Media Development Indicators recognised by UNESCO/IPDC

1. UNESCO’s Media
Development
Indicators (MDIs)
5Ws + H
Presentation by Wijayananda Jayaweera
Director, Communication Development Division, UNESCO

2. Why indicators
• Development Indicators indicate desired
outcomes of development interventions.
• Indicators defines development standards
• Indicators are used effectively to asses the
development gaps
• Indicators enable the development
partners to devise a negotiated roadmap
to achieve the outcomes

3. What are the MDIs?
• Comprehensive set of indicators for evaluating
the media landscape of any given country.
• Five categories of indicators:
1. System of regulation and control
2. Pluralism and diversity
3. Media as a platform for democratic discourse
4. Professional capacity and supporting institutions
5. Infrastructural capacity
• Each category has key indicators and sub-
indicators, means of verification and a guide
to potential data sources

4. How were they developed?
• 2-year international consultation process
• Mapping of the main existing initiatives and their
respective methodologies
• Value and relevance to the priorities of the IPDC
identified
• Focus on measurable indicators, whether
qualitative or quantitative.
• Expert Group meeting
• Endorsement by Intergovernmental Council of
IPDC

5. Why MDIs?
• Provide a common framework for assessing
media development and approaching policy
issues
• Help in identifying and addressing development
gaps through evidence-based recommendations
• Advocacy tool for gvts, local stakeholders and
international development agencies for targeting
development assistance in the media sector in
an effective manner.
• Can be used in country programming with
UNCTs (UNDAF/CCAs), donors and partners
• Encourage endogenous longitudinal assessment
as progress is made

6. Applying the MDIs –
Where, when and with whom?
• Pilot MDI-based studies launched in Bhutan,
Croatia, Ecuador, the Maldives and
Mozambique.
• Request from government when possible
• Partnership with independent local research
institution/media development organization.
• Multistakeholder consultation (civil society, gvt,
parliamentarians, public and private media
organizations, etc.)
• Time frame: 6 months - 1 year per country

7. Promoting MDIs’ use internationally
• MDIs available in 8 languages
• Distributed to heads of all relevant UN agencies
by UNESCO DG
• MDIs acknowledged by UN agencies,
intergovernmental bodies (EU, WB...) and major
media development organizations.
• IPDC allocated $ 100,000 to support member
states wishing to make MDI assessments.
• Collaboration with UIS on new media statistics

8. Lessons to be learned
• Involving all major stakeholders in media dev. field
to ensure widest possible endorsement.
• Ensure balanced geographical representation to
avoid “Western” biais.
• Endorsement by intergovernmental body provides
extra legitimacy
• Quantitative > qualitative measurements when
possible; gender-sensitive, pro-poor indicators.
• Indicators conceptualized with the purpose of
assisting media development programmes, not
imposing conditionality.
• Diagnostic tool, not means for comparing countries

9. Conclusion
• Indicators needs a consensual agreement
for universal standards/norms/practices
• Indicators help Member States to prepare
their own road maps for development
• Indicators enables all partners to identify
their respective contributions
• Indicators enable us to link our result
based programme to national strategies