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Independent Evaluation of the Media Freedom Coalition

Aida Al Kaisy, Daniel Skillings, Ivana Jiménez Barrios

Paris: Aleph Strategies; Media Freedom Coalition (2025), 62 pp.

"The evaluation found that the MFC has made notable contributions to media freedom and journalist safety over the past five years. It has played a role in encouraging some Member States to strengthen their media freedom policies and legislation. The MFC has also influenced state actors through diplo ... matic and advocacy efforts, maintaining high-level political attention on media freedom. Direct interventions, legal guidance, and engagement with embassy networks have contributed to journalist protection efforts at the local level. Furthermore, the MFC has strengthened multi-stakeholder coordination, bringing together governments, civil society, and legal experts. However, the evaluation also identified several areas for improvement. While the MFC provides a platform for dialogue and cooperation, its engagement with members on domestic media freedom policies is voluntary and lacks a structured approach for supporting and tracking commitments. Joint advocacy statements have a greater impact locally than internationally and are often perceived as lacking boldness and clear outcomes. While the MFC has addressed high-profile cases, its focus has sometimes overshadowed broader, systemic media freedom challenges. Engagement with Rights-Holders and organisations working on the ground has been limited, impacting the relevance and sustainability of its strategies. Coordination and collaboration within the MFC are foundational, particularly through diplomatic networks and the development of emergency visa schemes. However, decision-making is often reactive, affecting stakeholder trust. The MFC’s membership is perceived as predominantly Northern-led, and there is potential to leverage its diverse membership more effectively. Knowledge management and information-sharing need strengthening to ensure a deeper understanding of media freedom issues among Member States. The high-level legal expertise of the HLP is underutilised. Clarity around decision-making processes among Member States varies, influencing trust-based collaboration. While engagement at the local level through embassies is effective, it requires more structured guidance and support. Coordination between Member States, the CN, and the HLP remains limited in some areas. In terms of sustainability, the current governance model, particularly the annual rotation of Executive Group co-chairs, can present challenges for knowledge retention and continuity. Funding modalities are complex, leading to perceptions of uneven distribution and impacting trust and coordination. While the MFC has developed working relationships with similar coalitions, more formalised collaboration could maximise resource efficiency. The limited engagement with Rights-Holders influences the visibility and perceived effectiveness of the MFC’s work." (Key findings and conclusions, pages 2-3) more

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Donor Strategies in a time of Paradigm Shift: Mapping of the Donors Active in the Western Balkans

Miroslav Tomic, Mihailo Gajic, Ardiana Gashi

Open Society Foundations, 3rd ed. (2023), 43 pp.

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Coordinating Media Assistance and Journalism Support Efforts

Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) (2022), 4 pp.

"The need for coordination within the media development sector is widely recognised – particularly in the wake of conflict or crisis." (Page 1)

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Report: Coordinating Media Assistance and Journalism Support Efforts

Michael Randall, Aida Al-Kaisy

Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) (2022), 40 pp.

"All respondents in the interviews—including those who shared a negative experience of coordination—agreed that at a minimum, sharing information and exploring synergies should be fixtures of the media development landscape in any given country. The positive impact of such activities on value fo ... r money, aid effectiveness, and public perceptions of development programmes was recognised across the board and particularly in the context of the fundamental principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Clearly, the scale of coordination work will depend largely on the volume of programming on the ground. However, even in those countries that see low levels of activity or have a single dominant programme, there was perceived value in introducing media development as a separate thematic strand in wider coordination efforts. The format and structure inherent in the selected coordination mechanism will also be shaped by the needs and priorities of local actors, but in general, a scheduled exchange of information combined with a platform for knowledge management was welcomed. The recommended level of involvement of donor organisations is a moot point since few if any coordination mechanisms have succeeded in regularly bringing donors and implementing agencies to the table. In 2016, as part of the MedMedia project, EC officials attempted to organise a roundtable for EU donors and development agencies committed to supporting media in the MENA region. Despite the best efforts of those concerned, the event was attended by representatives from just two member states—Austria and Latvia—neither of which was active in this field. Conversely, the donor coordination process that was set up in Ukraine in 2015 includes only limited representation from implementing agencies and exists in parallel to the coordination group assembled by GFMD in the wake of the Russian invasion. While GFMD invites donors to its meetings and shares information via email and online documents, the donors have yet to reciprocate. Thus, in real terms, there is no silver bullet or single best-practice model. However, based on its findings and conclusions, this report recommends that a strong level of interagency engagement should become the default position for all media development projects." (Recommendations, page 34-35) more

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Effective consortia: A guide to emerging thinking and practice

Rachel Houghton, Niall Marriott, Joanna Pyres, Catherine Russ

Oxford; London: Partnering Initiative (TPI); Bond (2021), 71 pp.

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Common Services for Communication and Community Engagement: National and Sub-National Platforms. A Status Update

CDAC Network (2020), 29 pp.

"It has been widely agreed that national platforms for Communication and Community Engagement (CCE) are essential for making progress toward greater participation and accountability in humanitarian response. A policy paper describing this in detail was produced by the CDAC Network in 2016, supported ... more

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Working in Concert: Coordination and Collaboration in International Media Development

Walter Dean

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2012), 27 pp.

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CDAC Haiti: Learning Review

Cecilia M. Ljungman

Ohain: CDAC Network; Channel Research (2012), 88 pp.

"In the immediate aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the CDAC (Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities) Network undertook its first ever ground initiative. This initiative, which came to be known as CDAC Haiti, was funded largely through the OCHA’s ERRF with some additiona ... more

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Minutes from the International Partnership Meeting

Copenhagen: International Media Support (IMS) (2010), 40 pp.

"This report provides an overview of the discussions and conclusions from the International Partnership Meeting in New York on 26 January 2010 organised by the Open Society Institute and International Media Support. At the meeting, 30 media support and press freedom organisations from across the wor ... more

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Funder Collaboratives: Why and How Funders Work Together

Cynthia Gibson, Anne Mackinnon

GrantCraft (2009), 29 pp.

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International Media Partnerships

Copenhagen: International Media Support (IMS) (2009), 20 pp.

"This report provides an overview of the discussions and findings from the ‘International Partnership Meeting’ held in Copenhagen in September 2009, as well as the best practices and lessons learnt from organisations engaged in Partnerships over the past years. Representatives of twenty one inte ... more

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Guidance for Managing Joint Evaluations

Paris: OECD (2006), 32 pp.

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The State of Communications in International Development and its Relevance to the Work of the United Nations

Adam Rogers

United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) (2005), 102 pp.

"In this study, the researcher examined the development of the various theoretical frameworks that define the practice of development communication, and then reached out to the international development community through a survey to discover: a) whether an assumption that development communication i ... more

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Access, Empowerment and Governance: Creating a World of Equal Opportunities with ICT

Rinalia Abdul Rahim, Daniele Waldburger, Gabriele Siegenthaler Munide (eds.)

Kuala Lumpur: Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) (2005), 173 pp.

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Joint Evaluations: Recent Experiences, Lessons Learned and Options for the Future

Horst Breier

Paris: OECD (2005), 117 pp.

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Supporting the Media in Liberia: A Review of the Media Landscape for the Post-Conflict Transition Period

Partnership for Media and Conflict Prevention in West Africa (2004), 76 pp. + annexes

"This report outlines the findings and conclusions derived from the assessment mission undertaken by the ‘Partnership for Media and Conflict Prevention in West Africa’ to Liberia in December 2003. This mission brought together the expertise of a number of the national, regional and international ... more

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Communication for Development Programmes in the United Nations System

Francesco Mezzalama

Geneva: Joint Inspection Unit United Nations (1994), ix, 34 pp.

"Communication for development programmes do not feature as a priority theme for most of the agencies, with the exception of UNESCO, UNICEF and FAO. UNICEF considers communication for development programmes as a priority. They have communication officers in almost all their field offices, most of th ... more