"This toolkit is unique in the sense that it is designed as a one-stop-shop practitioner’s guide to setting up and maintaining – what the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS) defined as – best practices for managing healthy and sustainable community radio stations, which a ... re deeply rooted in the communities where they operate. With this handbook, one can understand the essential ingredients for building a healthy community radio station from scratch. At the same time, it provides important troubleshooting information to existing community radio stations. The handbook outlines in detail the nature and form of healthy community radio stations: how their governance structure should look like; how they should be staffed and managed; what infrastructure and financial management systems have to be in place; how to produce good quality programming; and how to ensure real community participation in all aspects of their daily work." (Foreword) more

"This report presents the results of a pilot research study commissioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and carried out by the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS). The study involved 14 community radio stations and seven campus ... radio stations operating across the country’s 10 provinces. The research aims to guide the development of a community radio framework for Zimbabwe, leveraging insights gained since February 2020 when the Government issued a call for community radio license applications. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key personnel from mainstream media, community radio stations, campus radio stations, the government, and civil society organizations. The interviews covered the development of a flexible legal and policy framework that will inform the expansion and licensing of more campus and community radio stations based on best practice lessons drawn from the research. The study aims to achieve: strengthened campus and community radio stations with proper governance and operational systems based on recommendations from the research; a Community Radio Broadcasting Continuous Assessment Toolkit; the application and licensing of more campus and community radio stations; to narrow the information gap between the rural and urban citizenry through strengthened community stations and the establishment of new ones." (Introduction, page 1) more