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Inspiring the Next Generation of Independent Media in Pakistan. Final Evaluation Report

Saeed Ullah Khan, Mahe Nau Haider, Tehreem Tussaud, Zara Naveed, Aaftab Ullah et al.

Search for Common Ground; GLOW Consultants (2023), 34 + xiii pp. (annexes)

"The project design, interventions, and targeting in the two provinces of Pakistan aligned with the challenging context, especially in high-risk border districts with Afghanistan. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where conflict dynamics and security challenges are prevalent, the project is hig ... hly relevant. It offers a platform for youth and women journalists to report on conflict-related issues, enriching public discourse. The evolving media landscape in these regions, marked by increased demand for diverse voices, makes the project's empowerment of underrepresented groups crucial. Focusing on youth and women journalists, the project provides training, resources, and support tailored to their unique needs. It prioritizes inclusivity by considering gender and ethnic diversity, contributing to a pluralistic media landscape. By empowering these journalists to report on conflict and peacebuilding, the project aligns with the region's needs and furthers local perspectives on peace solutions. The project's effectiveness can be assessed in terms of its objectives, capacity-building impact, promotion of conflict-sensitive journalism, and fostering a safer, more inclusive environment for women journalists. This effectiveness was maintained despite a shift in implementation modality and a no-cost extension. Training and mentorship led to improved skills and balanced reporting on conflict-related issues, fulfilling the primary objective of responsible journalism. The project enhanced the capacity of press clubs, journalists, and universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, fostering openness and collaboration. By incorporating conflict-sensitive journalism into curricula, the project enriched journalism education and training. The project cultivated ethical reporting, sensitivity to local contexts, and diverse perspectives, contributing to understanding and peace. It empowered women journalists to work safely and independently, gaining industry support and increasing their professional capabilities. Intermediate impact assessments highlight the positive influence on the professional lives of women and youth journalists, their prominent roles in the media, and the integration of conflict sensitivity in journalism practices in target regions. The project improved job prospects, self-confidence, and balanced reporting for many participants. It promoted the active participation of youth and women in the media sector, breaking gender and age barriers. Journalists adopted a more responsible approach to conflict-related reporting, showing increased awareness of their impact on tensions. The project fostered a supportive community of practice, encouraged discussion on the media's role in peace-building, and addressed potential risks faced by women journalists. To ensure project sustainability, capacity-building, mentorship, and stakeholder engagement are prioritized. Skills and knowledge are imparted to journalists, press club members, and faculty to continue promoting conflict-sensitive journalism. Mentorship relationships will persist, with experienced journalists guiding emerging talents. Local partners, universities, press clubs, and media houses have embraced the project's initiatives, ensuring their longevity. Universities have incorporated conflict-sensitive journalism into curricula, and press clubs provide enduring platforms for collaboration and professional growth. Government support for ethical journalism and inclusivity indicates a long-term commitment to the project's principles and objectives." (Conclusions, page 32) more

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Evaluation finale: « Projet renforcement de la résilience communautaire à la désinformation dans les régions du nord et du centre du Mali »

Sékou Doumbia, Zoumana Kone

Search for Common Ground (2023), 57 pp.

"Les objectifs du projet cadrent bien avec un certain nombre de politiques ou stratégies comme décrit dans le présent rapport. A titre d’exemple, on citer la politique nationale de lutte contre le terrorisme et l’extrémisme violent dans son Pilier 1, ainsi que la stratégie nationale de la r ... more

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Community Stewards and Social Cohesion in Digital Spaces

Search for Common Ground (2023), 27 pp.

"[...] There are 70 million individuals who are administrators of Facebook groups. Many more coordinate groups across other platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal, and others, which are often run on mobile devices - with a global user base of 5.34 billion unique mobile users. Group administrators and mo ... derators act as “community stewards.” They are individuals in charge of reviewing user-generated content to ensure users adhere to rules, regulations, and community standards of social media platforms. They hold tremendous influence over the experience of their users, but they often step into these roles without fully understanding the scope of responsibilities they are taking on. Many community stewards describe their role as a “labor of love,” representing a substantial opportunity to catalyze large-scale, positive social change across societies. Yet, they face many challenges. Stewards cite myriad challenges, risks, rewards, and opportunities they face in managing their online groups and pages. This report focuses on the role of community stewards in promoting healthier relationships in their online and digital groups in conflict-affected and fragile countries. There is growing evidence of the societal impacts stewards are driving through their platforms, such as mobilizing aid during crises, raising awareness on important issues, and fostering solutions to community challenges. Given their unique reach, influence, and trust, community stewards hold great potential to not only mobilize positive social change, but also to foster connection and belonging in a way that positively transforms relationships and disrupts the toxic polarization that divides societies and fuels violence. The potential of community stewards is clear; it is less clear how civil society, the private sector, governments, and others can best support and scale up this potential. Understanding the needs and incentives of community stewards to proactively use their roles for building healthier online (and offline) communities can help build on what works. Understanding the barriers and challenges they face in doing so, will serve as critical entry points for mobilizing the right support to stewards. This report looks to uncover the barriers and opportunities that stewards face in their efforts to build healthier and safer online communities in conflict-affected and fragile places." (Introduction) more

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Social Media Listening Analysis: Kenya

Uchaguzi Bila Balaa

Search for Common Ground (2022), 18 pp.

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Youth Talk: Empowering Young People Through Media in Mali, Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Final Evaluation

Anna Louise Strachan, James Moody, Laura le Ray

Kigali: Search for Common Ground (2022), 57 pp.

"Thanks to an inclusive and context-sensitive selection process of youth journalists and relevant and participatory capacity-building sessions, the project successfully empowered hard to reach youth by providing them with a range of transferable skills that they have been able to use both within and ... more

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Conflict and Online Space in the Sahel: Challenges and Recommendations

Jiaxuan Yue, Habibou Bako, Kelsey Hampton et al.

Brussels: Search for Common Ground (2022), 5 pp.

"With the growth of new social media users across the Sahel, existing conflict dynamics are increasingly manifesting. Sahelians are entering a complex digital space. The ability of individuals and communities to adapt to online/offline conflict dynamics will define the future of conflict in the regi ... more

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Conflit et espace en ligne au Sahel : Défis et recommandations

Jiaxuan Yue, Habibou Bako, Kelsey Hampton, Katie Smith

Brussels: Search for Common Ground (2022), 6 pp.

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Renforcer la résilience communautaire et la désinformation dans les régions du nord et du centre, Mali (Tabale Kunkan)

Issouf M. A. Haidara, Bréhima M. Sangare, Lassine Diarra

Search for Common Ground (2021), 56 pp.

"L’étude de base du projet « Renforcer la résilience communautaire et la désinformation dans les régions du nord et du centre du Mali intitulé “Tabalé Kunkan’’ a pour but d’établir la situation de référence du projet à partir de laquelle les progrès seront mesurés. Elle a util ... more

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Handling Harmful Content Online: Cross-National Perspectives of Users Affected by Conflict

Search for Common Ground (2021), 32 pp.

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Situation Analysis Study on Religious Freedom and Tolerance in Greater Bogor, Bandung, and Solo

Search for Common Ground (2021), 3 pp.

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Media and Social Media Analysis on Religious Freedom and Violent Extremism in Central Asia: Cases of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

Search for Common Ground (2020), 33 pp.

"This report analyzes the content of traditional media and social networks on religious freedom and violent extremism in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. At the same time, the study seeks to examine hate speech against certain religious groups and how pre-labeling affects those officially accu ... more

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Information Flows and Radicalization Leading to Violent Extremism in Central Asia

Search for Common Ground; Internews (2019), 77 pp.

"The study is comprised of three main parts: a desk study of available and accessible material – reports, documents and media material; a qualitative study comprising over 200 interviews with ordinary people, experts, and persons with direct experience with radicalization leading to violent extrem ... ism (RVE); and a quantitative component consisting of national surveys of people’s information consumption habits. For the desk study, the effort was made to gain as broad a picture as possible, that is, to cover all five countries of Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. However, predictably and unfortunately, Uzbekistan and especially Turkmenistan proved difficult cases to study in full. For both the qualitative and quantitative field research activities, for several reasons, only the first three countries were included. As a result, this study is able to report most robustly on these three countries and propose observations regarding Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan only to a limited extent. Based on the desk study, the drivers of extremist sympathies as established in existing research have been political grievances (injustice from state structures; identity-based discrimination; oppressive political regimes, etc), economic difficulties (unemployment; indebtedness; poverty; and desire for quick and greater income) and ideological motivations (resentment of false values; striving for the singularly just and true life; for reward in a perceived afterlife). To these push and pull factors are added a range of enabling factors, such as migration, young age, gender (women), and means of communication. All these drivers of RVE need to be treated with caution, as stressed by various authors and suggested by evidence gained in field research. A general observation, gained from the desk research and supported by evidence in both qualitative and quantitative field studies, was the difference among the countries in degree of control over the information space, or the degree of hegemony over public discourse. Of the three most fully studied countries, hegemonic discourse was the strongest in Tajikistan, followed by Kazakhstan, and the least in Kyrgyzstan. Uzbekistan, analyzed to a limited extent, would be closer to the extreme of Tajikistan, whereas Turkmenistan was too closed to make reasonably robust observations." (Page 3) more

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Social Media Use Needs Assessment for At-Risk Groups & In-Depth Analysis of Use of Social Media in Indonesia

Ruici Tio, Fatima Astuti, Hannah Perry et al.

Search for Common Ground; Love Frankie (2018), 84 pp.

"This report summarizes the findings from a research study conducted by Love Frankie to inform Search for Common Ground (Search) in developing an implementation strategy for a 24-month project to reduce the influence of violent extremist narratives online, particularly targeted at youth and ex-juven ... more

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Final Evaluation: Gender Sensitive Public Communication Project

Melike Karlidag, Bérangère Pineau Soukkarieh

Search for Common Ground (2018), 68 pp.

"The Gender Sensitive Public Communications Project was implemented by Search for Common Ground in Lebanon, together with its local partner Abaad, with an aim to promote women’s participation in politics through the production of gender sensitive television drama and short films. Specifically, the ... more

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Ensemble, les femmes journalistes du Mali renforcent la paix !

Search for Common Ground (2017), 36 pp.

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Search for Common Ground’s ‘Strengthening the Capacity of Civil Society to Contribute to Sustainable Governance in Liberia’: Final Evaluation Report

Heather Gilberds, Katherina Thomas

Search for Common Ground (2017), 58 pp.

"Overall, the program set out what it achieved to do—namely to strengthen the institutional capacity of civil society organizations to improve their credibility, visibility, effectiveness and sustainability. There is evidence that many partner CSOshave refined theirmission, developed a multi-year ... strategic plan, a communications plan, a gender policy and an HR policy. In addition, they are beginning to integrate new financial reporting and M&E structures. All of the partner CSOs have improved their sustainability byreceiving additional funds to continue their work, and many of them hav developed strategies to diversify their revenue generation, such as expanding their offices to rent out board rooms. A number of organizations are eager to pass their new knowledge onto others, with many training peer CSOs on what they learned through the Search program. Finally, the program was effective in improving their own confidence, with all of the partner CSOs expressing their appreciation of the program, and in particular the freedom they had to define their own priorities and objectives.A number of lessons emerged during the course of implementation that are relevant for Search’s future work in civil society strengthening, as well as for other organizations working in this sector: 1. The participatory benchmarking approach is useful to help organizations track improvments in their organziational capacity over time. However, there was a tendency for CSOs to overstate what was possible within a limited timeframe. As a result, benchmarks were not consistently met, and many of the capacity-related development were not fully institutionalized by the project end. 2. The integration of radio programs with other civil society organizing approaches—town hall meetings, workshops, and house to house outreach—is an effective way to improve awareness and engagement of citizens in governance reform issues on a mass scale. 3. Programs to improve the capacity and sustainability of CSOs, and to professionalize the sector, are crucial but often overlooked, in efforts to improve local governance in fragile and trasitional countries such as Liberia. 4. There is a need to continue efforts to link civil society actors together for cohesive action and to further improve the enabling environment for civil society in Liberia by providing opportunities for CSOs to develop strategic collaborations, improve organizational capacity development, and attract donor funds to support their work." (Conclusions) more

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Combined Final Evaluation for ‘I Love my Country’: Strategic Communications for Peace Building in South Sudan” & Baseline Evaluation for ‘I Love my Country’: Promoting Localized Understanding and Peaceful Coexistence in South Sudan

Search for Common Ground; Forcier Consulting (2017), 83 pp.

"The present report provides the findings of a combined baseline evaluation of “‘I Love My Country:’ Promoting Localized Understanding and Peaceful Coexistence in South Sudan” (PLUPC) funded by the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPS) of the Canadian government, and endline eva ... luation of the project, “‘I Love My Country’: Strategic Communications for Peace Building in South Sudan” (SCPB) funded by the European Union (EU). The goal of the “‘I Love My Country:’ Promoting Localized Understanding and Peaceful Coexistence in South Sudan” project is to build greater understanding and application of key concepts embodied within the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) through key stakeholder meetings, participatory theater performances, civil society engagement, small-scale peace initiatives, short media productions, and radio drama production and broadcast. The project began on December 15, 2016 is expected to end on June 15, 2018. The purpose of the “‘I Love My Country’: Strategic Communications for Peace Building in South Sudan” project is “to promote social cohesion, resilience, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts among individuals and communities in South Sudan” by strengthening national platforms for diverse and constructive and promoting peace, tolerance, and reconciliation with key groups and individuals. Search for Common Ground, iHub, UNESCO, and Catholic Radio Network launched the project in November 1, 2014 and it was concluded on March 1, 2017. The objectives of the baseline evaluation for PLUPC are to update the analysis of local conflict dynamics in the targeted zones for outreach activities, collect baseline data for project indicators, to reflect upon the Objectives and Theory of Change (TOC) of the project, and to evaluate potential risks to project participants, implementing staff, and partners. The final evaluation for SCPB seeks to measure changes in key indicators after the implementation of activities, evaluate the project using OECD-DAC criteria (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability), and provide lessons learned and recommendations to inform future peace building activities in the country." (Executive summary) more

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Faith Matters: A Guide for the Design, Monitoring & Evaluation of Inter-Religious Action for Peacebuilding

Peter Woodrow, Nick Oatley, Michelle Garred

CDA Collaborative Learning Projects; Alliance for Peacebuilding; Search for Common Ground; GHR Foundation (2017), 153 pp.

"This Guide aims to help practitioners make sense of monitoring and evaluation as applied to inter-religious action in peacebuilding. It aims to support good practice among people who are involved in commissioning or contributing to such efforts, whether they be religious, secular or a combination o ... more

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Terminal Evaluation of “The Partnership for Behavior and Social Change in Yemen” Project in Taiz and Hodeidah

Sadeq Noman Al-Nabhani

UNICEF; Search for Common Ground (2017), 80 pp.

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Monitoring and Evaluation of Participatory Theatre for Change

Rebecca Herrington

Washington, DC: Search for Common Ground (2016), 56 pp.

"This Module is not about placing a value on artistic expression, but rather about capturing the true impact of Participatory Theatre for Change (PTC) and helping advance the field through the development of vetted best practice. As discussed in the Module, this starts with design, focusing on the i ... mplementation context and understanding the full dynamics in which PTC activities will take place. The Context Analysis process will help determine how PTC can best be utilised in the implementation environment, how complex the programme should be, and if there are additional activities needed to ensure impact. The information from preliminary design thinking and the Context Analysis then supports the identification and contextualization of the key interrelated theories of change that apply to the programme, serving as a foundation from which the activities can be evaluated. Monitoring then allows for an iterative process of designing individual performances, engaging appropriately and in a context sensitive manner with the community, as well as determining if the PTC activities as implemented are trending towards impact. Regular monitoring helps with course corrections when needed, and leads towards more effective programming. The monitoring of the process and quality helps ensure that the performances are doing no harm, artistic expressions, and implemented in such a manner as to achieve Reach, Resonance, and Response. Monitoring provides the temperature checks to make sure the ecosystem of PTC is balanced. And finally, evaluation helps push PTC programming to the next stage. Strong evaluations provide the community with more information about changes that have happened, even self-reflection through participatory methods. Evaluations also enable the actors to learn about the bigger picture of what worked and did not work beyond the immediacy of the performance space and towards the longer term impacts. It enables informed follow-on activities, as well as learnings that can be shared with the broader field to enhance practice more globally. Lastly, evaluations provide evidence of the great work participatory theatre does as a nuanced, emotionally connected, and transformative approach to communications for development." (Conclusion, pages 38-39) more