E VA LUAT ION R E P OR T

Executive summary
Tunisia
Support for alternative media: Strengthening local
media outlets and start-ups in times of crisis

dw-akademie.com

Introduction
Due to a number of factors, the plan tocreate a new non-governmental journalism training organization in Tunisia did
not materialize. While DW Akademie implemented a series of relevant alternative activities during the pandemic, thisevaluation must compare the actual outcomes to the plans outlined in the original project proposal and impact matrix.
Beginning in January 2022, the projectwas implemented, guided by the new matrix approved by the BMZ.
From a formal standpoint, the main objective of the original project has thus notbeen achieved. But DW Akademie should
be commended for taking appropriate
action and changing the project’s strategy once it was clear that the original
set-up could not function as planned. The

critical findings on effectiveness and efficiency should thus be seen in light of theextremely difficult implementation context due to the COVID-19 pandemic andTunisia’s economic recession. It should
also be stressed that the amended impact matrix was retrospectively approvedby the BMZ.

Background
DW Akademie implemented a media
development program in Tunisia fromJanuary 2020 to December 2022. From
the outset, the project had the following objective: Content House (CH), a new
non-governmental training and production center, provides relevant quality
information offerings to Tunisia's population. Furthermore, the Tunisia project
was expected to contribute to the overall objective of DW Akademie’s activities
in the MENA region, namely that young
men and especially young women (as wellas refugees) in the Middle East and North
Africa can empower themselves throughgreater freedom of expression and participation.
In November 2021, the project began
working toward a new objective: To
strengthen the range of robust, relevant
information in Tunisia by training media
professionals and advising independent
media organizations.

The project was implemented within thecontext of increasing financial and political pressure on independent media. The
COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted all business sectors in the country,
leading to reduced advertising revenues
and financial losses for the media sector. At the same time, the political situation has become increasingly volatile.
The president dissolved Parliament, andthere are fears that some of the moreprogressive laws that have been enacted
since the 2011 revolution are about to berolled back.
The main planned outcome—the Content
House training center—has not materialized, leading to a major modification of
the project’s activities. The other component—an innovation and incubation
program called Media Loves Tech (MLT)—
was for the most part implemented asplanned.

The evaluation took place during the period from December 2021 to April 2022, witha focus on the DAC criteria (relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact,and sustainability). A field visit was carriedout from 13 to 20 February 2022. Activities initiated after the field mission were
not evaluated. The obvious lack of successof the Content House component led theevaluation team to spend the majority ofthe time on that component, as well as topay special attention to effectiveness, efficiency, and impact.
The team used mixed methods for evaluating the performance: document analysis, an online survey, and semi-structured
qualitative interviews and focus groups
with DW Akademie staff and external experts, partners, and beneficiaries. Certain
key interview partners were interviewed
twice, and additional written information
was provided by the project management.

Project evaluation results
Relevance: Both a non-governmental
training institution with a focus on practical quality journalism, and Media Loves
Tech, which promotes innovation and entrepreneurship in the media sector, arehighly relevant to the media landscape inTunisia, the policies and focus of DW Akademie, and the priorities of the BMZ. All inall, the project objectives “comprehensively fulfilled” the criteria for relevance.

­­Coherence: DW Akademie has a long history of supporting radio projects all over theworld and a proven track record of engagement in the Tunisian media sector after the2011 revolution. DW Akademie is known
and acknowledged as a serious and competent development partner by media development organizations operating in Tunisia.
DW Akademie is also a valued partner ofPAMT2, the EU-funded media support program in ­Tunisia. The criteria for coherence
can thus be assessed as “overall fulfilled.”

Effectiveness: The main objective—establishing a new institution, Content House—
was not reached. DW Akademie shifted its
focus to helping media partners throughthe COVID-19 pandemic and producing
quality information about the disease.
While this new focus was at least partiallysuccessful, it was not the intended output
and outcome. In light of the CH component, the project’s effectiveness was thus
only “minimally fulfilled.”

While it is up for discussion whether theMedia Loves Tech component delivereda satisfactory outcome in a cost-efficientmanner, the stakeholder interviews anddocument review indicate that the MLT
component delivered as promised andwithin budget. As such, the MLT component can be assessed as “overall fulfilled.”
Efficiency: The project budget was notamended and expenses were not reduced
or adapted in response to the shift in focus of the main project component and thenew, more modest, alternative outcomes.
The project’s efficiency must thus be rated as “minimally fulfilled.” Please note thatthe implementation of the project wasevaluated against the original project matrix. While the alternative activities wererelevant in the context of the pandemic,
there was no systematic collection of data
documenting results as the focus wasmore on actively doing something in a difficult and uncertain environment than ondocumenting results. Although this is understandable, it makes it difficult to assess
impact and efficiency.
Impact: At the time of writing, only threeof the participants of the MLT component
have launched an actual service or product developed through the MLT (a website,
App or the like). The main planned output—the Content House—was canceled.
Other relevant activities, which supported
the partner organizations in various ways,
were implemented, including the production of media content related to COVID-19
and advice to journalists on how to staysafe and produce scientifically accurate reporting. All in all, despite the activities andoutputs that were completed, the project’s impact was “minimally fulfilled” froma formal standpoint, since these were notthe outcomes promised at the start of theproject.

Sustainability: Due to the project’s limited impact thus far, it is difficult to assess
its sustainability. Nonetheless, DW Akademie has developed a new strategy anda new impact matrix which seem promising. There is a high probability that thenew strategy will help the partner radio
stations grow and to increase the qualityof their work, which is likely to have a longterm effect. Overall, the project’s sustainability can thus be assessed as “partiallyfulfilled.”

DW Akademie

is Deutsche Welle’s center forinternational media development,journalism training and knowledgetransfer. Our projects strengthen thehuman right to freedom of expression
and unhindered access to information.
DW Akademie empowers people
worldwide to make independent
decisions based on reliable facts andconstructive dialogue. DW Akademie isa strategic partner of the German
Federal Ministry for Economic
Coopera­tion and Development. We
also receive funding from the Federal
Foreign Office and the European Union
and are active in approximately 60
developing countries and emerging
economies.

CONTAC TDr. Laura Moore
Head Research and Evaluation
laura.moore@dw.com
Berlin, Germany
DWAkademie@dw_akademie
DWAkademie
dw.com/newsletter-registration
dw.com/mediadev

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
the development of future strategies.