Impact measurement, evaluation & learning
Case studies that demonstrate interesting, effective or innovative approaches to the design, measurement, evaluation, and learning, from media development and journalism support initiatives.
This page has been created as a resource to support GFMD IMPACT's March 2021 learning meeting on theories of change and impact measurement. Case studies are listed in alphabetical order.
BBC MEDIA ACTION (PRIMED CONSORTIUM)
Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development - PRIMED
The Protecting Independent Media For Effective Development project (PRIMED) exemplifies how sharing learning can be embedded into the structure of the programme and its metrics for success.
The PRIMED programme came out of a 2019 review of FCDO’s (previously DFID) media support, which found that most programmes were using media mostly as a means to an end - for example, to achieve the development goals around education and health.
Thus the PRIMED programme is seeking to address some of the challenges of media development head-on - media viability, the political and economic challenges facing media outlets across the world, as well as the enabling environment in these countries.
The members of the consortium and the donor for PRIMED -- the UK FCDO -- were conscious that many development collaboratives despite investing in research, struggle to articulate clear, actionable insights capable of guiding future media development spending and strategy.
For background on the PRIMED project see:
Learning questions
For that reason, one of the first activities of the PRIMED consortium was to develop 14 learning questions in consultation with organisations in the target countries Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone (plus two “learning countries” Zambia and Iraq).
A summary of each question -- why it has been identified as a priority, what kinds of learning are designed to be generated and how that will be crystallised and communicated -- can be found here: PRIMED learning questions.
PRIMED learning questionsThroughout the project, participants will be asked for feedback on the learning questions to share similar learning experiences and ideas about how PRIMED could be connected and learn from and feed into other initiatives.
Participants will also be asked what learning outputs they expect or hope for from PRIMED, as well as how the PRIMED learning agenda can connect with other learning agendas.
Other resources
DW AKAMEDIE
DW Akademie collects and documents the impacts of its projects through a range of methods. There are three approaches that are currently standard in development cooperation: Applied studies, which enable new insights on impacts, impactoriented monitoring performed with local partners in the course of project work, and evaluations prepared by external experts.
The present volume focuses on additional methods for presenting impacts: reports from 13 different countries and quantitative data, so-called aggregated impact data, which are regularly collected and bundled. Aggregated impact data sets provide a numerical overview of the people who have been reached through the work of DW Akademie.
In 2018, for example, 9.6 million people in rural areas were provided with relevant information with the support of DW Akademie. 26.6 million people have benefited from the restructuring of their state broadcasters and now receive more diverse and attractive reporting.
In this publication you will get to know some of the people behind these figures. Their stories are not representative of the totality of the supported target groups but they show which approaches and solutions have worked for individual people and why.
MEDIA DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT FUND
MDIF impact dashboard
MDIF’s approach to impact assessment
MEDIA IMPACT FUNDERS
Tracking media impact (2020)
Media Impact Funder’s (MIF) website includes multiple resources such as:
The newly revised media grants data map, Foundation Maps for Media Funding.
The Assessing the Impact of Media (AIM) initiative, which includes original analysis, articles, research reports, and tools related to impact assessment for media projects.
A selection of general reports that are relevant to our field.
Dec 2019. Media Impact Funders (MIF) has been curating a number of resources for the field, including impact-related tools, original analyses on impact trends, and a monthly impact newsletter. Their guide aims to provide all of those resources with the help of a redesigned and organized impact section.
The centerpiece of MIF's new impact resources is the new, searchable, interactive database of impact assessment tools for media projects. This is a continuously updated collection of impact analysis platforms and apps, frameworks, toolkits and case studies of high impact media projects. You can sort through the collection by focusing on a specific media type (e.g. “audio/radio” or “film/video”) and/or by the type of resource (e.g. “toolkit” or “case studies.”). Here’s an overview of it.
MIF database of impact tools
There are many different frameworks for measuring media impact for different areas of practice.
Funders should be mindful of power dynamics, and thoughtful in determining appropriate impact strategies with their grantees.
Digital analytics tools provide a wealth of useful data, but grantees require financial and logistical support in implementing them.
There are opportunities for funders to collaborate with each other to share best practices and increase collective impact.
This guide is meant to serve as a practical resource for funders who want to understand where to start. It represents a synthesis of the past seven years of MIF has done in the impact space, and includes examples of successful media impact evaluation, tools and frameworks for assessment, and the challenges of defining and measuring impact in a rapidly-shifting media landscape.
Dec 2020 - This report provides an examination of the current state of the field of media impact assessment, which Media Impact Funders (MIF) has been tracking for seven years. It also draws on insights from a few leading experts engaged in media impact assessment.
Since 2013, Media Impact Funders (MIF) has been curating a number of resources for the field, including impact-related tools, original analyses on impact trends, and a monthly impact newsletter.
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