial sustainability; and community radio in conflict and post-conflict situations. The detailed country studies show that the practice of community radio broadcasting differs widely according to the national context, the legal environment and the specific role of national community radio associations and networks. In comparing the country studies, the main report stresses good practices, e.g. regarding the role of strong national networks, as well as some challenges like the need to accompany volunteers in a more systematic way and to address the precarious financial state of many community radio stations." (CAMECO Update 5-2008)
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"This paper presents preliminary findings from a multi-sited qualitative study of poverty and information and communication technologies (ICTs) in India, Indonesia Sri Lanka and Nepal. It draws upon data gathered by 12 ethnographic action researchers working across 15 community ICT initiatives. Thes
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e local, 'embedded researchers' are part of a larger international project called Finding a Voice: Making Technological Change Socially Effective and Culturally Empowering, which includes UNESCO (South Asia) and UNDP (Indonesia), in partnership with Queensland University of Technology, the University of Adelaide and Australian Research Council, along with numerous local and regional organisations." (Introduction)
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"The symposium Measuring Change. Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation in Media Development focused on the utilisation aspect of evaluation1: The adding of “Planning” to “Monitoring and Evaluation” in the subtitle indicates that emphasis was laid on learning from monitoring and evaluation experie
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nces, to facilitate the improvement of existing projects and programmes at all levels, from planning to implementation and follow-up." (Executive Summary)
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"1. There has been remarkable growth in both private and non-for-profit radio in Nepal since 1997: 216 licenses had been issued as of July 2007 with 78 FM stations broadcasting; of 93 licenses issued to non-profit groups, 31 were operational as of May 2007.
2. To its detriment, the FM radio sector h
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as and continues to be largely unplanned and unmanaged. There is technical congestion in the capital region and high redundancy of licensed services, even in some rural areas; there are major policy gaps and limited means to ensure accountability of broadcasters. The current system of regulation does little to promote a diversity of services or to ensure that broadcasters meet public needs or address national development priorities.
3. The application and practice of community radio principles is remarkably inconsistent. Many stations are community radios in name only. Community radio in Nepal is poorly defined and there is no policy framework to guide the development of the sector. Of particular concern are issues of limited ownership, ‘capture’ by the elite, poor representation of community groups, particularly on gender, caste and ethnic lines. There is a risk that community orientation and the focus on public interest programming will be weakened.
4. In spite of gaps, Nepal’s community radio sector possesses a certain maturity and sophistication. There are a large number of stations, increasingly coordinated. There are excellent practices in programming and community participation, many of which are being replicated. There are resource centres and support organizations with high capacity, both private and non-profit. There is an active national association of community stations." (Key findings, page 4-5)
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