Community Media/Case Studies

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Critical Success Factors (Case studies)

Educational content for community media: an experience from Nepal

The Nepal workshop and the programme that it resulted in were part of a UNESCO activity to develop educational content for community media. In 2004, UNESCO worked with an experience radio trainer to develop an approach for and then run a weeklong workshop to create a new educational radio programme at Community Radio Madanpokhara, established in 2000 in Palpa District in Western Nepal,

The workshop brought together local teachers and radio producers who identified 70% failure rates of secondary students as the top local priority and then designed a simple effective media programme to address it. Three years later it is one of their most popular programmes and there is general consensus that the programme has made a tangible difference in pass rates.

Key Success Factors

Key success factors were:

1. the radio station’s commitment to the process, i.e. they provided a significant block of primetime for the programmes (now 4.5 hours per week) and free access for teacher-producers to the internet to expand their access to new ideas and information sources;
2. building local capacities is a long term process and needs to grow organically; the Madanpokhara project was designed with long term goals in mind, essentially following students through their last three years of secondary schooling; and;
3. community investment: the programmes addressed a critical need for the whole community and therefore people (rather than donors) have invested to sustain it -- resources (the radio station), expertise (teachers), time (students), support (parents).

Radio Sagarmatha: Nepal, capital, 1+ million

1. License held by NGO: NEFEJ (itself member-based and democratic)
2. No members
3. Board of directors based on executive of NEFEJ and appointments
4. Managed by paid staff; hierarchical
5. Programmed largely by paid employees: 40-80
6. Focus:
   • Public interest and national culture
   • Experts not access
   • Innovative
7. Proactive in terms of women’s participation
8. Dominated by “high caste”; no political affiliation
9. Funded by ads, donors
10. 500 Watts
11. Passive (public)

Vancouver Cooperative Radio: Canada, big city, 2+ million

1. License held by the station
2. Cooperative of members: 25000+ members; 2500 active
3. Board of directors elected by members
4. Managed by small team of staff; with decision-making by committees (programming, training, membership and outreach, finance, technical, web)
5. Programmed by 300+ volunteers, especially ‘social movements’ and ‘representatives’
6. Content focus on ‘marginalized’, alternatives:
   • Social movements, ‘causes’, minorities, languages, music
   • Non-commercial information, culture
   • Best: alternative news/issues; culture/music
   • Empowerment
7. Highly proactive in terms of participation: quotas, affirmative action
8. Dominated by women, community, minorities
9. Funded by members, limited ads
10. 5500 Watts; cable FM
11. Democratic

Radio Lumbini: Nepal, town, villages; 1+ million

1. License held by a non-profit coop
2. Cooperative of owners: 200 members
3. Board of directors chosen by members
4. Managed by small group: manager, active board members, senior staff
5. Programmed by 50+ paid staff: FT, PT, programme based, ‘volunteer’ (interns)
6. Focus on ‘community’:
   1. Common values, language, news, villages
   2. Positive social messages
   3. Best: village profiles, local news
7. Reasonably active in terms of participation: women, disabled
8. Dominated by “high caste”; political affiliation
9. Funded by ads, donor support
10. 500 Watts
11. Active

CKUT Radio McGill: Canada, big city, 2+ million

1. License held by a non-profit corporation – NGO
2. All university students are members
3. Board of directors determined/elected: university staff, elected students, radio staff, community rep (chosen)
4. Managed by collective: manager, key staff
5. Programmed by 200+ volunteers: community members, students
6. Focus on ‘alternatives’ and ‘communities’:
   1. Social movements, alternative politics and culture (esp. music)
   2. Minority groups, especially languages
   3. Best: music, community services
7. Pro-active in terms of participation: women, minority groups
8. Dominated by youth
9. Funded by membership, donations, limited ads
10. 5000 Watts
11. Active

Waiheke Radio: Waiheke Island, Auckland, New Zealand

Population: 8,000+. Island. http://www.waihekeradio.org.nz

1. Low Power FM broadcast - no license required
2. Members, currently 6 but will expand. DJs are required to be members.
3. Governed by a Trust, 4 members
4. Managed by volunteers
5. Focus on local community, specialist music shows
6. Funded by grants, fundraising, membership fees, sponsorship/ads
7. 4 watts
8. Test broadcast running]

Case Studies Template

For guidelines for writing up a case study (i.e., what questions to ask, information to provide), please see the Case Studies Template