Related projects and initiatives
Mapping of resource centres, networks, research organisations and think tanks that have similarities with and/or IMPACT should consider partnering with. (Last updated by Tom Law - March 1, 2021)
We looked at 14 initiatives and organizations that are comparable to GFMD IMPACT in order to avoid any overlap or duplication of effort and to guarantee that our services and products build on and complement existing projects.
This page provides a summary of the findings, with further analysis provided in the individual profiles.
Summary
Our research revealed that while some initiatives accomplish some of the goals set forth by IMPACT, none accomplish all of them. Most of the organisations reviewed did not provide analysis to help donors navigate competing interpretations of what works and where.
While some organisations and networks do some of the things that IMPACT intends, none do all of them.
For example, while the Journalism Funders Forum provides excellent analysis and insights, it focuses only on European funders and journalism.
Others take a similar approach or provide services but they do not focus on media development and journalism support in the level of detail that GFMD IMPACT hopes to provide.
Most of the organisation reviewed as part of this mapping process did not provide analysis of analysis to help donors navigate competing interpretations of what works and where.
Few work as closely with academic partners as GFMD IMPACT intends to. CIMA, which does work closely with researchers and academics, is a member of GFMD and is supporting the project. (The first donor-practitioner meeting in March 2021 was co-convened by GFMD and CIMA.)
Geographic focus and perspectives
Much of the existing reports and research in this field have a very North American or European focus.
GFMD IMPACT intends to explore what elements of these elements might be relevant in other contexts but also focus on the Global South. Regional coordinators will be used to ensure that GFMD IMPACT involves funders, practitioners, researchers and academics from ahas much wider perspectives in terms of geography funders, practitioners, researchers and academics.
Thematic focus
Very few of the initiatives reviewed focused on media and journalism. (The few that did were regionally focused, have taken different strategic approaches or are not addressing the same target audiences)
For other initiatives (such as Ariadne, Communication Initiative, Human Rights Funders Network) supporting journalism was a smaller category within broader themes such as social change, human rights and communications (including comms4dev, marketing and strategic communications etc.)
While interdisciplinary approaches are valid (and there is much to learn from these related disciplines), GFMD IMPACT believes an initiative that focuses on the effectiveness of support to media development and journalism is needed for the following reasons:
Independent journalism is facing an extinction event in many parts of the world. Working collaboratively to support more informed decisive and effective donor decision making is critical for the survival of independent media and everything that it contributes to society.
Media development is a relatively young field and needs dedicated support for it to grow and not be subsumed by other, larger more established areas of donor support.
If media development is defined only through the lens of "human rights", or "communications for development" there is a real danger that past mistakes (for example of media being instrumentalised or seen as an afterthought in development programmes) will be repeated and opportunities will be missed.
Help desk
None of the initiatives analysed has a service similar to GFMD IMPACT's help desk that is able to provide “live, immediate insight” into media development efforts and sector trends based on demand.
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