|
|
|
Sierra Leone
2010 Sustaining a Civil Society Campaign around the Chieftaincy Reform Process in Sierra Leone
SFCG has been working on with PICOT to support its media strategy in the advocacy campaign for reform of the chieftaincy system. The project worked towards the overall goal of providing a national platform for debate on chieftaincy reform whilst influencing policy to ensure that the reform is consistent with national aspirations during its 6 month life span. More specifically, the project's objectives included promoting basic understanding amongst civil society and communities about the need for chieftaincy reform and how it supports democratic values and principles, stimulating discussion and national debate on the role chiefs should play in a democracy vis-a-vis the decentralized local government (district councils), and ensuring civil society's position on the Draft Chieftaincy Act is taken into consideration in the discussions leading to the final enactment. In light of these objectives, the project implements a number of activities including a bi-monthly radio program, reinforcing campaign messages through jingles, programme review meetings, and mainstreaming chieftaincy reform into Search for Common Ground Soap Operas.
Read the Evaluation Report
Read the Key Findings
2009 Draft Consolidated Report: Community Radio and Development in Sierra Leone and Liberia
The purpose of this evaluation was to analyze trends across four community radio stations:
- Radio Kergheamahn in Ganta, Nimba County, Liberia;
- Radio Life in Zorzor, Lofa County, Liberia;
- Radio Wanjei in Pujehun District, Sierra Leone; and
- Radio Kolenten in Kambia District, Sierra Leone
More specifically, evaluation was carried out with the intent of determining how community radio can be better positioned to drive development and support peaceful transformation of conflict in the communities they're broadcasting to. In addition to analysis of the relationship between radio and development, information on radio programming, effectiveness of radio stations' day-to-day operations, and audience feedback to programming was considered in assessing community radio stations' capacity and impact. Ultimately, the findings of the evaluation highlight that sensitization and awareness programs have shown a demonstrable impact on attitudes in behaviors among listeners, but that focus should be placed on inclusiveness of traditionally underrepresented groups including youth and women.
Read the Evaluation
Read the Key Findings
2008 End of Program Assessment: Promoting Information and Voice for Transparency on Election
The Post-Election of the Promoting Information and Voice for Transparency on Election (PIVOT) programme was developed as an umbrella structure bringing partners with a diversity of experience and approach together under a common goal. The purpose of the PIVOT programme was 'to support free, fair elections by improving citizens' ability to engage effectively in the electoral process through enhanced capacity of media and civil society'. Presidential and Parliamentary elections were held in August 2007 and a run-off election in September. Local Council elections were conducted on July 5, 2008.
International NGOs partnered with national organisations to achieve outputs, they were as follows:
-
Strengthening media
-
International and domestic election observation
-
Promoting women's participation and representation in elections
-
Strengthening political parties
Read the Evaluation Report
Read the Key Findings
2008 External Review of ENCISS Project
Commissioned by the UK Department for International Development, this review was conduted in June 2007 by independent consultants Dr Mary Myers and Momoh Taziff Koroma. SFCG has been implement a media and outreach component of the ENCISS programme in Sierra Leone. ENCISS is a large DFID-funded programme and stands for: Enhancing the Interaction and Interface between Civil society and the State to improve Poor People's Lives. SFCG has a two year contract through CARE to implement this sub-project, entitled 'Using Media and Outreach for National and Community Engagement to Support Decentralisation and the Poverty Reduction Strategy with Civil Society Development' (2006-2008). Between 8th and 16th of June 2007 the consultnats travelled to ENCISS's three focus districts (Western Area Rural, Bonthe (including Bonthe island) and Bombali), met partners in Bo town, and conducted interviews and reviewed documents in the capital, Freetown. The findings were presented for review by DFID, CARE, ENCISS and SFCG senior staff on 15th June.
Read the Project Review
Read the Project Review Key Findings
2007 Evaluation Report Sisi Aminata
In 2004, Search for Common Ground-Sierra Leone, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), CARE and UNICEF, initiated a radio program called Sisi Aminata - a radio show designed to increase knowledge and discussion about adolescent sexual and reproductive health and related issues among young people. The show is produced in an enquiry-based interactive format between young people and an older female presenter. In the question-answer format, a woman representing an older sister answers young people's questions about issues of sexual and reproductive health. The answers are then also discussed by a peer group of young people to explore their relevance and analysis
In November and December 2007, Search for Common Ground/Talking Drum Studio undertook an internal learning evaluation of the Sisi Aminata radio program. The objectives of this evaluation were:
-
To assess the impacts of Sisi Aminata regarding sexual and reproductive health in Koinadugu and Bombali districts;
-
To discover ways in which Sisi Aminata has not been successful; and
-
To gather lessons learned about the implementation of the Sisi Aminata program.
Read the Evaluation Report
Read the Key Findings
2007 Mid-Term Report Promoting Information and Voice for Transparency on Election: Mid-term Report
A mid-term post election evaluation was undertaken between the 12th - 24th November 2007 on the two year, £2.5 million PIVOT programme. The goal of the programme is that 'citizens (are) able to hold local and national government to account'; the purpose of PIVOT, is to support free and fair elections by improving citizens' ability to engage effectively in the electoral process through enhanced capacity of media and civil society. Parliamentary and presidential elections were held in August and September 2007; local elections are due to take place in May 2008.
PIVOT brings five complementary projects together, working towards a common goal and purpose within a shared framework. Strategically, the concept is excellent. The arrangement enables partners to build linkages with one another and external stakeholders, and to share information which is particularly valuable in the final run-up to elections. Through building a common understanding of the intended outcome, activities in individual projects should complement and reinforce each other.
Read the Mid-Term Report
Read the Key Findings
2007 Internal Evaluation of SFCG-SL Election Strategy
The strategy was assessed on five key criteria. Key findings include:
-
Coverage and Reach of the Strategy Tools: The majority of respondents listened to IRN across the study areas. NEW observers were seen in the polling stations. Their roles were clearly understood by respondents. The TV episodic drama Insai di Saloon did not have the intended reach and reached only a section of the target population.
-
Effectiveness and Impact of the Strategy Tools: IRN had an impact in that it effectively provided the appropriate information on the electoral process before the election. NEW observers were seen as being unbiased, not "wearing party colours" as one participant said. Although the TV drama did not have a large reach, those in the study locations who did watch Insai di saloon showed a clear understanding of the messages and the character behaviour models.
-
Coordination of Strategic Partners: Discussions with strategy actors at national, regional and local levels showed that, all in all, the coordination was very good and was key in helping the strategy partners reach their goal of contributing to making the elections free from violence.
-
Complementarity of and Coherence between Strategic Partners: Discussions with various partners of the strategy clearly showed that all shared the same vision of a peaceful and transparent election, and the approach of each component of the strategy was not only complementary to the others, but also necessary for the success of the other.
-
Credibility of Strategic Partners: Participants showed that they trusted the NEW observers and thought the information provided on IRN radios was true. SFCG-TDS is constantly assessing its credibility among the population. The responses to questions about preferred radio programs, is a proof of respect and acceptance of TDS productions.
Read theInternal Evaluation
Read the Appendices to the Internal Evaluation
Read the Key Findings of Internal Evaluation
2005 Media Sector Mapping in Sierra Leone
At the request of DFID, Search for Common Ground undertook a mapping of media outlets and information channels in Sierra Leone. More specifically, this mapping was carried in relation to two dominant policy frameworks in mind; the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) and Decentralisation. To this end, the research plan was guided by three overarching questions:
-
How is information made available?
-
What information is being received by the public and how is it being understood (including the differences between urban and rural populations)?
-
What quality and quantity of information is required to ensure full participation and engagement of the public?
To examine these questions, organizational interviews, surveys of organizations, policy makers, and rural listeners, and focus groups were carried out to collect data. Ultimately, the mapping report finds that information dissemination and awareness raising campaigns are vital to the implementation and success of both the PRS and decentralization process. That said, the report also notes that meaningful channels of communication and information dissemination, both vertical and horizontal, have been underemployed and not used appropriately.
Read Media Sector Mapping Report
2004 Evaluation of Search for Common Ground Activities in Sierra Leone
This full-programme evaluation was conducted in August by Paul Everett, Tennyson Williams and Mary Myers. The overall goal of the Talking Drum Studio programme is to build a tolerant, inclusive society for a sustainable peace. Some of the key findings include:
-
Through its programming, TDS has been very successful in insuring that a flow of national information is available at the local level.
-
TDS' media programmes and similar community radio strands have been exposing issues relating to governance and development and stimulating discussions around them.
-
TDS should consider developing a strategy to promote awareness and appreciation of the media among parliamentarians perhaps by forming an alliance with an appropriate parliamentary body.
-
TDS' work building alliances to engage specific issues and problems has enabled diverse and sometimes opposing groups to come together to address their common concerns
Read the Summary
Read the Full Evaluation
2002 Evaluation of Talking Drum Studio- Sierra Leone
An external evaluation by Amr Abdalla, Susan Shepler and Suleiman Hussein was conducted in March, 2002. Though each radio programming strand has a different format, each of them have the same goal: to encourage peace and reconciliation. Key findings include:
-
There was a tremendous increase in listenership from about 40% in 2000 to almost 90% in 2002
-
Many interviewees emphasized TDS-SL's wide reach to all regions of the country. This was regarded as a pioneering effort, especially as TDS-SL has taken the risk of reaching out to people in rebel controlled areas
-
The ethnic and lingual diversity of the TDS-SL staff facilitates their sending their messages effectively to various groups of people
-
The success of TDS-SL in working with children has been recognized by all. The Golden Kids program has had a great positive influence on so many children, and adults as well. This was also coupled with successes in addressing trauma healing issues among the younger generations
Read the Full Evaluation
Read the Key Findingsof the Evaluation
1998 Assessment: Sierra Leone Media and Conflict Assessment
Through a grant from the British Foreign Office, staff from Common Ground Productions (CGP) conducted an assessment of Sierra Leone's media for the purpose of determining a role for a media-based conflict reduction project. The CGP team conducted interviews and site visits of media and proposed media establishments in Freetown, Bo, and Makeni, from April 11 to April 24, 1998. Questions that guided the assessment included the following:
-
What is the state of Sierra Leone's media? How many radio or TV stations are broadcasting, or intend to broadcast in the near future, and what is their broadcast content? What is the state of the print media? Does the Kabbah-Government have clear policies regarding the media?
-
Is the conflict appropriate for a media-based intervention for conflict reduction?
-
Would the Sierra Leone Government and civil society appreciate, understand, and encourage the entry of CGP into the media environment of Sierra Leone, and would they value the potential project's objectives and methods?
-
What are the logistical, material, and human resource bases in Sierra Leone for establishing a media production studio?
Discussions with Sierra Leoneans in Guinea and Liberia in advance of the assessment indicated that the new government and civil society would be supportive of the work of CGP, and that a media-based conflict reduction project would be a highly appropriate intervention as Sierra Leone emerges from the civil conflict.
Read the Assessment
Baseline for Democracy and Governance Project, Search for Common Ground
Search for Common Ground in Sierra Leone, with the support of USAID, is supporting the following transformation processes: the discourse of public participation and dialogue, tolerance for openness and freedom of the press, and implementation of a decentralization policy and structural reforms. SFCG's overarching goal for its democracy and governance project is to strengthen democratic governance in the districts of Kono, Kailahun, and Koinadugu, and Tongo fields in Sierra Leone. This survey established the baseline for the performance indicators set for its USAID-sponsored democracy and governance project. SFCG has three results for which performance indicators are agreed on with USAID, one at the strategic objective level, and the other two at the intermediate result level.
Read the Evaluation
Visit SFCG's Sierra Leone Page |
