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How often have you heard that coordination is critical in avoiding duplication or contradictions between programmes funded by different donors? Not surprisingly, coordination within the media development sector is widely acknowledged as a precondition for successful programming, particularly in the aftermath of conflict or a crisis. The importance of sharing information and exploring synergies is one of the fundamental principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
As part of many information sharing and coordination efforts, our team at GFMD IMPACT wanted to dig deeper into previous media assistance coordination efforts to identify common pitfalls and best practice models. We commissioned a study, in collaboration with the Samir Kassir Foundation's SKeyes Centre for Media and Cultural Freedom and the International Media Support (IMS) to analyse current practices in information-sharing and media-assistance coordination efforts, and to prepare recommendations with examples of practical mechanisms that could be successfully used in the future.
The report, Coordinating Media Assistance and Journalism Support Efforts, is based on desk research and a series of interviews with key stakeholders who have participated in coordination groups over the last five years. It was authored by Aida Al-Kaisy and Michael Randall.
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The study includes highlights from previous or ongoing coordination processes:
Developing holistic strategies: As Ukraine emerged from the Euromaidan protests in 2013-2014, international donors took a collaborative approach. The Kyiv group succeeded in bringing leading donors to the table and reaching an agreement on the division of funding priorities. As well as sharing information and insights from the ground, it brought new opportunities and challenges to the attention of the donor community. Moreover, the group developed strategies for particular strands of work. For example, it was instrumental in rallying donors and implementing agencies around a major support project for the Ukrainian public broadcaster and other priorities set by the Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR) coalition between 2015 and 2019.
Involving local actors and establishing equal partnerships: Local organisations can often feel disconnected from the international development community. In most cases, they have limited capacity and smaller budgets, and consequently, they feel less able to invest time and energy to make sure that their views are taken into account. Introducing effective mechanisms for including and listening to local views, needs, and priorities makes coordination more relevant. Due consideration given to the local context is paramount, and roles, responsibilities, and priorities should be apportioned accordingly. The experience of the Lebanon Coordination Group also indicates that, in certain cases, local implementing agencies are better positioned to set the agenda since they have greater insight into local needs and enjoy the trust of local beneficiaries. Following the Beirut port explosion in August 2020, the Samir Kassir Foundation launched a Media Recovery Fund to support outlets and practitioners affected by the crisis.
Emergency or crisis response: The importance of effective coordination becomes particularly acute when donors and media development agencies respond to a crisis. In Syria, a coordinating mechanism brought beneficiaries and implementing organisations together from 2013 to 2016, “to discuss their needs, develop project ideas, and build trust to allow better communication given the security situation.” In a white paper, A Call for Effective Support to Syrian Independent Media as a Key Component in Mitigating and Resolving the Syrian Conflict, itself a successful output of coordination, written to capture the experience, GFMD reported that its ability to maintain a long-term engagement was stymied by limited and short-term funding. The white paper recommended that “donors provide long-term and stable support for an independent coordination process that includes Syrians, implementers, and donors.”
Needs assessment and joint research projects: Coordinating bodies and processes have facilitated resource-sharing among their members in areas such as training and fundraising, but the potential for conducting participatory, joint needs assessments and quantitative or qualitative research has yet to be fully exploited. Sharing the costs of such analysis and the reports themselves could enable other donors to better prioritise complementary activity. The 2019/2020 EU Needs Assessment of Independent Media in the Neighbourhood echoed this viewpoint. "It is recommended that donors invest in a robust assessment mechanism that tasks local partners with the collection and dissemination of findings on a rolling basis. This research could also include comprehensive mapping of media projects in partner countries as well as independent impact monitoring."
Fundraising for collective action: Examples of coordination groups engaging in collective fundraising appear to be rare. In several countries—Kenya and Zimbabwe, for example—coalitions of local and international media actors have played a key role in unlocking donor funding for specific initiatives. While the Kenya Media Sector Working Group came together and submitted a single plan and strategy to donors while the actual implementation was coordinated by local actors, the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) has been able to fundraise on behalf of its members.
Recommendations for a best-practice approach include all or some of the following elements:
- Strong, impartial leadership that ensures proper inclusion and full participation
- A stable and predictable source of funding
- Sufficient resources and skills to provide a consistent, tailored service to members
- Adequate communications and knowledge-sharing platforms with guaranteed data security
- A quorum of media development actors representing a balance of local and international organisations
- An effective interface with the donor community (if donors are not directly involved in the coordination process)
- A good level of visibility and an ability to engage with multiple external stakeholders when required
- Sufficient agility and flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances
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TO KNOW MORE
- Coalitions contribute to better informed, coordinated, and magnified sectoral support. This is one of the conclusions of the learning brief produced by IMS as part of the Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development (PRIMED) programme. It provides an outline of what coalitions are, how they work, success factors and challenges, key ingredients for coalition building, and the role of international media development agencies. The brief is accompanied by five interviews with experts involved in a variety of media freedom coalitions.
- Successful collaborations between the media and advocacy groups in order to support effective partnerships is needed in a world in which civil society and public interest journalism may need to increasingly rely on each other and on donors to support their work. The report, Calling for Coalitions:
Building Partnerships between Journalists and Advocates, draws on case study research conducted on collaborative projects in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Peru to provide recommendations for foundations, nonprofit organisations, and media organisations on building partnerships that can maximise their collaborative impact. The report was published by the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Media Partnerships.
- Reset Required? Evaluating the Media Freedom Coalition after its first two years is an independent evaluation of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) conducted by a team of six academics and researchers, from the University of East Anglia, City, University of London, and the University of the Philippines-Diliman. The report finds that, after two years, the Media Freedom Coalition is only partially achieving its objectives. It has taken some positive steps towards its ambitious goals, including attracting a relatively large membership and establishing collegiate ways of working.
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WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
Our HELP DESK uses a network of experts and resources brought together by the GFMD IMPACT team to respond in a timely fashion to requests from donors, media development and journalism support practitioners and policymakers. Email helpdesk-impact@gfmd.info for more information and to submit a request.
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SDG 16 Data Initiative Report 2022: The SDG 16 Data Initiative released its latest global report which assesses progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16, “Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development”.
📖 The SDG 16 Data Initiative 2022 Global report features a chapter Progress on access to information and respect for fundamental freedoms weak as we approach the SDG halfway point co-authored by Ivana Bjelic Vucinic, director of the GFMD’s International Media Policy and Advisory Centre (IMPACT), Laura Becana Ball, GFMD’s Advocacy and Policy Manager, and Toby Mendel from the Centre for Law and Democracy.
More context: Key Global Report 2022 findings here.
How to engage: Read the full report here.
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Media Freedom Cohort of the Summit for Democracy: This multi-stakeholder platform aims to bring together civil society actors, media and other private sector leaders, philanthropic partners, academics, and government decision-makers who are all committed to making tangible progress toward improving media freedom. The Cohort is being led by Internews and the governments of Canada and the Netherlands (the current co-chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition).
📅 The first meeting of the Media Freedom Cohort will be on December 15th at 15.00 CET.
GFMD’s role: As well as facilitating the engagement of our members, GFMD will be leading track three on “Bolstering Independent and Diverse Media” by using the Media Freedom Cohort as an opportunity to continue our work on best practices for supporting journalism and media, more specifically our ongoing consultations on:
More context: An overview of the Media Freedom Cohort is available here.
How to engage: If you are interested in being part of the Media Freedom Cohort, please e-mail media-freedom-cohort@internews.org by indicating the working group you are interested in joining and nominating a contact point for your organization. We will then connect you with the different working group leads.
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📅 Internews new report launch: Join Internews on November 29 for a presentation and panel of news leaders looking at how to include the missing perspectives of women in news — and shift the status quo from outrage to opportunity.
From Outrage to Opportunity: How to Include the Missing Perspectives of Women of All Colors in News Leadership and Coverage by Luba Kassova provides a comprehensive, solutions-focused examination of the harsh realities facing women of all colours in six focus countries
How to engage: Register for the launch here.
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MORE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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The Chilling: A global study of online violence against women journalists (Nov. 2022) With the support of UNESCO, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) has published a ground-breaking, book-length global study on online violence against women journalists, documenting alarming trends and offering solutions to this pernicious problem.
Vibrant Information Barometer (VIBE) (Nov. 2022) IREX annual media and information study explores the impact of media polarization in Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia.
Gauging the impact of your journalism (Nov. 2022) How do you know if your newsroom’s work is effective and has real social value? The Quint CEO and World Editors Forum Board member Ritu Kapur offered some thoughts at the Asian Editors Summit in Singapore.
Syria: Journalists’ safety mechanisms begin with trust (Oct.2022) IMS’ safety efforts in Syria have been guided by the framework of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. Recently, the first important steps towards a national emergency plan have been taken.
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GFMD IMPACT
This newsletter is brought to you by GFMD's International Media Policy and Advisory Centre. GFMD IMPACT enables informed, evidence-based decisions about media development and journalism support strategies, programming, funding, and advocacy by:
- facilitating meetings of donors, practitioners and academia to enable knowledge sharing, experience exchange, learning and collaboration;
- commissioning research, publishing briefings and curating the most relevant resources for the sector;
- managing a Help Desk, which uses GFMD's network of experts and resources to respond to requests for research, surveys, and insights in a timely manner.
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