Impact Data - Democracy and Governance Programme
Date
Initiated in 1997, the USAID-funded Democracy and Governance (D&G) programme that was directed toward Nigerian adults of voting age (18+) (especially women and women's groups) is now in its fourth stage. Recent activities encompassed 4 broad areas: a national mass media campaign, media advocacy, capacity building, and NGO networking. This evaluation, however, only covers outcomes from the first phase of the project and no subsequent comprehensive evaluations have been undertaken.
Methodologies
The evaluation framework for this report was threefold and based on analysis of NGO membership, institutional analysis, and community analysis. The goal of the membership analysis was to assess the impact of the D&G project on individual members and included basic determination of knowledge, attitude, and behaviour assessments as well definition of members' conflict-management skills. The aim of the institutional analysis was to assess the progress of NGO infrastructure development and determine what contributions the D&G project had made. The purpose of the community analysis was to see if there was any impact from the project on the community at large.
The broad evaluation strategy for the D&G Project was based on the Communication Design and Evaluation System (CODES) framework, which is normally used to guide evaluation of Johns Hopkins University Population Communication Services (JHU/PCS) communication interventions. The authors do note, however, that for some NGOs, the rate of return for follow-up questioning of the members initially polled for the baseline studies was very low. In one NGO only 7% were available for follow-up.
The broad evaluation strategy for the D&G Project was based on the Communication Design and Evaluation System (CODES) framework, which is normally used to guide evaluation of Johns Hopkins University Population Communication Services (JHU/PCS) communication interventions. The authors do note, however, that for some NGOs, the rate of return for follow-up questioning of the members initially polled for the baseline studies was very low. In one NGO only 7% were available for follow-up.
Knowledge Shifts
The proportion of people manifesting knowledge of appropriate legal steps to take on advising after unlawful arrest increased from 50% to 68% after the campaign. For every socio-demographic group the proportion with knowledge of a valid course of action increased compared to the baseline. Low level of exposure to messages was associated with up to a 50% increase in knowledge of constitutional rights. 76.7% of those with high levels of exposure knew any basic rights compared with only 29.4% who had no exposure. The best known right amongst all respondents was the freedom of speech and expression, exceeding even the rights to life and property. The least well known was the right of human dignity. Those with high levels of exposure were twice as likely to be able to name women candidates.
Practices
There were substantial improvements in some D&G-related behaviours. The percentage of those involved in information-seeking activities on a regular basis was also higher among those exposed, including the listening to of radio for political activities from 52.8% for the unexposed to 82.1% for the exposed, watching TV for political reasons from 34.6% to 60.3%, respectively, and attending political rallies from 15% to 38.7%. Those with high exposure levels were 7.2 times more likely to manifest information-seeking behaviour than those who had no or low levels of exposure. Those with high exposure were also 9.5 times more likely to vote, and 8.3 times more likely to be a member of a political party.
Attitudes
There were several lines of questioning that were designed to measure women's attitudes toward empowerment, though these were not a focus of the campaign. Nonetheless, slightly more respondents believed that "women should be given the same opportunities as men" during the follow-up, increasing from 84.5% to 85.9%. The issue of political empowerment was a more important focus of the campaign, and the number of respondents who believed that "women should be able to compete with men in politics" increased from 79.5% to 86.8%. The index of positive Women's Political Empowerment Attitudes also increased from 3.3 to 3.8 while the Women's Cultural and Economic Empowerment Attitudinal Index increased from 3.34 at baseline to 3.53 in the follow-up study.
Increased Discussion of Development Issues
Medium exposure to the project corresponded to a threefold increase, while high exposure was associated with an eightfold increase in the likelihood of discussion of voting for a woman.
Access
79% of NGOs were exposed to at least one of the activities during the reference period (varied from 72.3% to 100%). About 1/10 of the population being addressed was heavily exposed to messages. 45% of follow up respondents had been exposed to D&G radio materials, 26.8% to TV, and 53.3% to posters; 26.2% had attended workshops.
Other Impacts
The lessons learned from Phase I of the project included:
- The recognition that it is possible to successfully implement D&G activities in a difficult socio-political situation.
- Working with the strengths of existing grassroots NGOs can be a potent means of channeling D&G-related information and stimulating change.
- Tried and tested communication strategies for behaviour change work in D&G.
- D&G interventions can be scientifically evaluated.
Source
Babalola, Kiragu, et. al. "Building Partnerships in Governance - Nigeria Democracy and Governance Project" Phase 1, Evaluation Report, Johns Hopkins University Population Communication Services, Field Report Number 11, March 1999. Click here to view this paper in PDF format.
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