E VA LUAT ION R E P OR T 2 02 3

Executive summary
Displacement and Dialogue
in South Asia
Access to information and dialogue: Strengthening
resilience in displacement contexts in South Asia

dw-akademie.com

Background
Many countries in South Asia are affected by conflicts, social division and various tensions, as well as large migratorymovements. The population is very diverse in terms of ethnicities, languages,cultures, and religions. Pakistan hosts
the largest number of refugees, with 3.7
million Afghans, 1.4 million of them registered refugees (UNHCR 2023), followedby Bangladesh with 1.1 million Rohingya who fled from Myanmar. In addition,
media freedom and freedom of expression are restricted in most of the region,
including Bangladesh, Pakistan, India,
Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan,
and the Maldives. Journalists are often
poorly trained and badly paid; critical
media practitioners are often intimidated and persecuted. Only a few media
professionals specialize in the sensitive
subject of displacement and migration;
the media rarely takes on the perspectiveof the populations affected by displacement and migration. In Afghanistan, thesituation for media professionals and especially for women in this sector has deteriorated dramatically since the Talibancame to power in August 2021—an eventthat also sparked a new movement of refugees, which again affected Pakistan inparticular.

DW Akademie’s project “Displacementand Dialogue South Asia” was implemented over a three-year period fromJanuary 2021 to December 2023. The expected outcome of the regional project
was that “people in South Asia affected bydisplacement and migration are able toaccess relevant information, make theirvoices heard, and engage in dialogue.” Aspart of the program for Asia, the goal of
the regional project was to contribute to acommon overall regional objective (at theimpact level): “With the support of reliable information, disadvantaged population groups, especially in rural areas, areable to take responsibility for the shapingof social and political processes, even incrisis situations.” Four project lines weredeveloped to support people’s access torelevant information, make their voices
heard and engage in dialogue in a region
affected by displacement and conflict.
The project cooperated with the core
implementing partners Young Power in
Social Action in Bangladesh, Tribal News
Network and Power99 Foundation in Pakistan, and the Calcutta Research Group
as part of the South Asia Network forCommunication, Displacement and Migration (SAN-CDM).

The evaluation drew on DW Akademie’s
standards for planning and conducting
evaluations according to OECD/DAC criteria. The aim of the evaluations was to gain
additional information for DW Akademie
that could be helpful for the developmentof any follow-up projects. The evaluation
was conducted from 2 November 2022
to 30 April 2023; the field mission in Bangladesh and Pakistan took place from 20
to 28 February 2023 and was conductedin Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh) and Islamabad (Pakistan). The evaluation design
followed the basic idea of method triangulation—both quantitative and qualitative methods were used, and the dataand information from different sources(project documents, interviews with theDW Akademie team, the staff of partnerorganizations, trainers, and beneficiaries
on site) was combined.

Project evaluation results
Relevance: The strategic approach of theproject corresponded to DW Akademie'sstrategic goals. DW Akademie is strengthening citizen and local journalism in themain host countries Bangladesh and Pakistan in order to ensure that people affected by displacement and migration inSouth Asia have access to relevant information, can make their voices heard andengage in dialogue. The development
intervention aimed to address the core
problems of developmental importancefor the target groups. Information, communication and education are key topeaceful coexistence between refugees
and host communities, and the approachto strengthen social participation wasdeemed very relevant by all stakeholdersinvolved (these included people affectedby forced displacement and migration
in South Asia, refugees and migrants

as well as host communities, and citizen
journalists, mainly in the two focus countries Bangladesh and Pakistan). The target groups were the final beneficiaries ofthe project measures. The project madean important contribution to genderequality by addressing and implementing gender aspects with the partners andtarget groups. This is not only reflectedin the efforts to achieve a gender balance among core implementing partners,trainers, citizen journalists and beneficiary groups, but also in the content designof the training sessions, the developmentof activities to achieve gender equality
and promote gender-sensitive reporting,the choice of subjects, and the support for
women and girls as members of the target groups. The project’s relevance was
rated “comprehensively fulfilled.”

Coherence: The measures engaged in by
the DW Akademie project were closely coordinated with other development cooperation actors involved in the media sector;
good cooperation opportunities have arisen in various areas. The project contributed
to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in
particular SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong
institutions) and SDG 5 (gender equality).
With its approach to vulnerable groups,
the project was committed to the “Leave
No One Behind” principle and the “No LostGeneration” initiative. The measure complemented and supported the partners’
own efforts to a great extent. The focus ison continuous coordination processes andlearning from each other. In this way, a highdegree of agreement between the goals of
the partner organizations and the project
could be achieved, and ownership over theproject has developed among the partners.
The project’s coherence was rated as “comprehensively fulfilled.”
Effectiveness: The target values of theoutcome and output-level indicators wereexpected to be achieved by the end of theproject period. Internal factors with influence on their achievement included a coherent strategy, a professional and highly
motivated project team, and experienced
and reliable project partners. The project
has produced solid baseline data and a very
good starting point for implementation bycarrying out numerous assessments andstudies on the target groups. External factors include restrictions in the context of
the COVID-19 pandemic and the particularly strict restrictions on refugees, which
made implementation difficult across project lines. In the project’s monitoring & evaluation processes, unintended effects were
not systematically recorded but an unexpectedly well-functioning internal networkof citizen reporters has emerged, both in
Bangladesh and in Pakistan. To avoid negative effects, the do-no-harm approach wasapplied. The different needs of women andmen were considered very intensively in theselection of instruments and their implementation. The project’s effectiveness wasrated as “comprehensively fulfilled.”
Efficiency: The objectives will be achieved
within the planned timeframe (until December 2023). All core implementing partners make non-monetary contributions to
the project and use their own resources

for project implementation. This includes
expertise, logistical services, contacts andnetworks, office space, utilities, communications costs, fees for reporting, andthe provision of materials. The monitoring
design is described as efficient and participatory by all project partners, and M&E isseen as a joint task with a good division ofresponsibilities and tasks. Qualitative monitoring data is documented, but not systematically. It can be confirmed that the DW
Akademie project is highly cost-efficientand demonstrates a careful use of funds.
The project’s efficiency was rated as “comprehensively fulfilled.”
Impact: There is anecdotal evidence (examples, case studies and success stories)that the reports and stories of citizen journalists have led to visible positive changes,
for example, because they made the authorities take responsibility or held officials
accountable for services in Pakistan andBangladesh. There have also been positivechanges in the living conditions of certain individual beneficiaries, and it was observed
how women are becoming more confident
in community groups. The good relations
and constant exchange between the citizen journalists and the refugee groups in
Bangladesh and Pakistan contributes to social cohesion, precisely because the actors
involved have a mediating and multiplier
function for their respective communities.
Impact assessment regarding overarchingdevelopment goals was not very developed
within the project’s monitoring system, but
it is possible to recognize tendencies andidentify areas in which the project made amedium and short-term impact. Relevant
project contributions at beneficiary levelcan be plausibly assumed, as specific attention was paid to vulnerable populationgroups. Whether the impact of the project
can be extended across the larger community cannot be conclusively determined at
this point. The project’s impact was rated“overall fulfilled.”
Sustainability: The DW Akademie project
took appropriate measures to ensure thatpartner organizations and target groups
themselves were able to sustain the resultsin the medium to long term. The project
activities complement the portfolio of thecore implementing partners and can partly
be maintained when project support ends.
The motivation of the citizen journalists is
also high, and they are very interested incontinuing their activities. A stronger involvement of women is necessary to makethe achievements in the field of genderequality more sustainable in Pakistan. TheSAN-CDM network is still young and willneed some time to consolidate and become
independent. In general, the DW Akademie team committed itself to partner ownership over the project and do-no-harmprinciples, both important pre-requisite
for sustainability. Active discussions anddocumentation of lessons learned are taking place, anchored in the reporting system
and used for annual strategic meetings.
The project’s sustainability was rated as“overall fulfilled.”

Selected lessons learned– The project has produced solid baseline
data and a very good starting point for
implementation by carrying out numerous assessments and studies of the target groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and
Bangladesh during the first two years.
Based on these data points and needsassessments, the project developed
target group-oriented and problem-oriented proposals for solutions. They havethe potential to have an impact acrossproject lines and link the SAN-CDM withthe other project lines.

– The regional component (in the form of
the SAN-CDM) complements the measures at country level, taking up relevant
issues, putting them up for discussion
and working on them. Finally, theseissues can be fed back into the larger
discussion in the respective countries.
Certain media actors in the network areboth regionally oriented and involvedin concrete project work on the ground;
this creates a good link between theory
and practice.

– The project has firmly anchored genderissues in its plans and implementation
strategy. In addition to the empowerment of women, family members andyoung men are also integrated throughvarious discussion formats, allowing
for greater opportunities to change
gender norms. Through dialogues withhost communities, it is possible to get
to know other life models and simultaneously develop new role models. In a
conflict-sensitive way based on local expertise, the project designed its implementation in a gender-responsive way.

Selected recommendations

DW Akademie– The project paid attention to qualitative
aspects in monitoring and evaluation(M&E); case studies and good examples
were collected. This aspect could be
strengthened and systematized overall
in the M&E of the project. The evaluators
recommend paying more attention to
impact monitoring and qualitative aspects.

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.

– Consider the monitoring of unintended
positive and negative effects during implementation.

– Further training measures for citizen
journalists on safety—especially theirpersonal safety in terms of reporting,dealing with authorities, and appropriate behavior in crisis situations. In evaluation discussions, it became clear thatsome of the young people are cluelessin this regard. Relevant stakeholders
should participate in the training.

DW Akademie is a strategic partnerof the German Federal Ministry
for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment. We also receive funding
from the Federal Foreign Office andthe European Union and are active inmore than 70 developing countries
and emerging economies.

CONTAC T
Dr. 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.