MEDIA DEVELOPMENT

Evaluation Report
Executive summary Georgia
Improving the media market: Professionalization of local
and community media in Georgia

dw-akademie.com

BackgroundGeorgia’s political leadership is currently composed of Prime Minister Mamuka Bachtadze (since June 2018) and President Salome Zurabishvili (since December 2018). Georgia’s political transformation
has been rated relatively positive in international indices for 2017/18(Nations in Transit, BTI, Freedom in the World, etc.). These positive
values are not really reflected in the country’s social development.
Georgia ranks 64th out of 180 states in the freedom of the press index of Reporters Without Borders 2017, far ahead of Russia, Azerbaijan and other CIS states. Print and radio media are owned by private
owners, who are often associated with a political party and determine the direction of reporting.
In the South Caucasus, Georgia is the country with the highest proportion of ethnic minorities in the total population. Armenians andAzerbaijanis make up the two largest ethnic minority groups with 6.5
percent and 5.7 percent, respectively. To date, all ethnic minorities inGeorgia are under-represented in state and administrative bodies,both at the national, and regional and local levels. Participation in the
country’s political, social and cultural life and the media is restricted.
The project focuses on strengthening selected local broadcasters
in the areas of professionalization, economic sustainability and thedevelopment of balanced and target group-oriented informationservices. In order to better integrate particularly rural areas anddisadvantaged groups into the media landscape and information
flows, civil society is promoted by training citizen journalists. Qualification and professionalization measures should help journalists
to provide balanced, qualitative and target group-oriented reporting that counterbalances the often manipulative content of foreign
broadcasters. Within the framework of the participatory approach,the possibility was also developed for media users to assess local
media on the basis of previously defined criteria of a new evaluation
system. This data also provides editors and managers of the media
houses with important information on possibilities for optimizing
their programs.
In order to sustainably improve the quality of local media in Georgia,
young journalists—especially from rural areas—will also be qualified and better prepared for their entry into working life. The formatof the Media Viability Forum was developed to promote networking
beyond national borders. This approach enables the exchange andnetworking of local and online media, media NGOs and activists
from the South Caucasus, Moldova and Ukraine with each other aswell as with international experts from the entire Eastern European region. At the outcome level, the project pursues the following
objective: “Professionalized local and citizen media offer relevant
content for disadvantaged groups in the Georgian media market.”
The project partners were originally: Georgian Association of Regional Broadcasters (GARB), Multimedia Education Center (MEC), Mediaand Communication Educational and Research Center (MCERC), Network of Information Centers (NIC) and Media Development Foundation (MDF). Now, only the latter two organizations still act as projectpartners. The project’s funding period is three years from 2017 to2019. The project is financed from BMZ funds.

The aim of the present external evaluation is to give a constructive
assessment of the impact achieved by the project after two yearsof the first funding phase and to make recommendations that canbe incorporated into the design of a future project phase. The evaluation is based on the OECD/DAC criteria and is based on a mix ofquantitative and qualitative methods, including the analysis of internal data and project documents and interviews with target groups,
project partners and cooperation partners in Georgia.

Conclusions of the project evaluation
Relevance: A key developmental problem in Georgia is the large gap
between the urban and rural populations and the failings of local
administrations in addressing the needs and problems of the rural
population and especially of marginalized groups and minorities. In
this context, the project objective has a high level of relevance, being aimed at 1) reducing isolation by strengthening selected local
broadcasters in the area of professionalization and developmentof balanced and target group-oriented information services, and 2)
promoting the participation of civil society and particularly marginalized groups in social processes. The training of citizen journalists
creates potential for networking population groups and integratingthem into the information mainstream; this also makes it easier forthem to resist propaganda and extremism. At the regional level, theproject is highly relevant to networking efforts and the exchange ofexperience and know-how, which leads to better understanding ina region marked by tension and conflict. With the selected strategy
field of professionalization and economic sustainability and the associated approaches, the measures implemented by DW Akademie
meet the identified needs and potentials of the target groups. The
project captures and takes into account the digital challenges of thetarget groups to a high degree. The developmental objective of theproject is in line with the objectives and guidelines of the BMZ andDW Akademie. It is also in line with Georgia’s development goals. The
Relevance criterion is therefore rated as “comprehensively fulfilled”.
Effectiveness: In order to assess the DAC criterion Effectiveness, theimpact logic of the project was examined on the basis of the existing
strategy and the impact matrix with target-oriented indicators. The
level of ambition of the target formulations is appropriate and thetarget indicators listed in the application are suitable for assessing
effectiveness. With regard to the indicators, the project is within
the target corridor and will be able to achieve the target figures forsome indicators before the end of the project phase. Due to its highlearning ability, flexibility and the ability to use learning experiences to adapt the strategy and to slightly redirect it, the project willvery probably achieve the objective agreed in the contract according
to the indicators. The existence of the local office has a very positive effect on learning and steering processes, the close exchangewith project partners and their advice. The Effectiveness criterion istherefore rated as “comprehensively fulfilled”.
Efficiency: The project and the project partners maintain an efficient handling of the funds made available. The measures are calculated precisely, the subsidies used cost-efficiently and invoiced
transparently. The project achieves synergies through cooperation
with other actors. With relatively small and very effectively-usedmeans (knowledge transfer instead of financial contributions), not only is the workand networking of the actors enabled andefficiently arranged, but innovative media
projects adapted to the specific needs andpossibilities are implemented. The presenceof two experienced national staff membersin the local office in Tbilisi has a very positiveeffect on the management of the individual measures, the advice of the project partners, and on the formation of local, regional
and international networks. The objectives
will be achieved within the envisaged timeframe. The Efficiency criterion is rated as“comprehensively fulfilled”.
Impact: The increasing degree of professionalization of local and citizen media canbe seen in the short and medium term in
improved organizational and planning skills
and the implementation of innovative financing concepts leading to greater financial independence. The content is alreadyjudged by the target groups to be more balanced, closer to the target group and more
relevant. In the long term, this will enable
pluralistic and critical reporting by independent media that enjoy the trust of thepopulation because the needs of disadvantaged groups are also taken into account.
At the same time, the effect of manipulative
reporting is critically reflected. The projectcontributes to the strengthening of civil society in the long term and improvements inthe living conditions of citizens. By strengthening journalistic training institutions andqualifying young journalists (especiallyfrom ethnic, linguistic and religious minority groups), a contribution is made to criticaljournalism, which in the long term helps thetarget groups to achieve their right to freedom of information and expression. At thesame time, the better integration of theory and practice facilitates career entry forprospective journalists. In the long term,
this can lead to an increase in the qualityof journalism and the media as mediator,
which in turn will have an effect on strengthening freedom of expression. Through joint
learning and sharing of experience on thesubject of media viability at regional level,

the professionalization and improvementof local media in the South Caucasus will bepromoted, thus achieving long-term effects
at that level. The Impact criterion is assessed
as “overall fulfilled”.
Sustainability: When describing the DAC
Sustainability criterion, it should be notedthat with a project duration of three years,
only limited statements can be made as towhether approaches to sustainable projectanchoring (even after the end of the project)
have been created. Ownership by the partner institutions of the project is already very
pronounced at the time of the evaluation.
The close cooperation between the project
executing agencies and the cooperation
partners has resulted in a well-functioning
network whose individual actors support thestrategic orientation and objectives of theproject. In the context of professionalizing
and promoting the economic sustainabilityof the local and citizen media, targeted partners were selected who are interested in thefurther development of their organizations
and staff, who attach particular priority tojournalistic quality and the attainment offinancial independence, and who thus fulfill
important conditions for the developmentof sustainability. The project’s approach ofimparting expertise and know-how without
additional financial contributions is a goodprerequisite for sustainability. Due to theshort intervention time, it is not yet possible
to speak of a comprehensive institutionalization of measures and financing concepts inpartner institutions. But there are approaches to dissemination strategies that make thesustainability of the measures possible. In
conclusion the criterion of Sustainability isassessed as “overall fulfilled”.
The project contributes to regional networking and media exchange in the SouthCaucasus. In a region characterized by political tension and mutual prejudice, it is particularly relevant to promote learning processes across borders. Participation in learning
forums and discussion platforms in the regional context is desired and highly valued,on the one hand in order to learn from one

another and exchange models, but on theother to improve relations with neighboring
countries and reduce tensions. In order tocounteract the growing resignation, manipulation and exclusion of population groups
in the South Caucasus region, the project, incooperation with DW Akademie’s regional
program, is pursuing transnational cooperation and joint approaches to solutions.
The curriculum for a future Media E-Schoolin Georgia was developed on the basis of
the media management program of theUkrainian Media E-School, which is open to
media professionals from countries in theregion. These additional measures contribute to the achievement of the project’s regional objective.

DW Akademie

is Deutsche Welle’s center forinternational media development.
As a strategic partner of the Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperationand Development (BMZ), DW Akademie
carries out media development projects that strengthen the human rightto freedom of opinion and promote
free access to information.
DW Akademie also works on projects
funded by the German Foreign Oﬃce
and the European Union — in approximately 50 developing and emerging
countries.

Contact

Dr. Jan Lublinski
Head Research and Evaluation
jan.lublinski@dw.com
53113 Bonn
Germany
DWAkademie@dw_akademie
youtube.com/DWAkademie
dw-akademie.com

The objective of the external evaluation is to provide a constructive assessment of the project results. It does not necessarily align with theperspective and planning of DW Akademie. Nevertheless, all ﬁndings were discussed in order to allow lessons learned to be incorporated into thedevelopment of future strategies.