Mapping Donor Decision Making on Media Development

The Media Map Project is a collaborative research initiative between Internews, the World Bank Institute and the Brookings Institution, examining the impact of media development interventions worldwide. As one component of the Media Map Project, this capstone project investigates the evolution of impact evaluations among donors of media development interventions in the last two decades. The focus is a group of international donors possessing diverse motivations, strategies, and spending patterns in media development.

Measuring success in development is very difficult; it is difficult to determine success and it is difficult to attribute changes to specific donor interventions. As a result, practitioners often focus their efforts on delivering programs, rather than analyzing them for efficacy. In the last decade, some donors, led by the Gates’ Foundation, have placed greater emphasis on quantifiable results. Eager to define criteria to measure the development efforts funded, there appears to be an increased emphasis on monitoring and evaluation (M&E).

This Capstone examines the evolution and current trends of media development M&E, to see how/if definitions of success and impact have changed over the years. In addition to extensive reading and research in the media development and M&E field, this project requires primary research through interviews with major players in the media development field. These include academics, practitioners, and public and private funders.