1. Sustainability of
a Community
Radio
Rukmini Vemraju
Programme Officer –Livelihoods
&Health
Project Director- CCFC
June 9-11, 2013
Chapai
Nawabgunj
Bangladesh
COMMONWEALTH of LEARNING
Commonwealth Educational
Media Centre for Asia
2. Core principles of CR
Promote community ownership and
management
Operate on a not-for-profit basis
Reflect social and cultural diversity
Enhance community participation
Encourage inclusion
Contribute to horizontal communication
Exercise editorial freedom
Espouse self-sustainability (both social &
financial)
19 July 20132
3. Challenges faced by CRS
Finding adequate funds for setting up a
station
Creating a regular funding source for
running it
Increasing community participation
Creating relevant and engaging content
Finding, training and retraining human
resource
Establishing economical technological
options
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5. Social Community needs,
aspirations
Respecting local
knowledge, beliefs,
values
Preserving local
culture, promoting
local talent
Celebrating diversity
Providing relevant,
useful and timely
information
Role in decision
making
19 July 20135
6. Some Questions
Is the NGO licenced for a community radio station, required to
have worked with a definable community (s) in order to obtain
a license? (e.g. India –Yes, policy requires that)
Do members of the community participate various
administrative bodies in the radio station? (e.g. CRS should
have management committees with community members on
board)
Is feedback from the members of the community taken into
account, irrespective of caste, class, gender, occupation?
Are members of the community actively involved in promoting
the radio station within the community?
Is the radio station’s policy inclusive of all the members of the
target community in terms of class, caste, religion, ethnic,
linguistic, gender and geographic characteristics?
Does the radio organise a public hearing/ community audit for
assessment over regular time periods?
July 19, 20136
7. Institutional
Training and
Capacity building
for community
Resource Pool
Content Sharing
Listening groups
Outreach activities
Volunteer groups
19 July 20137
8. Station Management
Content-creation, archiving, retrieval
Scheduling-FPC, repeats. Live, interactive
Staff roster
Volunteers
Training/retraining
Finances
Responding to local issues
19 July 20138
10. Some Questions..
Are there positions for members from the
community in the technical management team
Is there significant focus on capacity building for
the community with respect to handling and
maintaining technical equipment in the radio
station?
Is there an onus on the radio station to organize
workshops for people from the community to learn
production of programmes?
Is there an existence of a team assessing the
technical equipment available to the radio
station?
Does the station policy ensure compliance with
safety standards for studio and production
facilities?
July 19, 201310
11. Financial
“low” cost, not ”no” Cost
Ads- government
Ads -private
Sponsorships
Local classifieds
Announcements,
Greetings
Membership fee
Special days
Studio hire
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