Assessment of Media Activities in Chad and Niger under the USAID Peace Through Development (PDEV) Program

This report documents the results of an end-line qualitative evaluation in Niger and Chad on the media component of the Peace through Development (PDEV) programme funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). According to the report, one month of field research, including interviews, observation, and focus groups with radio programme listeners, partner radio station staff, and training programme beneficiaries, indicates that the ongoing media and outreach activities of the PDEV programme continue to strengthen and expand the existing civic culture in Niger and Chad. Equal Access, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) specialising in development communication and outreach, implemented the media component of the PDEV project, in collaboration with the Academy for Educational Development (AED), now FHI 360.

The report focuses on seven interventions: communication training for religious leaders and association members; media guide for conflict situations; radio programmes; building the capacity of radio partners; radio station peer mentoring; listening clubs; and listener engagement mechanisms through Frontline SMS/Text message software and FreedomFone interactive voice response systems. This report presents qualitative data that suggests that the PDEV media activities outlined above continue to improve the quantity, quality, and diversity of citizen participation and democratic expression.

According to the report, capacity building activities have increased and improved the production capacity of radio partners thereby extending the existing platform for a geographically and linguistically diverse set of moderate voices that are engaging with and discussing PDEV-related themes. Listener engagement mechanisms invite participation from citizens who contribute to PDEV programming through their input, feedback, questions, and critiques.

The report explains that ecological models of communication for change propose that individual behaviour should always be considered as part of an ecology that includes other individuals, institutions, social norms, and social systems that influence, and are influenced by, individuals. In other words, behaviour should be viewed as inseparable from context, relationships, and environment. According to the report, PDEV media programming in Niger and Chad demonstrate a robust, ecological approach to social change. As such, the programme is designed to have impact at multiple levels. The combination of interpersonal with mass media communication channels has proven particularly effective for the PDEV media team.

The report further explains that traditional radio programmes are effective in increasing the amount and reach of information on a given topic, but supplementing radio programmes with additional engagement activities increases and enriches the reach of radio even further. Activities such as listening clubs, call-in shows, local production shows, communication training for influential figures, peer mentoring, media guides for journalists, and listener engagement mechanisms such as interactive voice response (IVR) and Frontline SMS allow the PDEV media teams to intervene at several ecological levels, which increases their potential to have system-wide impact.

The report concludes that through these activities, the PDEV media component is actively countering the socio-economic and political drivers that could otherwise lead ordinary citizens to express themselves through violence. The inclusive and multi-layered design of PDEV programming is an ecological approach to behaviour and social change, which is appropriate for the complex task of countering extremist ideologies and protecting against the spread of regional instability. The drivers of extremism are present across an entire ecology of mutually influencing levels, including individual, community, socio-economic, religious/cultural, media-system, and political. To counter these drivers, PDEV media programming intervenes at each of these levels, with an important set of capacity building activities that have already borne fruit - in the form of locally produced radio content - signalling the potential for impact, via the continued promotion of peace and tolerance, beyond the life of the PDEV project.

Click here to download the 38-page evaluation in PDF format.