Assessment of Communication and Media Needs in Cdlg Provinces

ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA NEEDS IN CDLG PROVINCES

Supported by

This report is part of an initiative supported under the Capacity Development of Local Governments (CDLG) project implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka with the financial assistance of the European Union (EU). CDLG is a four-year project (2020-2023) targeting the Eastern, Northern, North-Central and Uva Provinces of Sri Lanka. It is part of the European Union’s STRIDE (Strengthening Transformation, Reconciliation and Inclusive Democratic Engagement) programme focused on strengthening the capacities of local government authorities to be inclusive, responsive and accountable, and improve service delivery.

*Disclaimer This document was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations and Acronyms ...... 3 Executive Summary...... 4 1. Introduction ...... 10 1.1 Media Landscape in Sri Lanka: An overview ...... 11 2. Methodology ...... 12 3. Structure and Presentation of the Report ...... 13 4. Report for Eastern Province ...... 14 4.1 Ranking of type of national-level information sought after by the respondents ...... 14 4.2 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information...... 16 4.3 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information...... 19 4.4 Primary source that respondents accessed for local-level information...... 20 4.5 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the local-level information...... 23 4.6 Ranking of preferred media for accessing information on local development ...... 24 4.7 Access to critical information pertaining to local authorities ...... 26 4.8 Frequency and quality of communication from Local Authorities ...... 29 4.9 Access to critical information pertaining to divisional secretariats...... 33 4.10 Frequency and quality of communication from Divisional Secretariats...... 35 4.11 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19 Pandemic ...... 38 4.12 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19...... 41 5. Report for Northern Province ...... 42 5.1 Ranking of type of national-level information sought after by the respondents ...... 43 5.2 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information...... 45 5.3 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information...... 47 5.4 Primary source that respondents accessed for local-level information...... 49 5.5 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the local-level information...... 51 5.6 Ranking of preferred media for accessing information on local development ...... 53 5.7 Access to critical information pertaining to local authorities ...... 54 5.8 Frequency and quality of communication from Local Authorities ...... 57 5.9 Access to critical information pertaining to divisional secretariats...... 61 5.10 Frequency and quality of communication from Divisional Secretariats...... 63 5.11 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19 Pandemic ...... 66

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5.12 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19...... 69 6. Report for North Central Province ...... 71 6.1 Ranking of type of national-level information sought after by the respondents ...... 71 6.2 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information...... 73 6.3 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information...... 76 6.4 Primary source that respondents accessed for local-level information...... 77 6.5 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the local-level information...... 80 6.6 Ranking of preferred media for accessing information on local development ...... 81 6.7 Access to critical information pertaining to local authorities ...... 83 6.8 Frequency and quality of communication from Local Authorities ...... 85 6.9 Access to critical information pertaining to divisional secretariats...... 89 6.10 Frequency and quality of communication from Divisional Secretariats...... 92 6.11 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19 Pandemic ...... 95 6.12 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19...... 97 7. Report for Uva Province ...... 99 7.1 Ranking of type of national-level information sought after by the respondents ...... 99 7.2 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information...... 101 7.3 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information...... 104 7.4 Primary source that respondents accessed for local-level information...... 105 7.5 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the local-level information...... 108 7.6 Ranking of preferred media for accessing information on local development ...... 109 7.7 Access to critical information pertaining to local authorities ...... 111 7.8 Frequency and quality of communication from Local Authorities ...... 113 7.9 Access to critical information pertaining to divisional secretariats...... 117 7.10 Frequency and quality of communication from Divisional Secretariats...... 120 7.11 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19 Pandemic ...... 123 7.12 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19...... 126

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Abbreviations and Acronyms

ACLG Assistant Commissioner of Local Government CDLG Capacity Development of Local Governments CLG Commissioner of Local Government DS Divisional Secretariat EU Europe Union LA Local Authority LDSP Local Development Support Project STRIDE Strengthening Transformation, Reconciliation, & Inclusive Democratic Engagement TAF The Asia Foundation UNDP United Nations Development Programme WB World Bank

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Executive Summary

This assessment of communication and media needs in the provinces of North, East, North Central and Uva was carried out to support the overall objective of the CDLG project to strengthen the capacities of Local Authorities (LA) to be inclusive, responsive, and accountable and be able to plan, enhance resilience, and deliver better services. The assessment probed the information sharing and communication practices across the government and citizens, especially focusing on how citizens access and communicate information related to the local development by the mainly the decentralized agencies (divisional and district secretariats) and local authorities. The assessment involved carrying out direct interviews with the 599 citizens visiting the 134 LAs in the four CDLG provinces through a structured questionnaire. Sample citizens were randomly selected, but due care was taken to ensure the following categories are represented:

• Respondents under the age of 40 • Women respondents • Respondents holding Samurdhi Cards (economically vulnerable) Interviews were carried out by a trained staff in each of the 134 LAs. The assessment probed the following nine aspects: 1. National level and local level information needs 2. Primary source of information used to access national and local level developments 3. Reliability of information sources 4. Preferred mode of communication to access information 5. Access to key information pertaining to local authorities 6. Type and effectiveness of information shared by local authorities 7. Access to key information pertaining to divisional secretariats 8. Type and effectiveness of information shared by divisional secretariats 9. Primary source to access information related to Covid-19 and their reliability Analysis were carried out at the provincial and district levels and across gender, age and economic categories of the respondents. Key highlights from the assessment are presented below:

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From which media sources do respondents access news and information related to national level development?

Primary source used to access national level information - Provincial-level 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Peers others East 11% 9% 48% 21% 9% 0% 0% North 25% 15% 22% 20% 17% 1% 0% North Central 9% 8% 76% 5% 0% 2% 0% Uva 8% 11% 65% 12% 2% 2% 0%

• TV channels dominate the pre-dominantly Sinhala speaking provinces of North Central and Uva. Media sources were fairly spread out in both Northern and Eastern Provinces. Both these provinces also reported a much higher use of online media sources. Newspapers were the single-most used media in the Northern Province for accessing news and information on national-level development issues. From which media sources do respondents access news and information related to local level development?

Primary source of information for local development 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Peers others East 14% 4% 15% 32% 13% 21% 1% North 28% 6% 8% 15% 14% 26% 3% North Central 19% 4% 43% 8% 2% 21% 2% Uva 18% 8% 43% 15% 3% 13% 1%

• Trends slightly and interestingly vary on the access patterns for local level development news. Though TV still dominates both North Central and Uva provinces as the primary source of information, peer networks emerge as important sources. Social media and online web news channels are reported as the dominant media sources in Eastern Province, while newspapers and peer networks rank high in the Northern Province.

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Which media sources do respondents recommend as the most effective one to disseminate news and information related to local level development? Media source East North North Central Uva Newspapers 2 1 2 2 Radio 4 3 3 3 TV 1 4 1 1 Social Media 3 2 4 4 Web-news 5 5 5 5

• Barring the Northern Province, respondents have indicated that TV is the most effective media to disseminate news related to local development. Newspapers are seen as the second most effective media across all provinces; in the North, it is ranked as the most effective media. Social media figures in the top three recommended sources in North and East, while radio is the third preferred choice in North Central and Uva. What categories of key information related to their Local Authorities are accessed by citizens?

Percentage of repondents reporting access

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Uva 11% 18% 18% 50% 23% North Central 20% 32% 33% 66% 33% North 42% 42% 66% 56% 25% East 44% 45% 59% 63% 33%

• Details related to Council activities and details of welfare programs initiated by LAs are the two most accessed information categories. Access to information related to LA budget and funds allocated for local development activities by the LAs are rated quite low by respondents in Uva and North Central.

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How do respondents rate the effectiveness of their LA’s public communication approaches?

Proportion of respondents reporting receiving a public communication during the last 6 months

62% 57%

42%

32%

East North North central Uva

• A higher proportion of respondents in East and Uva reported receiving a public information message from their respective LA during the last six months. Similar proportions from North and North Central were significantly lower.

Effectiveness of Public Information Approaches of LAs 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% East North North Central Uva Very high 6% 10% 19% 9% High 51% 36% 47% 41% Average 36% 47% 32% 44% Poor 4% 3% 3% 5% Cant Comment 2% 3% 0% 2%

• Respondents in Eastern and North Central Provinces have given a comparatively higher rating to the communication approaches adopted by their respective LAs.

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What categories of key information related to their Divisional Secretariats are accessed by citizens?

Percentage of respondents reporting access

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development ‘welfare programs’ development development activities by the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Uva 16% 42% 34% 20% 13% North Central 34% 55% 53% 23% 15% North 28% 54% 49% 46% 27% East 26% 50% 42% 36% 27%

• Details of welfare programs and women development programs initiated by the Divisional Secretariats were the most accessed categories of information across the four provinces. Details of funds allocated for local development and report on the activities carried out by the DS were least accessed. How do respondents rate the effectiveness of their DS’s public communication approaches?

Proportion of respondents reporting receiving a public communication during the last 6 months

57 52 52

East North North Central Uva

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• A significantly higher proportion of respondents in Uva reported receiving a public information message from their respective DA during the last six months.

Effectiveness of Public Information Approaches of DS 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment East 7% 47% 44% 2% 0% North 7% 43% 49% 1% 0% North Central 9% 54% 34% 3% 0% Uva 4% 36% 53% 5% 2%

• Respondents in North Central Province reported relatively higher ratings for the effectiveness of the communication approaches adopted by their respective DS and those in Uva reported the lowest ratings. From which media sources do respondents access news and information related to Covid-19?

Reported primary source for accessing information on Covid-19 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% East North North Central Uva Newspapers 3% 19% 1% 3% Radio 9% 17% 5% 6% TV 62% 25% 87% 79% Social Media 18% 19% 6% 8% Web-news 4% 10% 1% 2% Peers 0% 1% 0% 1% Others 3% 9% 1% 1%

• TV channels are reported overwhelmingly as the most preferred media for accessing information related to Covid-19 in all provinces, except in the North where multiple sources are accessed. Use of online media was significantly higher in Eastern and Northern Provinces.

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1. Introduction

The Government of Sri Lanka, with support from the European Union (EU) and the World Bank (WB) is implementing the Local Development Support Project (LDSP) in four provinces – North, North Central, Eastern, and Uva – to strengthen local service delivery and local economic infrastructure, and enhance bottom-up approaches to support public engagement in local decision- making processes, including through participatory planning and feedback mechanisms for service delivery. The LDSP is funded through a loan agreement with the World Bank and contribution of EUR 22 million from the European Union under the latter’s broader EUR 40 million 'Strengthening Transformation, Reconciliation and Inclusive Democratic Engagement (STRIDE)’ Programme. The STRIDE Programme also includes the Capacity Development of Local Governments (CDLG) to be implemented by UNDP. The overall objective of the CDLG project is to strengthen the capacities of Local Authorities (LA) to be inclusive, responsive, and accountable and be able to plan, enhance resilience, and deliver better services. The capacity development support, coupled with the fiscal support (through Basic Transfers and Performance Transfers provided through LDSP project) for inclusive service delivery and economic investment, is aimed at strengthening the role of elected representatives at the local level. It is about improving local governance systems and making local governments “fit for future”, as well as increase downward accountability of elected officials and local governments. The project also aims to strengthening mechanisms for public engagement in local decision- making processes. The Asia Foundation (TAF), on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was tasked with conducting to understand the information sharing and communication practices across the government and citizens, especially focusing on how citizens access and communicate information related to the local development by the mainly the decentralized agencies (divisional and district secretariats) and local authorities. Specific objectives of this survey included:

• Identify the channels and the content of information sought by LA decision makers on local development.

• Identify the methods used by the subnational government institutions to communicate with the citizen.

• Identify the modes and methods through which the citizen accesses the information related to local development.

• Study the effectiveness of the mechanisms currently used by the Governments in reaching citizens especially across different social groups age, sex and socio-economic position.

• Identify modes and methods for citizen- government engagement and its effectiveness

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1.1 Media Landscape in Sri Lanka: An overview1

The Sri Lankan press traces its origins to the second quarter of the nineteenth century. The first paper, the Colombo Journal, was started at the insistence of the then colonial governor on 1 January 1832 and within two years it was closed for being critical of the government. The first Tamil paper was started a decade later in Jaffna by the Christian missionaries. The paper named Udaya Tharakai (Morning Star) was published by the American Missionary press in Manipay from 1841. The Sinhala press too traces its origin to Christian missionaries. The missionary periodical Masika Thagga containing biblical stories made its start in 1832. The twentieth century saw the consolidation and expansion of the press in all three languages. At the time of independence, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) established itself as a dominant player. Though the government nationalised the Lake House group in 1973, it still remains a powerful media player and brings out daily newspapers in all three languages. Sri Lanka was also the first country in Asia to start radio transmissions. Experimental transmissions started in 1923 and the first radio station, Colombo Radio, was launched on 16th December 1925. It is now known as the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Until 1984, radio was a government monopoly. Sri Lanka's first TV channel was started by private individuals in 1979. It was acquired by the government within six months. Private channels started operating from 1992. Currently, over 75 daily and weekly print publications, 20 television stations and 50 radio stations are active in Sri Lanka. a quick overview of the major media outlets is presented below: Print media: At present, Sri Lanka has over 20 daily newspapers, in addition to approximately 50 weekly and 30 monthly publications. Although there are over 100 printed publications regularly produced in the country, the readership share is concentrated among four news organisations: Wijeya Newspapers Limited, the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL/Lake House), and Upali Newspapers (Pvt) Limited and Ceylon Newspapers (Pvt) Limited. ANCL is a state- owned media organisation while the other three are privately owned. Radio: At present there are over 50 stations operating in the languages of Sinhala, Tamil and English. With a highly concentrated listenership of 74%, the radio sector in Sri Lanka is dominated by four entities: Asia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), The Capital maharaja Organization, Power House and ASSET Radio Broadcasting. Both Power House and ASSET Radio Broadcasting have acquired audience share with only a single station each while the ABC and The Capital Maharaja Organisation reach their audiences with more than three stations each. Television: With a viewership of 77%, the TV media sector is dominated by four entities: The Capital maharaja Organization, Power House, ABC and the State media. Online2: With a reported 10.10 million internet users in Sri Lanka in January 2020, online media is fast expanding its footprints. Online portals feature news content replicated from conventional print publications, or function exclusively online such as Colombo Telegraph. With the exponential growth of mobile phone connections (31.80 million in January 2020 and a per capita

1 References to the historical narratives on Sri Lankan media were sourced from Natarajan Swaminathan (2012): Media Freedom in Post War Sri Lanka and Its Impact on the Reconciliation Process, Reuters Institute Fellowship paper, University of Oxford. References to the profiles of media outlets were sourced from https://sri-lanka.mom-rsf.org/en/ 2 All statistics pertaining to online access and usage are sourced from https://datareportal.com/reports/digital- 2020-sri-lanka

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penetration rate of 149%), social media is an active influencer. As of January 2020, there are 6.4 million active social media users in Sri Lanka (30% of the population). Social media is dominated by Facebook with 5.9 million

2. Methodology

The methodology for carrying out the communication and media needs assessment involved a structured interview of randomly selected respondents. The questionnaire was first drafted in English and then translated into Sinhala and Tamil and subsequently converted into a Google Form for data collection. A selected staff from each of the LAs was trained for data collection. Direct interviews were carried out with the citizens visiting the LAs through a structured questionnaire with randomly selected sample but ensuring following categories are represented:

• Respondents under the age of 40 • Women respondents • Respondents holding Samurdhi Cards (economically vulnerable)

The assessment probed the following aspects:

• National level and local level information needs • Primary source of information used to access national and local level developments • Reliability of information sources • Preferred mode of communication to access information • Access to key information pertaining to local authorities • Type and effectiveness of information shared by local authorities • Frequency and effectiveness of consultations held by local authorities • Access to key information pertaining to divisional secretariats • Type and effectiveness of information shared by divisional secretariats • Frequency and effectiveness of consultations held by divisional secretariats • Primary source to access information related to Covid-19 and their reliability

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The overall sample spread across the four provinces and 12 districts is depicted below:

Province/District Total Sample Proportion represented by categories Respondents < 40 years Women Samurdhi Eastern 232 57.3 49.6 39.6 Ampara 105 55.2 54.3 29.5 Batticaloa 53 54.7 49.1 58.5 Trincomalee 74 62.2 43.2 40.5 Northern 178 56.2 41.6 34.3 Jaffna 88 59.1 40.9 30.7 Kilinochchi 15 40.0 46.7 40.0 Mulaitivu 20 50.0 50.0 45.0 Mannar 29 65.5 37.9 34.5 Vavuniya 26 50.0 38.5 34.6 North Central 122 45.1 46.7 27.0 Anuradhapura 86 40.6 50.0 27.9 Polonnaruwa 36 55.6 38.9 25.0 Uva 167 56.3 44.3 22.0 Badulla 117 61.5 45.3 18.0 Monaragala 50 44.0 42.0 30.0 Total 599

3. Structure and Presentation of the Report

This report will discuss the key findings from the assessment through provincial sections. Each section opens with provincial level analyses and the proceeds to explore variations across four levels: across districts, and across gender, age and economic status dimensions.

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4. Report for Eastern Province

In the Eastern Province, 232 respondents spread across 45 Local Authorities (LA) in the three districts of Eastern Province were interviewed for this assessment. The district-wise spread of the sample is depicted below:

Samurdhi Card Holders

Respondents under the age of 40

Women Respondents

Total Respondents

0 50 100 150 200 250 Respondents under the age Total Respondents Women Respondents Samurdhi Card Holders of 40 Total 232 115 133 92 Trincomalee 74 32 46 30 Batticaloa 53 26 29 31 Ampara 105 57 58 31

In this section, key trends and inferences aggregated at the provincial level are discussed: 4.1 Ranking of type of national-level information sought after by the respondents

National Development 2 1 2 2 Programs Social Welfare Programs 1 2 1 1 Political developments 4 6 4 4 Current issues 3 3 3 3 Other 7 7 7 7

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• Information related to social welfare and national development programs and current were the most sought after by the respondents in Eastern Province. Information related to national policies and budget ranked relatively low in terms of priority. • No significant variations are observed across the districts, except respondents in Ampara have indicated a relatively higher preference for information related to national budget. Gender-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female National Policies 5 4 6 National budget allocations 6 6 5

National Development Programs 2 1 2

Social Welfare Programs 1 2 1 Political developments 4 5 4 Current issues 3 3 3 Other 7 7 7

National Development Programs 2 2 1 4

Social Welfare Programs 1 1 2 1 Political developments 4 4 5 5 Current issues 3 3 3 2 Other 7 7 7 7

• An interesting variation is observed in respect to the feedback from respondents above the age of 60 years; current issues and national policies rank quite high in the hierarchy.

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Economic status-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Economic status-wise trends Samurdhi Others National Policies 5 6 4 National budget allocations 6 5 6 National Development Programs 2 2 1 Social Welfare Programs 1 1 2 Political developments 4 4 5 Current issues 3 3 3 Other 7 7 7

• No major variation in information seeking priorities are observed between the Samurdhi and non-Samurdhi respondents, except that the Samurdhi respondents ranked information related to social welfare programs as the top priority as compared to the preference accorded to national development programs by the non-Samurdhi respondents. 4.2 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national- level information.

This section explores the preferred media through which respondents accessed information and news related to national development issues. Overall profile for the province

• Television channels were the most preferred media to access information and news related to national level development issues. This finding is line with the national level media access statistics which show that TV viewership covers 77% of the population. TV is followed by social media, radio and newspapers.

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District wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - District wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Trincomalee 14 8 42 20 15 1 Batticaloa 19 8 49 19 6 1 Ampara 6 11 52 22 8 1

• Provincial trends are more or less reflected at the district levels too, with TV, social media and radio being the top three preferred media sources in that order. Batticaloa provides an exception in that newspapers rank alongside social media as the most preferred source for accessing national level information. Also, a relatively higher percentage of respondents in Trincomalee reported web news as a source for accessing information related to national development. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Gender wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Female 6 14 59 13 7 1 Male 14 4 13 44 17 24

• Interesting trends are observed across male and female respondents. More than 60% of male respondents preferred online media sources (social media and web news) to access

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information on national level development issues. Also, one in four male respondents reported their peers as a source of information. Feedback from female respondents were in line with the provincial profiles. Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Age wise trends

Peers Web news Social Media TV Radio Newspaper

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers >60 years 15 31 42 8 0 4 41-60 5 12 60 14 7 1 <40 years 10 8 42 29 11 1

• Feedback from age specific groups suggests some interesting variations. Forty percent of respondents below 40 years of age accessed information pertaining to national development from online sources. For respondents above 60 years of age, radio was the second preferred media with almost one-third reporting the use as a primary source. Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Economic status wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Others 14 4 12 36 16 19 Samurdhi 9 14 54 16 5 1

• For more than three-fourths of economically weak respondents, traditional media (newspaper, radio and TV) were the most preferred source for accessing information

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related to national level development. While for the rest, online media dominated as the preferred sources. 4.3 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information.

Primary Source Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank Ampara Batticaloa Trincomalee

Newspapers 2 2 2 2 Radio 3 3 3 3 TV 1 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5 5

• In line with the feedback on access, TV is seen as the most reliable information source for respondents in Eastern Province. However, social media which is the second most accessed information source ranked a poor 4th in terms of reliability. No variations to the provincial patterns are observed across the districts or across gender and age wise dimensions as shown below. Gender-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 2 2 2 Radio 3 3 3 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5 Age-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial Age-wise ranking of information categories rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 2 2 2 2

Radio 3 3 3 3 TV 1 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5 5

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Economic status-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 2 3 2 Radio 3 2 3 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• A minor variation in the ratings on reliability is observed for Samurdhi respondents with radio rated as the second most reliable source – a notch above the trend of rating newspapers as the second most reliable source by other categories. 4.4 Primary source that respondents accessed for local-level information.

This section explores the preferred media through which respondents accessed information and news related to local development issues. Overall profile for the province

Primary source of information for local development 32% 35%

30%

25% 21% 20% 15% 13% 15% 14%

10% 4% 5%

0% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Personal

• In a sharp contrast to the trends in accessing national level information, the preferred media for accessing local information is social media, followed by peer networks. Television comes a distant third, closely followed by newspapers.

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District wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - District wise trends Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Trincomalee 12 4 3 30 19 31 Batticaloa 17 8 21 32 6 15 Ampara 13 2 21 34 12 17

• In line with the provincial trends, social media dominates district level feedback too as the most sought-after media to access local information. Respondents from Trincomalee presents an outlier in terms of accessing local news from peer networks; the district also reports very low use of TV. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Gender wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Female 16 4 19 27 11 22 Male 12 3 11 38 15 21

• No major variations from the provincial trends are observed along gender dimensions, except that more than half of the male respondents use online media for accessing local news.

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Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Age wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers >60 years 23 4 19 15 0 38 41-60 14 10 19 26 7 25 <40 years 12 1 12 39 19 16

• Respondents below 40 years of age report using mostly online media to access local development news and information. In contrast, more than one-third of respondents over 60 years of age report accessing local news through personal networks. Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Economic status wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Others 14 4 12 36 16 19 Samurdhi 14 4 20 27 9 25

• No significant variations are observed in the patterns of accessing local news across economic categories. For Samurdhi respondents, personal networks play an important role in providing information and news related to local development. While for the non- Samurdhi respondents, online sources were prominent.

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4.5 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the local-level information.

This section profiles the feedback on the reliability of the primary sources that respondents used to access information related to national development issues. Overall profile for the province and district trends Primary Source Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank Ampara Batticaloa Trincomalee Newspapers 2 2 1 4 Radio 3 3 3 3 TV 1 1 2 2 Social Media 4 4 4 1 Web news 5 5 5 5

• TV was rated by the respondents as the most reliable source for accessing local information, followed by newspaper and radio. Quite interestingly, though newspapers were quoted as the fourth most accessed source for local information, they were ranked second in terms of reliability. Residents in Trincomalee rated social media as the most reliable medium to access local information. Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 2 1 2 Radio 3 3 3 TV 1 2 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• Feedback on reliability of news sources across gender dimensions shows some interesting variations. For male respondents the most reliable source was newspapers, followed by TV, while for the female respondents, the order was reversed.

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Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 2 2 1 1 Radio 3 3 3 2 TV 1 1 2 3 Social Media 4 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5 5

• For respondents below 40 years of age, TV was the most reliable source for local information. While for those in the other two categories, it was newspapers. Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 2 2 1 Radio 3 3 3 TV 1 1 2 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• While Samurdhi recipients reflected the provincial trends, for non Samurdhi respondents, newspapers were seen as the most reliable.

4.6 Ranking of preferred media for accessing information on local development

This section discusses the feedback from respondents on their preferred media to receive information on local development issues.

Overall profile for the province and district trends Primary Source Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank Ampara Batticaloa Trincomalee Newspapers 2 2 1 1 Radio 4 4 4 4 TV 1 1 2 2 Social Media 3 3 3 3 Web news 5 5 5 5

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• Overall, respondents in Eastern province indicated that TV is their most preferred media to receive information related to local development, followed by newspapers, social media and web news. Across the districts, while Ampara reflected the provincial patterns, in Batticaloa and Trincomalee, residents reported newspapers as the most preferred source. Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 2 2 2 Radio 4 4 4 TV 1 3 1 Social Media 3 1 3 Web news 5 5 5

• While respondents indicated social media as the most preferred source to receive information on local development, female respondents rated it below TV and newspaper. Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 2 3 2 1 Radio 4 4 4 2 TV 1 2 1 3 Social Media 3 1 3 4 Web news 5 5 5 5

• Interesting variations are observed for the preferred media source to access local information. For respondents under 40 years, social media was the preferred choice, for those between the ages of 41 and 60, it was TV while for respondents over 60 years, it was newspapers. Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 2 2 3 Radio 4 4 4 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 3 3 2 Web news 5 5 5

• Across economic categories, Samurdhi respondents identified TV and newspapers as the top two preferred sources, while for the non Samurdhi cluster, the most preferred choices were TV and social media.

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4.7 Access to critical information pertaining to local authorities

This section discusses the feedback from the respondents regarding their access to key categories of information provided by their local authorities. Overall profile for the province

Percentage of repondents reporting access 70% 63% 59% 60%

50% 44% 45%

40% 33% 30%

20%

10%

0% LA budget Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA

• Relatively large number of respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs and services and related to activities of the Council. Less than one in two respondents reported accessing details related to the local authority’s budget and funds allocated for local development. One-third of respondents reported accessing details of programs and initiatives to support local businesses.

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District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- District wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Trincomalee 34% 42% 49% 58% 31% Batticaloa 47% 53% 72% 68% 43% Ampara 50% 43% 61% 65% 29%

• Respondents in Batticaloa district reported the highest level of access to all categories of information, while those in Trincomalee reported the lowest figures for all categories barring funds for local development. Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Gender wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs Details of welfare programs by LAs Proceedings of the council Funds allocated for local development by the LA LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Female 43% 44% 51% 67% 33% Male 45% 45% 68% 60% 32%

• Relatively higher numbers of women respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs while a significantly larger proportion of male respondents reported being able to access information on the activities of the council.

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Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Age wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs Details of welfare programs by LAs Proceedings of the council Funds allocated for local development by… LA budget 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Funds allocated Details of for local Proceedings of Details of welfare LA budget support to local development by the council programs by LAs entrepreneurs the LA >60 years 27% 31% 62% 50% 23% 41-60 48% 44% 55% 60% 29% <40 years 45% 48% 62% 68% 37%

• Respondents below 40 years reported higher levels of access to all information categories, while those above 60 years the lowest levels, barring information related to council activities. Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Economic-status wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Others 49% 46% 61% 64% 34% Samurdhi 37% 43% 57% 62% 30%

• Comparatively, respondents belonging to the Samurdhi category fared poorer in terms of their ability to access critical LA information, barring details of welfare programs.

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4.8 Frequency and quality of communication from Local Authorities

4.8.1 Feedback from respondents reporting communication from their respective LAs during the last six months

Percentage of respondents reporting in the affirmative

Others 66 Samurdhi 55 Women 57 Men 67 >60 years 50 41-60 70 <40 years 60 Trincomalee 50 Batticaloa 66 Ampara 69 Overall province 62

• Overall, 62 percent of those interviewed in the Eastern Province reported receiving communication from their respective LAs during the last six months. Across districts, this proportion was the highest for respondents in Ampara and lowest in Trincomalee. More respondents in the age category 41-60 years reported in the affirmative and those above 60 years reported the lowest figures. Women respondents and those belonging to the Samurdhi category reported lower proportions compared to male respondents and those in the non-Samurdhi category. 4.8.2 Type of information shared by LAs

Category of information communicated by the LAs - Provincial Level 80% 74% 70% 60% 50% 50% 40% 27% 30% 20% 10% 4% 10% 0% LA Financial Call for meetings Public awareness Payment notices Others information

• Public awareness messages, call for meetings and payment notices were the three key categories of messages communicated by LAs to citizens in the Eastern Province.

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4.8.3 Methods adopted by LAs for public information

Methods used to share public information by the LAs - Province wise 120% 96% 100% 74% 80% 53% 60% 40% 40% 8% 11% 20% 3% 2% 0%

• Public notices, handbills or posters and banners were the most used methods for public communication. Online sources are used to a lesser extent.

4.8.4 Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the LAs Overall profile for the province

Effectiveness of Public Information Disemination

51%

36%

6% 4% 2%

Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment

• Among those who reported receiving a communication from their respective LAs during the last six months, a little over half (57%) rated that the effectiveness of the communication as high or very high. A little over one-third (36%) found the effectiveness to be average.

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District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - District wise trends

Trincomalee Batticaloa Ampara

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Ampara Batticaloa Trincomalee Can't comment 3 3 0 Poor 0 0 16 Average 40 20 43 High 51 66 38 Very High 6 11 3

• Across the districts, respondents in Batticaloa reported the highest ratings on the effectiveness of their LAs communication approaches, while those in Trincomalee reported the lowest. Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Gender wise trends

Female

Male

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Male Female Cant Comment 1 3 Poor 5 3 Average 41 30 High 46 58 Very high 6 6

• Women respondents in Eastern Province gave a relatively higher rating to the effectiveness of their respective LAs communication approaches.

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Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Age wise trends

>60 years

41-60

<40 years

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 <40 years 41-60 >60 years Cant Comment 1 4 0 Poor 3 8 0 Average 33 39 46 High 58 41 54 Very high 6 8 0

• Respondents under the age of 40 years provided a higher rating on the effectiveness of the LAs communication approaches, while those in the range of 41-60 years reported the lowest. Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Economic status wise trends

Others

Samurdhi

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Samurdhi Others Cant Comment 4 1 Poor 2 5 Average 41 33 High 41 57 Very high 12 3

• Respondents belonging to Samurdhi category reported a marginally lower rating on the effectiveness of the LA’s communication approaches as compared to others.

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4.9 Access to critical information pertaining to divisional secretariats

This section discusses the feedback from the respondents regarding their access to key categories of information provided by their Divisional Secretariats. Overall profile for the province

Percentage of respondents reporting access

50% 42% 36%

26% 27%

Funds allocated for local Details of the ‘welfare Details of women Details of entrepreneurs Report on the DS development by the DS programs’ initiated by development programs development programs activities the DS by DS by DS

• Relatively large number of respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs and services and women’s development. About one in four respondents reported. A little over one-fourth reported accessing details of programs and initiatives to support local businesses and accessing details related to funds allocated for local development. One in two respondents reported accessing information related to the activities of the DS. District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- District wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the ‘welfare Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by programs’ initiated by development development activities the DS the DS programs by DS programs by DS Trincomalee 24% 53% 38% 35% 34% Batticaloa 28% 68% 70% 66% 32% Ampara 26% 39% 30% 21% 19%

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• Respondents in Batticaloa district reported highest levels of access to information provided by the divisional secretariats across all categories, barring information on activities initiated by the DSs and those in Ampara district, the lowest, especially details related to local business support services. Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Gender wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the ‘welfare Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by programs’ initiated by development development activities the DS the DS programs by DS programs by DS Female 23% 48% 54% 36% 27% Male 28% 52% 30% 36% 26%

• Relatively larger proportions of women respondents reported accessing information related to women’s development programs. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Age wise trends

Report on the DS activities Details of entrepreneurs development programs… Details of women development programs by DS Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the … Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development ‘welfare programs’ development development activities by the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS >60 years 8% 42% 31% 35% 19% 41-60 27% 49% 42% 27% 29% <40 years 29% 52% 44% 41% 27%

• Respondents under the age of 40 years reported higher levels of access to all information categories and those above 60 years the lowest, barring (and surprisingly) details on entrepreneurship development.

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Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Economic-status wise trends

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development ‘welfare programs’ development development activities by the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Others 26% 50% 41% 33% 24% Samurdhi 26% 50% 42% 40% 32%

• In a contrast to the feedback on LA information, relatively larger proportion of Samurdhi respondents reported better access to information provided by the Divisional Secretariats.

4.10 Frequency and quality of communication from Divisional Secretariats

4.10.1 Feedback from respondents reporting communication from their respective DSs during the last six months

Percentage of respondents reporting in the affirmative

Others 51 Samurdhi 53 >60 years 54 41-60 56 <40 years 50 Men 47 Women 53 Trincomalee 35 Batticaloa 66 Ampara 30 Provincial 52

• Overall, 52 percent of those interviewed in the Eastern Province reported receiving communication from their respective DSs during the last six months. Across districts, this proportion was the highest for respondents in Batticaloa and lowest in Ampara. Lesser

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numbers of respondents below 40 years of age reported in the affirmative compared to those in the age category 41-60 years and those above 60 years. Women respondents and those belonging to the Samurdhi category reported higher proportions compared to male respondents and those in the non-Samurdhi category. 4.10.2 Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the DSs Overall profile for the province

Effectiveness of the Public Information Dissemination methods of DS 47% 44%

7% 2% 0%

Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment

• Among those who reported receiving a communication from their respective DSs during the last six months, a little over half (54%) rated that the effectiveness of the communication as high or very high. Around 44% found the effectiveness to be average. District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - District wise trends

Trincomalee

Batticaloa

Ampara

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Ampara Batticaloa Trincomalee Poor 0 3 8 Average 45 37 50 High 52 43 42 Very high 3 17 0

• In line with the trends observed in the case of LAs, across the districts, respondents in Batticaloa reported the highest ratings on the effectiveness of the communication approaches adopted by their respective DSs.

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Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Gender wise trends

Female

Male

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Male Female Poor 4 2 Average 40 48 High 48 46 Very high 8 5

• Male respondents have provided a marginally better ratings on the effectiveness of the communication approaches of their respective DSs compared to the women counterparts. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Age wise trends

>60 years

41-60

<40 years

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 <40 years 41-60 >60 years Poor 1 3 7 Average 41 46 50 High 52 41 43 Very high 6 10 0

• Respondents under the age of 40 years reported higher ratings on the effectiveness of communication approaches adopted by DSs, while those above 60 years returned the lowest.

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Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Economic status wise trends

Others

Samurdhi

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Samurdhi Others Poor 4 1 Average 45 43 High 39 53 Very high 12 3

• Samurdhi recipients reported a marginally lower rating compared to others.

4.11 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19 Pandemic

Primary Sources used to access information on Covid-19 70% 62% 60%

50%

40%

30% 19% 20% 9% 6% 10% 3% 0% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news

Overall profile for the province

• In line with the trends observed in the Eastern Province, TV is the most accessed media for information related to Covid-19, followed by social media, radio, web news and newspapers.

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District wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- District wise trends

Web-news

Social Media

Radio

Newspapers

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Trinco 4% 9% 49% 26% 12% Batticaloa 4% 6% 72% 17% 2% Ampara 3% 11% 67% 14% 5%

• Minor variations are observed across districts in terms of the media used for accessing information related to Covid-19. Respondents in Trincomalee reported higher use of online sources for accessing information related to Covid-19. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Gender wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Female 3 10 69 15 3 0 Male 4 9 56 23 5 3

• No major variations are observed across gender dimensions, except for a higher usage of social media by male respondents and a larger proportion of women respondents accessing information on Covid-19 through TV.

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Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Age wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others >60 years 15 31 42 8 0 4 41-60 3 7 73 15 1 1 <40 years 2 7 60 23 7 1

• Higher proportion of respondents under 40 years of age accessed information related to Covid-19 from social media, while those above 60 years reported higher use of radio and newspapers. Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Economic status wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Others 4 7 65 20 2 2 Samurdhi 2 13 58 16 8 2

• A higher proportion of Samurdhi respondents accessed information from radio while a slightly use of social media was reported by non-Samurdhi respondents.

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4.12 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19.

Overall profile for the province and district trends

Primary Source Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank Ampara Batticaloa Trincomalee

Newspapers 3 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5 5

Gender-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

Age-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial Age-wise ranking of information categories rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 3 3 3 1

Radio 2 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 3 Social Media 4 4 4 5 Web news 5 5 5 4

Economic status-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• No variations are observed across districts, gender and economic dimensions in terms of the feedback on reliability of sources for information related to Covid-19. However, for

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respondents over the age of 60, newspapers and radio are perceived to be more reliable than TV.

5. Report for Northern Province

In the Northern Province, 178 respondents spread across 34 Local Authorities (LA) in the five districts were interviewed for this assessment. The district-wise spread of the sample is depicted below:

Samurdhi Card Holders

Respondents under age of 40

Women Respondents

Total Respondents

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Respondents under age of Total Respondents Women Respondents Samurdhi Card Holders 40 Vavuniya 26 10 13 9 Mannar 29 11 19 10 Mulaitivu 20 10 10 9 Kilinochchi 15 7 6 6 Jaffna 88 36 52 27 Province 178 74 100 61

In this section, key trends and inferences aggregated at the provincial level are discussed.

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5.1 Ranking of type of national-level information sought after by the respondents

This section probes the priority accorded to categories of information that respondents seek on national development issues. Overall profile for the province and district trends Information category Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial Jaffna Kilinochchi Mulaitivu Mannar Vavuniya rank National Policies 4 4 6 3 6 5 National budget 5 5 5 6 5 3 allocations National Development 2 3 1 1 2 2 Programs Social Welfare Programs 1 1 2 2 1 1 Political developments 6 6 4 5 4 6 Current issues 3 2 3 4 3 4 Other 7 7 7 7 7 7

• Information related to social welfare and national development programs and current issues were the most sought after by the respondents in Northern Province. Information related to political developments and national budget ranked relatively low in terms of priority. • Variations are observed across the districts. While social welfare programs, national development programs and current issues figure among the top 3 in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mannar, national policies figure as the third priority in Mulaitivu and national budget allocations in Vavuniya. Gender-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female National Policies 4 4 5 National budget allocations 5 6 4 National Development Programs 2 1 2 Social Welfare Programs 1 2 1 Political developments 6 5 6 Current issues 3 3 3 Other 7 7 7

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development programs by the male respondents and also, accorded a higher preference for national budget. Age-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Age-wise ranking of information categories <40 years 41-60 >60 years National Policies 4 4 5 3 National budget allocations 5 6 4 5 National Development 2 2 1 2 Programs Social Welfare Programs 1 1 2 1 Political developments 6 5 6 6 Current issues 3 3 3 4 Other 7 7 7 7

• An interesting variation is observed in respect to the feedback from respondents above the age of 60 years; national policies rank high in the hierarchy.

Economic status-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Economic status-wise trends Samurdhi Others National Policies 4 4 5 National budget allocations 5 6 4 National Development Programs 2 2 2 Social Welfare Programs 1 1 1 Political developments 6 5 6 Current issues 3 3 3 Other 7 7 7

• No major variation in information seeking priorities are observed between the Samurdhi and non-Samurdhi respondents.

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5.2 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national- level Information.

This section explores the preferred media through which respondents accessed information and news related to national development issues. Overall profile for the province

Media sources used to access national information

Percentage of Respondents

25% 22% 20% 17% 15%

Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Personal

• A unique trend observed for the province is that an even spread of media sources is reported to access national level information. District wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - District wise trends

Peers Web-news Social Media TV Radio Newspaper 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web-news Peers Vavuniya 15% 12% 38% 12% 23% 0% Mulaitivu 30% 25% 25% 10% 10% 0% Mannar 10% 24% 10% 31% 24% 0% Kilinochchi 27% 13% 47% 13% 0% 0% Jaffna 31% 11% 16% 22% 18% 2%

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• Wide variations are observed across the districts. Newspapers are the single most preferred source for respondents in Jaffna and Mulaitivu; TV is predominantly preferred in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya; and respondents in Mannar ranked social media quite high. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Gender wise trends

Personal

Web-news

Social Media

Radio

Newspapers

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Personal Female 12% 22% 32% 16% 15% 3% Male 34% 11% 14% 22% 19% 0%

• Interesting trends are observed across male and female respondents. While female respondents quoted TV and radio as the two most used source to access national level information, the male counterparts reported newspapers and social media as the major sources. Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Age wise trends

Personal Web-news Social Media TV Radio Newspapers

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Personal >60 years 61% 13% 26% 0% 0% 0% 41-60 24% 27% 29% 7% 11% 2% <40 years 17% 9% 17% 31% 25% 1%

• Feedback from age specific groups suggests some interesting variations. Fifty six percent of respondents below 40 years of age accessed information pertaining to national development from online sources. For respondents above 60 years of age, newspapers are the most preferred media with 61 percentage reporting the use as a primary source.

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Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Age wise trends

Personal

Web-news

Social Media

Radio

Newspapers

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Personal Others 24% 12% 20% 21% 22% 1% Samurdhi 26% 21% 26% 16% 8% 2%

• For almost three-fourths of economically weak respondents, traditional media (newspaper, radio and TV) were the most preferred source for accessing information related to national level development. Online media was preferred relatively higher by non-Samurdhi respondents.

5.3 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information.

This section profiles the feedback on the reliability of the primary sources that respondents used to access information related to national development issues. Overall profile for the province and district trends Information category Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial Jaffna Kilinochchi Mulaitivu Mannar Vavuniya rank Newspapers 1 2 1 3 2 1 Radio 2 1 2 2 1 2 TV 3 3 2 1 3 3 Social Media 5 4 5 5 5 5 Web news 4 5 4 4 4 4

• Newspapers are seen as the most reliable information source for national level news for respondents in Northern Province, followed by radio and television. However, social media which was the third most accessed information source ranked last in terms of reliability. Variations to the provincial patterns are observed across the districts. Newspapers were rated as the most reliable news source by respondents in Kilinochchi

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and Vavuniya, while radio was quoted as the most reliable source in Jaffna and Mannar. Interestingly, TV was rated as the most reliable source by respondents in Mulaitivu. Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 1 1 1 Radio 2 2 2 TV 3 3 2 Social Media 5 5 4 Web news 4 4 5

• Only minor variations are observed for the feedback along gender. Women respondents gave equal weightage to radio and TV as the second most reliable source for information and also, provided a marginally better rating for social media. Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 1 1 1 1 Radio 2 2 2 1 TV 3 3 3 3 Social Media 5 5 4 5 Web news 4 4 5 4

Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 1 1 1 Radio 2 2 2 TV 3 3 3 Social Media 5 5 5 Web news 4 4 4

No variations are observed across age and economic categories in terms of ranking the media sources on reliability.

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5.4 Primary source that respondents accessed for local-level information.

This section explores the preferred media through which respondents accessed information and news related to local development issues. Overall profile for the province

Primary source of information for local development 30% 28% 26% 25%

20% 15% 15% 14%

10% 8% 6% 5%

0% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Personal

• In contrast to the trends in accessing national level information, where the media sources were equally represented, the preferred media for accessing local information is newspapers, followed by peer networks. Social media third, closely followed by web news. District wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - District wise trends

Peers

Web-news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web-news Peers Vavuniya 8% 8% 15% 8% 12% 50% Mulaitivu 15% 5% 5% 25% 30% 20% Mannar 17% 0% 3% 24% 24% 31% Kilinochchi 60% 7% 13% 7% 0% 13% Jaffna 34% 7% 8% 14% 10% 27%

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• Considerable variations are observed for district level feedback on the most sought-after media to access local information. For respondents of Vavuniya and Mannar, peer networks provide the most important conduit to access local development news. For residents of Mulaitivu, web news was the most reported source, and newspapers dominate the sources for accessing local information for residents in Jaffna and Kilinochchi. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Gender wise trends

Personal

Web-news

Social Media

Radio

Newspapers

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Personal Female 20% 8% 8% 14% 19% 30% Male 33% 4% 9% 16% 11% 27%

• No major variations from the provincial trends are observed along gender dimensions, except that a slightly higher proportion of women respondents use online media for accessing local news. Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Age wise trends

Personal

Web-news

Social Media

Radio

Newspapers

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Personal >60 years 43% 4% 17% 4% 13% 17% 41-60 35% 9% 11% 4% 7% 35% <40 years 20% 4% 5% 24% 18% 29%

• Respondents below 40 years of age report using mostly online media and personal networks to access local development news and information. In contrast, more than one- third of respondents age group 41-60 years report accessing local news through

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newspapers and personal networks. Newspapers are the most preferred media for respondents above the age of 60 years. Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Economic status wise trends

Personal Web-news Social Media TV Radio Newspapers

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Personal Others 26% 4% 10% 15% 17% 27% Samurdhi 31% 8% 5% 15% 8% 33%

• No major variations are observed in the patterns of accessing local news across economic categories.

5.5 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the local-level information.

This section profiles the feedback on the reliability of the primary sources that respondents used to access information related to national development issues. Overall profile for the province and district trends Information category Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial Jaffna Kilinochchi Mulaitivu Mannar Vavuniya rank Newspapers 1 2 1 3 2 1 Radio 2 1 2 2 1 2 TV 3 3 2 1 3 3 Social Media 4 4 5 5 5 5 Web news 5 5 4 4 4 4

• In line with the reliability ratings for national news, TV was rated by the respondents in the Northern Province as the most reliable source for accessing local information, followed by radio and TV. Minor variations are observed across the districts. Newspapers were rated as the most reliable information source by residents in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya, while those in Jaffna and Mannar reported radio and residents in Mulaitivu reported TV.

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Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 1 1 1 Radio 2 2 2 TV 3 3 3 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• No variations are observed across gender dimensions. Age-wise trends

Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 1 1 1 2 Radio 2 2 2 3 TV 3 3 3 1 Social Media 4 5 4 4 Web news 5 4 5 5

• No major variations are observed across age categories, except for respondents above 60 years of age, TV was the most reliable source for local information. While for those in the other two categories, it was newspapers. Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 1 1 1 Radio 2 2 2 TV 3 3 3 Social Media 4 5 4 Web news 5 4 5

• No major variations are observed across economic categories.

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5.6 Ranking of preferred media for accessing information on local development

This section discusses the feedback from respondents on their preferred media to receive information on local development issues.

Overall profile for the province and district trends Information category Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial Jaffna Kilinochchi Mulaitivu Mannar Vavuniya rank Newspapers 1 1 1 1 1 3 Radio 3 4 2 4 3 2 TV 4 3 3 3 5 1 Social Media 2 2 4 2 2 4 Web news 5 5 5 5 4 5

• Overall, respondents in Northern province indicated that Newspapers are their most preferred media to receive information related to local development, followed by social media, radio, TV and web news. Across the districts, except Vavuniya, residents in all other districts indicated that newspapers are the preferred choice to disseminate local news; residents in Vavuniya identified TV as their choice. Use of social media was reported as the second preferred choice by respondents in Jaffna, Mulaitivu and Mannar. Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 1 1 1 Radio 3 4 2 TV 4 3 3 Social Media 2 2 4 Web news 5 5 5

• While male respondents indicated social media as the second most preferred source to disseminate information on local development, female respondents rated it below TV and radio.

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Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 1 1 1 1 Radio 3 3 2 4 TV 4 5 3 2 Social Media 2 2 4 3 Web news 5 4 5 5

• Minor variations are observed for the preferred media source to access local information. For respondents under 40 years, social media was the second preferred choice, for those between the ages of 41 and 60, it was radio while for respondents over 60 years, it was TV. Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 1 1 1 Radio 3 3 3 TV 4 4 4 Social Media 2 2 2 Web news 5 5 5

• No variations are observed across economic categories.

5.7 Access to critical information pertaining to local authorities

This section discusses the feedback from the respondents regarding their access to key categories of information provided by their local authorities. Overall profile for the province

Percentage of repondents reporting access 70% 66% 60% 56% 50% 42% 42% 40% 30% 25% 20% 10% 0% LA budget Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA

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• Relatively large number of respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs and services and related to activities of the Council. Only one third of the respondents reported accessing details related to the local authority’s budget and funds allocated for local development. A little under one-third reported accessing details of programs and initiatives to support local businesses. District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- District wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs Details of welfare programs by LAs Proceedings of the council Funds allocated for local development by the LA LA budget 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Vavuniya 46% 38% 38% 27% 15% Mullaithivu 95% 95% 100% 70% 30% Mannar 14% 24% 66% 45% 34% Kilinochchi 20% 20% 80% 53% 7% Jaffna 41% 41% 64% 66% 27%

• Access to information related to Council activities and details of welfare programs are reported relatively high across all districts. Mulaitivu reports some outlier results. Details of support to entrepreneurs and information pertaining to LA budget are low for all districts, except Mulaithivu. Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Gender wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Female 41% 38% 68% 59% 20% Male 42% 45% 64% 54% 29%

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• Relatively higher numbers of women respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs, and activities of the Council while a larger proportion of male respondents reported being able to access information on funds allocated for local development and on details for local business promotion. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Age wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs Details of welfare programs by LAs Proceedings of the council Funds allocated for local development by the LA LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Funds allocated for Details of support Proceedings of the Details of welfare LA budget local development to local council programs by LAs by the LA entrepreneurs >60 years 35% 43% 65% 65% 17% 41-60 45% 42% 64% 49% 33% <40 years 41% 42% 67% 58% 23%

• Respondents below 40 years reported higher levels of access most information categories, barring LA budget, and details of welfare programs while those in the age group 41-60 years rated information on LA budget and details of support to local entrepreneurs high. Respondents above 60 years of age reported high access to welfare programs. Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Economic-status wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Others 42% 38% 64% 56% 26% Samurdhi 41% 51% 69% 57% 25%

• Respondents belonging to the Samurdhi category fared better in terms of their ability to access critical LA information related to funds allocated for local development, activities of the Council and details of welfare programs.

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5.8 Frequency and quality of communication from Local Authorities

5.8.1 Feedback from respondents reporting communication from their respective LAs during the last six months

Percentage of respondents reporting in the affirmative

Others 54 Samurdhi 56 Women 50 Men 58 >60 years 61 41-60 55 <40 years 53 Vavuniya 19 Mulaitivu 65 Mannar 52 Kilinochchi 53 Jaffna 64 Overall province 54

• Overall, 54 percent of those interviewed in the Northern Province reported receiving communication from their respective LAs during the last six months. Across districts, this proportion was the highest for respondents in Mulaitive and Jaffna and lowest in Vavuniya. More respondents above 60 years reported in the affirmative. Women respondents reported lower proportions compared to male respondents. Marginally higher proportion of Samurdhi respondents reported communications from their LAs compared to those in the non-Samurdhi category. 5.8.2 Type of information shared by LAs

Category of public information messages communicated by the LAs - Province level 60% 57% 44% 50% 39% 40% 30% 14% 20% 6% 10% 0% LA Financial Call for meetings Public awareness Payment notices Others information

• Public awareness messages, call for meetings and payment notices were the three key categories of messages communicated by LAs to citizens in the Northern Province.

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5.8.3 Methods adopted by LAs for public information

Methods used to share public information by the LAs - Province wise 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50%

Axis Axis Title 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Social Public Handbills/ Newspaper Radio TV Web-news Banners Media Notice Posters North 39% 1% 2% 15% 9% 89% 80% 54%

• Public notices, handbills or posters and banners were the most used methods for public communication. Online sources are very sparingly used.

5.8.4 Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the LAs Overall profile for the province

Effectiveness of Public Information Dissemination 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Very High High Average Poor Can't comment % 10 36 47 3 3

• Among those who reported receiving a communication from their respective LAs during the last six months, around half of them (46%) rated that the effectiveness of the communication as high or very high. An equal proportion (47%) found the effectiveness to be average.

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District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - District wise trends

Vavuniya Mulaitivu Mannar Kilinochci Jaffna 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Jaffna Kilinochci Mannar Mulaitivu Vavuniya Can't comment 4 0 0 0 20 Poor 4 13 0 0 0 Average 55 63 40 40 20 High 29 25 53 54 40 Very High 9 0 7 23 20

• Respondents across the five districts reported wide variations regarding the effectiveness of their LA’s communication initiatives. Respondents in Mannar and Mulaitivu reported a larger proportion of the very high and high scores, while in Jaffna and Kilinochchi, most of the respondents gave an average rating, with LAs in Kilinochchi faring relatively weak in their communication with 13% rating the initiatives as poor. Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Gender wise trends

Female

Male

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Male Female Cant Comment 2% 5% Poor 5% 0% Average 48% 46% High 33% 41% Very high 12% 8%

• Women respondents in Northern Province have given a marginally better rating to the communication efforts of their LAs.

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Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Age wise trends

>60 years

41-60

<40 years

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% <40 years 41-60 >60 years Cant Comment 4% 3% 0% Poor 4% 3% 0% Average 40% 50% 71% High 36% 40% 29% Very high 17% 3% 0%

• Respondents under the age of 40 years have given a relatively better rating to the communication efforts of LAs in Northern Province. Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Economic status wise trends

Others

Samurdhi

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Samurdhi Others Cant Comment 0% 5% Poor 0% 5% Average 47% 48% High 38% 35% Very high 15% 8%

• Samurdhi respondents indicated a marginally better rating on the LAs communication efforts in the Northern Province.

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5.9 Access to critical information pertaining to divisional secretariats

This section discusses the feedback from the respondents regarding their access to key categories of information provided by their Divisional Secretariats. Overall profile for the province

Percentage of respondents reporting access

Series1

54% 49% 46%

28% 27%

Funds allocated for local Details of the ‘welfare Details of women Details of Report on the DS development by the DS programs’ initiated by development programs entrepreneurs activities the DS by DS development programs by DS

• Relatively large number of respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs and services and women’s development. About one in four respondents reported accessing details related to funds allocated for local development. A little over one-third reported accessing details of programs and initiatives to support local businesses and less than one-third reported having information related to the activities of the DS. District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- District wise trends

Report on the DS activities Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by ‘welfare programs’ development development activities the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Vavuniya 35% 58% 42% 42% 15% Mullaithivu 50% 85% 85% 40% 60% Mannar 14% 31% 34% 41% 17% Kilinochchi 27% 47% 67% 40% 7% Jaffna 26% 56% 45% 51% 30%

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• Respondents in Mannar and Kilinochi district (except for details of women development programs) reports the lowest figures on access to critical information provided by the DSs. Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Gender wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the ‘welfare Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by programs’ initiated by development development activities the DS the DS programs by DS programs by DS Female 27% 57% 66% 42% 27% Male 29% 53% 38% 49% 27%

• Relatively larger proportions of women respondents reported accessing information related to women’s development and welfare programs. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Age wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the ‘welfare Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by programs’ initiated by development development activities the DS the DS programs by DS programs by DS >60 years 26% 52% 39% 43% 26% 41-60 27% 47% 56% 31% 33% <40 years 29% 59% 48% 55% 24%

• Respondents under the age of 40 years reported higher levels of access to most information categories.

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Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Economic-status wise trends

Report on the DS activities Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by ‘welfare programs’ development development activities the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Others 28% 55% 48% 44% 29% Samurdhi 28% 54% 52% 49% 23%

• A relatively larger proportion of Samurdhi respondents reported better access to information provided by the Divisional Secretariats on women development programs and details of entrepreneur’s development programs.

5.10 Frequency and quality of communication from Divisional Secretariats

5.10.1 Feedback from respondents reporting communication from their respective DSs during the last six months

Percentage of respondents reporting in the affirmative

Others 48 Samurdhi 59 Women 53 Men 51 >60 years 43 41-60 47 <40 years 56 Vavuniya 31 Mulaitivu 65 Mannar 41 Kilinochchi 53 Jaffna 58 Overall province 52

• Overall, 52 percent of those interviewed in the Northern Province reported receiving communication from their respective DSs during the last six months. Across districts, this

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proportion was the highest for respondents in Mullativu and Jaffna and lowest in Vavuniya. Larger numbers of respondents below 40 years of age reported in the affirmative compared to those in the age category 41-60 years and those above 60 years. Women respondents and those belonging to the Samurdhi category reported higher proportions compared to male respondents and those in the non-Samurdhi category. 5.10.2 Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the DSs Overall profile for the province

Effectiveness of Public Information Dissemination 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Very High High Average Poor Can't comment % 7% 43% 49% 1% 0%

• One in two respondents who received communications from their respective DSs rated the effectiveness as high and very high. District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of DS public information - District wise trends

Can't comment

Poor

Average

High

Very High

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Very High High Average Poor Can't comment Vavuniya 0% 38% 62% 0% 0% Mulaitivu 15% 46% 38% 0% 0% Mannar 0% 50% 50% 0% 0% Kilinochci 0% 50% 50% 0% 0% Jaffna 8% 41% 49% 2% 0%

• Respondents in Mulaitivu, Mannar and Kilinochchi reported a higher rating for the effectiveness of the communication initiatives adopted by their DSs, while those in Vavuniya recorded lower ratings.

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Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of DS public information - Gender wise trends

Female

Male

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Male Female Cant Comment 0% 0% Poor 0% 3% Average 55% 41% High 38% 51% Very high 8% 5%

• Women respondents have provided a higher level of rating on the effectiveness of communication initiatives from their DS offices. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Age wise trends

>60 years

41-60

<40 years

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% <40 years 41-60 >60 years Cant Comment 4% 3% 0% Poor 4% 3% 0% Average 40% 50% 71% High 36% 40% 29% Very high 17% 3% 0%

• Respondents below 40 years of age reported a significantly better rating on the effectiveness of the communication approaches adopted by the LAs; the proportion of those above 60 years reporting in the affirmative to very high and high ratings was half of that of respondents under 40 years of age.

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Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of DS public information - Economic status wise trends

Others

Samurdhi

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Samurdhi Others Cant Comment 0% 0% Poor 0% 2% Average 47% 50% High 44% 43% Very high 8% 5%

• Samurdhi respondents reported marginally better ratings on the effectiveness of the communication 5.11 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19 Pandemic

Overall profile for the province

Primary Sources used to access information on Covid-19 30% 27% 25% 19% 20% 20% 17% 17% 15%

10%

0% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news

• Respondents in the Northern Province identified TV as the most accessed media for information related to Covid-19, followed by personal networks, radio and social media.

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District wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- District wise trends

Web-news

Social Media

Radio

Newspapers

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Vavuniya 12% 15% 38% 23% 12% Mullaithivu 15% 25% 45% 10% 5% Mannar 7% 31% 10% 24% 28% Kilinochchi 7% 27% 53% 13% 0% Jaffna 28% 10% 20% 20% 20%

• Variations are observed across districts in terms of the media used for accessing information related to Covid-19. In Vavuniya, Mulaithivu and Kilinochchi, TV is the most accessed media. While in Mannar, radio and web-news dominated. Respondents in Jaffna reported using multiple sources to access information related to Covid-19. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Gender wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Female 18 23 30 12 9 8 Male 20 13 25 25 10 7

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Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Age wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others >60 years 26% 17% 48% 4% 0% 4% 41-60 18% 24% 38% 0% 9% 11% <40 years 18% 14% 16% 34% 12% 6%

• Higher proportion of respondents under 40 years of age accessed information related to Covid-19 from social media, while those above 60 years reported higher use of newspapers. Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Gender wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Others 21 15 25 22 9 8 Samurdhi 15 23 31 15 11 5

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• A higher proportion of Samurdhi respondents accessed information from traditional media (TV, radio and newspapers) while a slightly higher use of online media was reported by non-Samurdhi respondents.

5.12 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19.

Overall profile for the province and district trends Information category Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial Jaffna Kilinochchi Mulaitivu Mannar Vavuniya rank Newspapers 1 1 2 2 1 2 Radio 3 3 1 3 3 1 TV 2 2 3 1 5 3 Social Media 4 4 4 4 2 4 Web news 5 5 5 5 4 5

• Overall, respondents in Northern province indicated that Newspapers are their most preferred media to receive information related to Covid-19, followed by TV, radio, social media and web news. Across the districts, newspapers were ranked highest in terms of reliability in Jaffna and Mannar, while it was radio for respondents in Kilinochchi and TV for those in Mulaitivu. In a reversal of trends, social media was ranked the second reliable source in Mannar. Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 1 1 2 Radio 3 3 3 TV 2 2 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• Female respondents rated TV as the most reliable source while for the male respondents, the source was newspapers.

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Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 1 1 2 3 Radio 3 3 2 2 TV 2 2 1 1 Social Media 4 5 4 4 Web news 5 4 5 5

• Minor variations are observed for the preferred media source to access information on Covid-19. For respondents under 40 years, newspapers are the most reliable source, while for the other two categories, it was TV. Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 1 2 1 Radio 3 3 2 TV 2 1 3 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• For respondents in the Samurdhi category, TV was the most reliable source for information on Covid-19, while for others, it was newspapers.

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6. Report for North Central Province

In the North Central Province, 122 respondents spread across 27 Local Authorities (LA) in the two districts were interviewed for this assessment. The district-wise spread of the sample is depicted below:

Total Respondents

Women Respondents

Respondents under 40

Samurdhi Card Holders

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Samurdhi Card Holders Respondents under 40 Women Respondents Total Respondents Province 33 55 57 122 Polanaruwa 9 20 14 36 A'pura 24 35 43 86

In the following sections, key trends and inferences aggregated at the provincial level are discussed:

6.1 Ranking of type of national-level information sought after by the respondents

This section probes the priority accorded to categories of information that respondents seek on national development issues. Overall profile for the province and district trends Information category Overall provincial rank District-wise ranking of information categories Anuradhapura Polonnaruwa National Policies 4 3 5 National budget allocations 5 4 6 National Development Programs 1 2 1 Social Welfare Programs 2 1 2 Political developments 6 6 4 Current issues 3 5 3 Other 7 7 7

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• Information related to national development programs, social welfare and current issues were the most sought-after categories in North Central Province. Information related to political developments and budget ranked relatively low in terms of priority. • No significant variations are observed across the districts, except respondents in Anuradhapura have indicated a relatively higher preference for information related to national policies. Gender-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female National Policies 4 3 5 National budget allocations 5 6 4 National Development Programs 1 1 2 Social Welfare Programs 2 2 1 Political developments 6 5 6 Current issues 3 4 3 Other 7 7 7

• No major variation in information seeking priorities are observed between male and female respondents, except female respondents ranked information related to social welfare programs as the top priority as compared to the preference accorded to national development programs by the male respondents. Also, current issues were ranked as the third priority category by women respondents, while for the male respondents, it was national policies. Age-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Age-wise ranking of information categories <40 years 41-60 >60 years National Policies 4 3 5 5 National budget allocations 5 6 4 5 National Development Programs 1 1 1 2 Social Welfare Programs 2 2 2 1 Political developments 6 5 6 3 Current issues 3 3 3 4 Other 7 7 7 7

• Respondents below 40 years of age have accorded a higher priority to national policies. While, for those above 60 years political developments ranked higher than the rest.

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Economic status-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Economic status-wise trends Samurdhi Others National Policies 4 4 3 National budget allocations 5 6 4 National Development Programs 1 2 1 Social Welfare Programs 2 1 2 Political developments 6 5 6 Current issues 3 3 5 Other 7 7 7

• Samrudhi respondents ranked information related to social welfare programs as the top priority as compared to the preference accorded to national development programs by the non-Samrudhi respondents. Also, Samurdhi respondents accorded a higher to current issues, while for the non-Samurdhi respondents national policies ranked higher. 6.2 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national- level information.

This section explores the preferred media through which respondents accessed information and news related to national development issues. Overall profile for the province

Primary source used to access national level information - Provincial-level 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Province 9% 8% 76% 5% 0% 2%

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District wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - District wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Polanaruwa 0% 11% 86% 3% 0% 0% A'pura 13% 7% 72% 6% 0% 2%

• Provincial trends are more or less reflected at the district levels too, with TV reported as the top preferred media. Respondents in Polonnaruwa identified radio as the second preferred choice, while those in Anuradhapura reported newspapers as their second preference. Also, a relatively higher percentage of respondents in Anuradhapura reported social media as a source for accessing information related to national development. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Gender wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Female 4% 5% 88% 4% 0% 0% Male 14% 11% 66% 6% 0% 3%

• An overwhelming majority of women respondents identified TV as their primary media source for national development news.

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Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Age wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers >60 years 8% 8% 83% 0% 0% 0% 41-60 15% 9% 73% 0% 0% 4% <40 years 4% 7% 78% 11% 0% 0%

• Respondents below 40 years of age used social media much more than the rest to access information pertaining to national development. For respondents above 60 years of age, TV was the overwhelming choice. Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Economic-status wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Others 11% 9% 72% 7% 0% 1% Samurdhi 3% 6% 88% 0% 0% 3%

• For the large majority of economically weak respondents (88%) TV was the most preferred source for accessing information related to national level development.

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6.3 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information.

This section profiles the feedback on the reliability of the primary sources that respondents used to access information related to national development issues. Overall profile for the province and district trends Primary Source Overall provincial District-wise ranking of information categories rank Anuradhapura Polonnaruwa Newspapers 4 5 3 Radio 5 4 5 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 3 3 4 Web news 2 2 2

• In line with the feedback on access, TV is seen as the most reliable information source for respondents in the North Central Province. Despite its low usage to access news pertaining to national development, online sources are rated higher than newspapers and radio. Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 4 4 4 Radio 5 5 5 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 3 3 3 Web news 2 2 2

• No variations are observed along gender dimensions Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 4 5 4 3 Radio 5 4 5 5 TV 1 1 2 1 Social Media 3 3 3 4 Web news 2 2 1 2

• Minor variations are observed across age categories. Web news was identified as the most reliable media source for accessing national level news by those in the age group 41-60 years. Further, respondents above 60 years identified newspapers as the third most reliable source.

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Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 4 5 4 Radio 5 4 5 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 3 3 3 Web news 2 2 2

• No significant variations are observed for the feedback on reliability across economic categories. 6.4 Primary source that respondents accessed for local-level information.

This section explores the preferred media through which respondents accessed information and news related to local development issues. Overall profile for the province

Primary source of information for local development 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Province 19% 4% 43% 8% 2% 24%

• In contrast to the trends in accessing national level information, the preferred media for accessing local information was more distributed. Television got the highest ratings as the preferred source for local development news. However, peer networks and newspapers got significantly higher ratings when compared with the trends for accessing national level development news.

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District wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - District wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Polanaruwa 17% 3% 36% 19% 0% 25% A'pura 20% 5% 48% 4% 2% 20%

• In line with the provincial trends, TV dominates district level feedback too as the most sought-after media to access local information. A larger proportion of respondents from Polonnaruwa reported accessing social media. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Gender wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Female 19% 7% 46% 4% 0% 25% Male 18% 2% 42% 12% 3% 23%

• No major variations from the provincial trends are observed along gender dimensions, except that more male respondents use online media for accessing local news.

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Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Age wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers >60 years 17% 8% 42% 0% 0% 33% 41-60 22% 5% 42% 5% 0% 25% <40 years 16% 2% 45% 13% 4% 20%

Primary source used to access local level information - Economic-status trends

Peers Web news Social Media TV Radio Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Others 21% 2% 36% 9% 2% 27% Samurdhi 12% 9% 64% 6% 0% 6%

• A larger proportion of Samurdhi respondents reported using TV as the primary source and a significantly larger proportion of non-Samurdhi respondents reported using peer networks.

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6.5 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the local-level information.

Newspapers 4 4 4 Radio 5 5 5 TV 1 1 2 Social Media 3 3 3 Web news 2 2 1

• TV was rated by the respondents as the most reliable source for accessing local information, followed by social media and web news. Quite interestingly, though newspapers were quoted as the third most accessed source for local information, they were ranked fourth in terms of reliability. Residents in Polonnaruwa rated web news as the most reliable medium to access local information. Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 4 3 4 Radio 5 5 5 TV 1 1.5 1 Social Media 3 4 3 Web news 2 2 2

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Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 4 4 4 5 Radio 5 5 5 4 TV 1 1 2 1 Social Media 3 3 3 3 Web news 2 2 1 2

• For respondents below 40 years of age, TV was the most reliable source for local information. While for those in the other two categories, it was newspapers.

Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 4 5 4 Radio 5 4 5 TV 1 1 2 Social Media 3 3 3 Web news 2 2 1

• While Samurdhi recipients reflected the provincial trends, for non Samurdhi respondents, newspapers were seen as the most reliable. 6.6 Ranking of preferred media for accessing information on local development

This section discusses the feedback from respondents on their preferred media to receive information on local development issues. Overall profile for the province and district trends Primary Source Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank Anuradhapura Polonnaruwa

Newspapers 2 2 2 Radio 3 3 3 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• Overall, respondents in Eastern province indicated that TV is their most preferred media to receive information related to local development, followed by newspapers, social media

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and web news. Across the districts, while Ampara reflected the provincial patterns, in Batticaloa and Trincomalee, residents reported newspapers as the most preferred source. Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 2 2 2 Radio 3 3 3 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• While respondents indicated social media as the most preferred source to receive information on local development, female respondents rated it below TV and newspaper. Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 2 2 2 3 Radio 3 3 3 2 TV 1 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 5 Web news 5 5 5 4

• Interesting variations are observed for the preferred media source to access local information. For respondents under 40 years, social media was the preferred choice, for those between the ages of 41 and 60, it was TV while for respondents over 60 years, it was newspapers. Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 2 2 2 Radio 3 3 3 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

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6.7 Access to critical information pertaining to local authorities

This section discusses the feedback from the respondents regarding their access to key categories of information provided by their local authorities. Overall profile for the province

Percentage of respondents reporting access

36%

17% 18% 18%

11%

LA budget Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA

• Relatively large number of respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs and services and related to activities of the Council. Less than one in two respondents reported accessing details related to the local authority’s budget and funds allocated for local development. A little under one-fifths reported accessing details of programs and initiatives to support local businesses. District wise trends

Percentage of respondents reporting access- District wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs Details of welfare programs by LAs Proceedings of the council Funds allocated for local development by the LA LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs by the LA Polanaruwa 14% 19% 31% 67% 36% A'pura 23% 37% 34% 65% 31%

• Respondents in Anuradhapura district reported the highest level of access to almost all categories of information.

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Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Gender wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs by the LA Female 16% 25% 33% 74% 30% Male 25% 38% 32% 58% 35%

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Age wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs by the LA >60 years 25% 58% 42% 75% 33% 41-60 24% 35% 24% 64% 31% <40 years 16% 24% 40% 65% 35%

• Respondents below 40 years reported lower levels of access to most information categories, while those above 60 years the highest levels.

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Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Economic-status wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Others 21% 34% 33% 66% 36% Samurdhi 18% 27% 33% 64% 24%

• Comparatively, respondents belonging to the Samurdhi category fared poorer in terms of their ability to access critical LA information. 6.8 Frequency and quality of communication from Local Authorities

6.8.1 Feedback from respondents reporting communication from their respective LAs during the last six months

Percentage of respondents reporting in the affirmative

Others 64

Samurdhi 55

Women 54

Men 68

>60 years 75

41-60 60

<40 years 60

Polonnaruwa 64

Anuradhapura 60

Overall province 61

• Overall, 61 percent of those interviewed in the North Central Province reported receiving communication from their respective LAs during the last six months. Across districts, this proportion was the highest for respondents in Polonnaruwa. More respondents above the age of 60 years reported in the affirmative. Women respondents and those belonging to

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the Samurdhi category reported lower proportions compared to male respondents and those in the non-Samurdhi category. 6.8.2 Type of information shared by LAs

Category of public information messages communicated by the LAs - Province level

75% 80% 70% 60% 46% 50% 42% 40% 30% 20% 10% 1% 0% 0% LA Financial Call for meetings Public awareness Payment notices Others information

• Public awareness messages, call for meetings and payment notices were the three key categories of messages communicated by LAs to citizens in the North Central Province. 6.8.3 Methods adopted by LAs for public information

Methods used to share public information by the LAs - Province wise 100% 86% 90% 80% 70% 63% 60% 47% 50% 40% 30% 20% 5% 3% 6% 5% 10% 0% 0%

• Public notices, handbills or posters and banners were the most used methods for public communication. Online sources are very sparingly used.

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6.8.4 Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the LAs Overall profile for the province

Effectiveness of Public Information Dissemination by LAs 47%

32%

19%

3% 0%

Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment

• Among those who reported receiving a communication from their respective LAs during the last six months, a considerable proportion (66%) rated that the effectiveness of the communication as high or very high. A little under one-third (32%) found the effectiveness to be average. District wise trends

Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the LAs - District wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Polanaruwa 17% 39% 43% 0% 0% A'pura 19% 50% 27% 4% 0%

• Across districts, respondents in Anuradhapura reported higher ratings on the communication approaches adopted by their respective LAs.

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Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Gender wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Female 10% 52% 32% 6% 0% Male 25% 43% 32% 0% 0%

• A relatively larger proportion of male respondents (one in four) gave the highest rating to the communication approaches adopted by LAs. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Age wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment >60 years 22% 56% 22% 0% 0% 41-60 18% 45% 33% 3% 0% <40 years 18% 45% 33% 3% 0%

• More than three fourths of respondents above 60 years of age reported high or very high ratings on the effectiveness of the communication approaches adopted by the LAs.

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Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Economic-status wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Others 16% 49% 32% 4% 0% Samurdhi 28% 39% 33% 0% 0%

• Samurdhi respondents provided marginally better ratings on the effectiveness of communication approaches adopted by their respective LAs.

6.9 Access to critical information pertaining to Divisional Secretariats

This section discusses the feedback from the respondents regarding their access to key categories of information provided by their Divisional Secretariats. Overall profile for the province

Percentage of respondents reporting access 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by ‘welfare programs’ development development activities the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Series1 19% 31% 30% 13% 8%

• Relatively large number of respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs and services and women’s development. About one in five respondents reported accessing details related to funds allocated for local development. Lower proportions of respondents reported accessing details of programs and initiatives to support local businesses and on activities of the DS.

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District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- District wise trends

Report on the DS activities Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development ‘welfare programs’ development development activities by the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Polanaruwa 11% 58% 58% 22% 8% A'pura 43% 53% 51% 23% 17%

• Across the districts, respondents in Anuradhapura reported better access to information related to the DSs, barring details of women development programs. Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Gender wise trends

Report on the DS activities Details of entrepreneurs development programs by… Details of women development programs by DS Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by ‘welfare programs’ development development activities the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Female 28% 58% 72% 25% 7% Male 38% 52% 37% 22% 22%

• Relatively larger proportions of women respondents reported accessing information related to women’s development programs, while a significantly larger proportion of men reported access to DS activities.

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Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Age wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the ‘welfare Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by programs’ initiated by development development activities the DS the DS programs by DS programs by DS >60 years 50% 67% 42% 33% 42% 41-60 47% 47% 53% 25% 9% <40 years 16% 60% 56% 18% 15%

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Economic-status wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs…

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the …

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development ‘welfare programs’ development development activities by the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Others 31% 52% 52% 24% 15% Samurdhi 39% 64% 58% 21% 15%

• In a contrast to the feedback on LA information, relatively larger proportion of Samurdhi respondents reported better access to information provided by the Divisional Secretariats.

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6.10 Frequency and quality of communication from Divisional Secretariats

6.10.1 Feedback from respondents reporting communication from their respective DSs during the last six months

Percentage of respondents reporting in the affirmative

Others 58 Samurdhi 55 >60 years 67 41-60 49 <40 years 64 Men 60 Women 54 Polonnaruwa 67 Anuradhapura 53 Provincial 57

• Overall, 57 percent of those interviewed in the North Central Province reported receiving communication from their respective DSs during the last six months. Across districts, this proportion was the highest for respondents in Polonnaruwa. Lesser numbers of respondents in the age group 41-60 years of age reported in the affirmative compared to the rest in the age category. Women respondents and those belonging to the Samurdhi category reported lower proportions compared to male respondents and those in the non- Samurdhi category. 6.10.2 Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the DSs Overall profile for the province

Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the DSs 60% 49% 50% 38% 40% 30% 20% 10% 3% 10% 0% 0% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment

• Just under 60% of respondents in NCP reported high to very high ratings on the effectiveness of communication approaches adopted by their DSs. A little over one-third rated the effectiveness as average.

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District wise trends

Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the DSs - District wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Polanaruwa 17% 39% 43% 0% 0% A'pura 6% 48% 31% 4% 0%

• Respondents in Polonnaruwa district reported significantly higher ratings (17% reporting very high) on the effectiveness of the communication approaches adopted by their DSs. Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of DS public information - Gender wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Female 3% 61% 29% 6% 0% Male 13% 49% 38% 0% 0%

• Male respondents in Polonnaruwa district reported significantly higher ratings (13% reporting very high) on the effectiveness of the communication approaches adopted by their DSs.

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Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of DS public information - Age wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment >60 years 0% 63% 38% 0% 0% 41-60 7% 48% 41% 4% 0% <40 years 11% 57% 29% 3% 0%

• Respondents below the age of 40 years have reported higher ratings on the effectiveness of the communication approaches adopted by their DSs. Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of DS public information - Economic-status wise trends

Cant Comment Poor Average High Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Others 6% 64% 27% 3% 0% Samurdhi 7% 53% 33% 7% 0%

• Samurdhi respondents have reported a lower rating on the effectiveness of the communication approaches adopted by the DS.

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6.11 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19 Pandemic

Overall profile for the province

Primary Sources used to access information on Covid -19 100% 90% 87% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 5% 6% 1% 1% 1% 0% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others

• In line with the trends observed in the North Central Province, TV is the most accessed media for information related to Covid-19, followed by social media and radio. District wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- District wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Polanaruwa 0% 3% 94% 0% 3% 0% A'pura 1% 6% 84% 8% 0% 1%

• No major variations are observed across the districts in relation to the primary sources through which the respondents accessed information on Covid-19.

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Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Gender wise trends

Others Web news Social Media TV Radio Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Female 2% 4% 89% 2% 2% 2% Male 0% 6% 85% 9% 0% 0%

• No major variations are observed across gender dimensions, except for a higher usage of social media by male respondents and a slightly larger proportion of women respondents accessing information on Covid-19 through TV. Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Age wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others >60 years 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 41-60 2% 9% 85% 4% 0% 0% <40 years 0% 2% 85% 9% 2% 2%

• Higher proportion of respondents under 40 years of age accessed information related to Covid-19 from online media, while those above 60 years reported accessing news only through the TV channels.

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Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Economic-status trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Others 1% 6% 87% 4% 1% 1% Samurdhi 0% 3% 88% 9% 0% 0%

• No significant differences across economic categories were observed in the usage of media sources to access information on Covid-19.

6.12 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19.

Overall profile for the province and district trends

Primary Source Overall provincial District-wise ranking of information categories rank Anuradhapura Polonnaruwa

Newspapers 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

Gender-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

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Age-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial Age-wise ranking of information categories rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 3 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 4 Web news 5 4 5 4

Economic status-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• No variations are observed across districts, gender and economic dimensions in terms of the feedback on reliability of sources for information related to Covid-19. However, for respondents over the age of 60, newspapers and radio are perceived to be more reliable than TV.

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7. Report for Uva Province

In the Uva Province, 232 respondents spread across 28 Local Authorities (LA) in the two districts of Uva Province were interviewed for this assessment. The district-wise spread of the sample is depicted below:

Total Respondents

Women Respondents

Respondents under 40

Samurdhi Card Holders

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Samurdhi Card Holders Respondents under 40 Women Respondents Total Respondents Province 36 94 74 167 Monaragala 15 22 21 50 Badulla 21 72 53 117

In this section, key trends and inferences aggregated at the provincial level are discussed: 7.1 Ranking of type of national-level information sought after by the respondents

This section probes the priority accorded to categories of information that respondents seek on national development issues. Overall profile for the province and district trends Information category Overall provincial rank District-wise ranking of information categories Badulla Monaragala National Policies 6 6 6 National budget allocations 5 5 4 National Development Programs 2 2 2 Social Welfare Programs 1 1 1 Political developments 4 3 5 Current issues 3 4 3 Other 7 7 7

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• Information related to social welfare and national development programs and current were the most sought after by the respondents in Uva Province. Information related to national policies and budget ranked relatively low in terms of priority. • No significant variations are observed across the districts, except respondents in Badulla have indicated a relatively higher preference for political developments than the peers in Monaragala. Gender-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female National Policies 6 6 6 National budget allocations 5 5 5 National Development Programs 2 2 2 Social Welfare Programs 1 1 1 Political developments 4 3 4 Current issues 3 4 2 Other 7 7 7

• No major variation in information seeking priorities are observed between male and female respondents, except female respondents ranked information related to current issues as relatively higher priority as compared to the preference accorded by the male respondents. Age-wise trends Information category Overall provincial Age-wise ranking of information categories rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years National Policies 6 6 6 6 National budget allocations 5 5 5 4 National Development Programs 2 2 2 2 Social Welfare Programs 1 1 1 1 Political developments 4 4 3 5 Current issues 3 3 4 3 Other 7 7 7 7

• No major variation is observed across the age group, but an interesting variation is observed in respect to the feedback from respondents above the age of 60 years as information related to political developments ranked comparatively lower than the other age groups, while the priority for national budget ranked comparatively higher.

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Economic status-wise trends Information category Overall provincial rank Economic status-wise trends Samurdhi Others National Policies 6 7 6 National budget allocations 5 5 5 National Development Programs 2 4 2 Social Welfare Programs 1 1 1 Political developments 4 2 4 Current issues 3 2 3 Other 7 6 7

• Both the Samurdhi and non-Samurdhi respondents ranked the ‘social welfare programs’ related information as the top priority but Samurdhi respondents ranked political developments related information as the second priority while the non-Samurdhi respondents ranked the national development programs 7.2 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national- level information.

This section explores the preferred media through which respondents accessed information and news related to national development issues. Overall profile for the province

Primary source used to access national level information - Provincial-level 70%

60%

50%

40%

30% Axis Axis Title

20%

10%

0% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Province 8% 11% 65% 12% 2% 2%

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District wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - District wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Monaragala 10% 10% 70% 8% 2% 0% Badulla 8% 12% 62% 14% 2% 3%

• Provincial trends are more or less reflected at the district levels too, with TV, social media and radio being the top three preferred media sources in that order. Monaragala provides an exception in that newspapers along with radio are ranked above social media as the second most preferred source for accessing national level information. Also, a relatively higher percentage of respondents in Badulla rely on social media for national information than their peers. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Gender wise trends

Peers Web news Social Media TV Radio Newspaper 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Female 8% 15% 62% 12% 3% 0% Male 9% 9% 67% 12% 1% 3%

• Across both male and female, TV, social media and radio are the most preferred three sources of information for accessing the national information. Comparatively, more female respondents use radio than their male counterparts.

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Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Age wise trends

Peers Web news Social Media TV Radio Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers >60 years 18% 24% 53% 0% 6% 0% 41-60 13% 14% 63% 7% 2% 2% <40 years 4% 7% 68% 17% 1% 2%

• Feedback from age specific groups suggests some interesting variations. About 18% of respondents below 40 years of age accessed information pertaining to national development from online sources. For respondents above 60 years of age, radio was the second preferred media with almost one-fourths reporting the use as a primary source. Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access national level information - Economic-status wise trends

Peers Web news Social Media TV Radio Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Others 8% 8% 65% 14% 2% 2% Samurdhi 8% 22% 64% 6% 0% 0%

• For more than three-fourths of economically weak respondents, traditional media (newspaper, radio and TV) were the most preferred source for accessing information related to national level development. While for the rest, online media dominated as the second highest preferred source for accessing national information.

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7.3 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the national-level information.

Primary Source Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank Badulla Monaragala Newspapers 5 4 4 Radio 4 2 4 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 3 5 3 Web news 2 3 2

• In line with the feedback on access, TV is seen as the most reliable information source for respondents in Uva Province. However, respondents from Monaragala view web-news as the second most reliable source compared to those in Badulla who view the radio as the second most reliable information source. • No major variations to the provincial patterns are observed across the districts or across gender and age wise dimensions as shown below, except for respondents above the age of 60 years, online media were rated quite low on reliability. Gender-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 5 5 5 Radio 4 4 3 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 3 3 4 Web news 2 2 2

Age-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial Age-wise ranking of information categories rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 5 5 5 2 Radio 4 4 4 3 TV 1 1 1 1 Social Media 3 3 3 4 Web news 2 2 2 5

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Economic status-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 5 5 5 Radio 4 4 4 TV 1 2 1 Social Media 3 3 3 Web news 2 1 2

• Interestingly, Samurdhi respondents rated web news as the most reliable source for national level information.

7.4 Primary source that respondents accessed for local-level information.

This section explores the preferred media through which respondents accessed information and news related to local development issues. Overall profile for the province

Primary source of information for local development 43% 45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20% 18% 15% 14% 15% 8% 10%

5% 3%

0% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers

• In line with the trends in accessing national level information, the preferred media for accessing local information is TV in the Uva province, followed by newspapers and social media.

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District wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - District wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Monaragala 32% 2% 42% 14% 2% 8% Badulla 12% 10% 43% 15% 3% 16%

• In line with the provincial trends, TV dominates district level feedback too as the most sought-after media to access local information. Respondents from Monaragala reported using newspapers and those in Badulla reported peer networks as the second most used primary sources to access local information. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Gender wise trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Female 20% 9% 36% 18% 3% 14% Male 16% 6% 47% 13% 3% 14%

• No major variations from the provincial trends are observed along gender dimensions, except that female respondents use newspaper, social media and radio for accessing local news relatively more than their peers and provincial average.

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Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Age wise trends

Peers

Web-news

Social Media

Radio

Newspapers

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Newspapers Radio TV Social Media Web-news Peers >60 years 29% 18% 41% 0% 6% 6% 41-60 18% 11% 41% 11% 2% 18% <40 years 16% 4% 44% 20% 3% 13%

• One fourth of the respondents below 40 years of age report using the online media to access local development news and information as the second preferred choice. In contrast, higher proportions of respondents of over 60 and in between 40- and 60-years report accessing local news through newspapers. Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access local level information - Economic-status trends

Peers

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Peers Others 19% 7% 42% 18% 3% 9% Samurdhi 14% 11% 44% 3% 3% 25%

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7.5 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about the local-level information.

Newspapers 5 4 4 Radio 4 3 5 TV 1 1 3 Social Media 3 5 2 Web news 2 2 1

• TV was rated by the respondents of Badulla as the most reliable source for accessing local information, followed by online news services and radio. In contrast, respondents from Monaragala rated online news services as the most reliable source followed by social media and TV. Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 5 5 4 Radio 4 3 5 TV 1 1 2 Social Media 3 4 3 Web news 2 2 1

• Feedback on reliability of news sources across gender dimensions shows some interesting variations. For male respondents the most reliable source was TV, followed by online news, while for the female respondents, the order was reversed. Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 5 5 4 1 Radio 4 3 5 4 TV 1 1 2 2 Social Media 3 4 3 5 Web news 2 2 1 3

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• For respondents below 40 years of age, TV was the most reliable source for local information. While for those in the group of 41-60 years and over 60 years category, it was online news and newspapers respectively. Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 5 4 5 Radio 4 5 3 TV 1 2 1 Social Media 3 3 4 Web news 2 1 2

• While non-Samurdhi recipients reflected the provincial trends, for Samurdhi respondents, web news sources were seen as the most reliable.

7.6 Ranking of preferred media for accessing information on local development

Newspapers 2 3 2 Radio 3 2 3 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• Overall, respondents in Uva province indicated that TV is their most preferred media to receive information related to local development, followed by newspapers, radio and online media. Across the districts, while Monaragala reflected the provincial patterns, in Badulla, residents reported radio as the second and third most preferred sources interchanged with the peer district.

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Gender-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 2 2 2 Radio 3 3 3 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• Male and female respondents exactly follow the trends of the province where TV is the most preferred choice followed by newspapers and radio. Age-wise trends Primary Source Overall Age-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 3 2 1 2 Radio 3 4 4 2 TV 1 2 1 3 Social Media 4 1 3 4 Web news 5 5 5 5

• Interesting variations are observed for the preferred media source to access local information. For respondents under 40 years, social media was the preferred choice, for those between the ages of 41 and 60, it was TV while for respondents over 60 years, it was newspapers. Economic status-wise trends Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 2 3 2 Radio 3 2 3 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• Across economic categories, Samurdhi respondents identified TV and radio as the top two preferred sources, while for the non Samurdhi cluster, the most preferred choices were TV and newspapers.

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7.7 Access to critical information pertaining to local authorities

This section discusses the feedback from the respondents regarding their access to key categories of information provided by their local authorities. Overall profile for the province

Percentage of repondents reporting access 42% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 19% 20% 15% 15% 15% 10% 10% 5% 0% LA budget Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA

• Relatively large number of respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs and services and related to programs and services to support local entrepreneurs. About one in four respondents reported accessing details related to the local authority’s budget and funds allocated for local development. District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- District wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Monaragala 18% 18% 22% 62% 30% Badulla 9% 18% 16% 44% 20%

• Respondents in Monaragala district reported the highest level of access to all categories of information, than those in Badulla.

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Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Gender wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Female 12% 15% 20% 47% 15% Male 11% 20% 16% 52% 29%

• Relatively higher numbers of women respondents reported accessing information related to the activities of the council while a significantly larger proportion of male respondents reported being able to access information on activities to support the local entrepreneurs. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Age wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA >60 years 6% 24% 12% 59% 18% 41-60 14% 18% 20% 57% 29% <40 years 11% 17% 18% 44% 20%

• Respondents below 40 years reported lower levels of access to information across all categories, while those above 60 years reported higher access on information related to welfare programs and funds allocated for development. Those in the age range of 41-60 years reported higher access to information on LA budget, activities of the Council and support to local businesses.

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Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Economic-status wise trends

Details of support to local entrepreneurs

Details of welfare programs by LAs

Proceedings of the council

Funds allocated for local development by the LA

LA budget

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Funds allocated for Proceedings of the Details of welfare Details of support to LA budget local development by council programs by LAs local entrepreneurs the LA Others 15% 21% 21% 54% 26% Samurdhi 0% 6% 6% 33% 11%

• Comparatively, respondents belonging to the Samurdhi category fared poorly in terms of their ability to access critical LA information across all categories, except for a better report on access to details on welfare programs. 7.8 Frequency and quality of communication from Local Authorities

7.8.1 Feedback from respondents reporting communication from their respective LAs during the last six months

Percentage of respondents reporting in the affirmative

Others 83

Samurdhi 67

Women 74

Men 84

>60 years 94

41-60 80

<40 years 77

Monaragala 76

Badulla 81

Province 80

• Overall, 80 percent of those interviewed in the Uva Province reported receiving communication from their respective LAs during the last six months. No major variations were observed across districts. More respondents above the age of 60 years reported in the

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affirmative and those below 40 years reported the lowest figures. Women respondents and those belonging to the Samurdhi category reported significantly lower proportions compared to male respondents and those in the non-Samurdhi category. 7.8.2 Type of information shared by LAs

Category of public information messages communicated by the LAs - Province level

100% 77% 80%

60%

40% 32% 24% 20% 1% 2% 0% LA Financial Call for meetings Public awareness Payment notices Others information

• Public awareness messages, call for meetings and payment notices were the three key categories of messages communicated by LAs to citizens in the Northern Province. 7.8.3 Methods adopted by LAs for public information

Methods used to share public information by the LAs - Province wise 72% 72% 80% 70% 60% 50% 39% 40% 30% 20% 9% 3% 7% 11% 10% 5% 0%

• Public notices, handbills or posters and banners were the most used methods for public communication. Online sources are very sparingly used.

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7.8.4 Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the LAs Overall profile for the province

Effectiveness of Public Information Disemination 50% 44% 45% 41% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 9% 10% 5% 5% 2% 0% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment

• Among those who reported receiving a communication from their respective LAs during the last six months, almost half (49%) rated that the effectiveness of the communication as high or very high. About 44% of the respondents found the effectiveness to be average. District wise trends

Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the LAs - District wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Monaragala 13% 32% 47% 3% 5% Badulla 7% 44% 42% 5% 1%

• Respondents in Monaragala reported very high ratings for the effectiveness of their LA’s information dissemination approaches.

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Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Gender wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Female 9% 42% 47% 2% 0% Male 9% 40% 41% 6% 4%

• Both male and female respondents reflect the trend of the province barring considerably more male respondents reflected the effectiveness as poor. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Age wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment >60 years 0% 31% 56% 6% 6% 41-60 7% 44% 44% 2% 2% <40 years 13% 40% 40% 6% 1%

• Overall, the respondents of over 60 years have provided lower ratings compared to the other age categories.

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Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Economic- status wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Others 6% 41% 46% 6% 1% Samurdhi 21% 38% 33% 0% 8%

• About 59% of the respondents of Samurdhi recipients rated the effectiveness of their LA’s communication approaches as high or very high as compared to non-Samurdhi recipients rating of less than half (47%).

7.9 Access to critical information pertaining to divisional secretariats

This section discusses the feedback from the respondents regarding their access to key categories of information provided by their Divisional Secretariats. Overall profile for the province

40% 33% 35% 30% 27% 25% 20% 16% 15% 13% 11% 10% 5% 0% Funds allocated for Details of the ‘welfare Details of women Details of Report on the DS local development by programs’ initiated by development entrepreneurs activities the DS the DS programs by DS development programs by DS

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• Relatively larger number of respondents reported accessing information related to welfare programs and services and women’s development. About one in eight respondents reported accessing details related to funds allocated for local development and only about 11% of the respondents reported having information related to the activities of the DS. District wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- District wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs…

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development ‘welfare programs’ development development activities by the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Monaragala 18% 42% 42% 14% 20% Badulla 15% 42% 31% 22% 10%

• Respondents in Monaragala district reported highest levels of access to information on women development and information related to DS activities than the district of Badulla, whereas respondents in Badulla reported higher access to information on local business development activities of the DSs. Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Gender wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs…

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development ‘welfare programs’ development development activities by the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Female 16% 35% 51% 15% 11% Male 16% 47% 20% 24% 15%

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• Relatively larger proportions of women respondents reported accessing information related to women’s development programs, though their reported access to all other information categories was lower to those reported by men respondents. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Age wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the ‘welfare Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by programs’ initiated by development development activities the DS the DS programs by DS programs by DS >60 years 29% 47% 41% 24% 12% 41-60 16% 48% 39% 20% 13% <40 years 14% 37% 30% 19% 14%

• Respondents above the age of 60 years reported higher levels of access to all information categories and all categories of age reported lowest level of access to information related to activities by the DS. Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting access- Economic-status wise trends

Report on the DS activities

Details of entrepreneurs development programs by DS

Details of women development programs by DS

Details of the ‘welfare programs’ initiated by the DS

Funds allocated for local development by the DS

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Details of Funds allocated for Details of the Details of women entrepreneurs Report on the DS local development by ‘welfare programs’ development development activities the DS initiated by the DS programs by DS programs by DS Others 20% 46% 37% 24% 15% Samurdhi 3% 28% 22% 3% 8%

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• Comparatively, respondents belonging to the Samurdhi category fared poorer in terms of their ability to access all critical information from the DS offices.

7.10 Frequency and quality of communication from Divisional Secretariats

7.10.1 Feedback from respondents reporting communication from their respective DSs during the last six months

Percentage of respondents reporting in the affirmative

Others 71 Samurdhi 69 Women 64 Men 76 >60 years 71 41-60 71 <40 years 65 Monaragala 68 Badulla 81 Province 71

• Overall, 71 percent of those interviewed in the Uva Province reported receiving communication from their respective DSs during the last six months. Across districts, this proportion was the highest for respondents in Badulla and lowest in Monaragala. Lesser numbers of respondents below 40 years of age reported in the affirmative compared to those in the age category 41-60 years and those above 60 years. Women respondents and those belonging to the Samurdhi category reported lower proportions compared to male respondents and those in the non-Samurdhi category.

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7.10.2 Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the DSs Overall profile for the province

Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the DSs 60% 53% 50%

40% 34%

30%

20%

10% 7% 4% 2% 0% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment

• Among those who reported receiving a communication from their respective DSs during the last six months, little over 40% rated that the effectiveness of the communication as high or very high. About 44% of the respondents found the effectiveness to be average. District wise trends

Effectiveness of the public information dissemination approaches adopted by the DSs - District wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Monaragala 13% 32% 47% 3% 5% Badulla 3% 32% 49% 4% 0%

• A higher proportion of respondents from Monaragala district rated that the communication approaches adopted by their respective DSs as high or very high.

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Gender wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Gender wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Female 2% 40% 53% 2% 2% Male 6% 34% 52% 7% 1%

• No major variation in the feedback of the effectiveness of communication approaches followed by the DSs is observed across gender dimensions. Age wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Age wise trends

Cant Comment Poor Average High Very high 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment >60 years 0% 17% 58% 25% 0% 41-60 4% 42% 49% 0% 4% <40 years 5% 36% 54% 5% 0%

• Comparatively, respondents above the age category of over 60 reported lower ratings on the effectiveness of the communication approaches adopted by the DSs; one fourth of them rated them as poor.

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Economic status wise trends

Percentage of repondents reporting effectiveness of LA public information - Economic-status wise trends

Cant Comment

Poor

Average

High

Very high

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Very high High Average Poor Cant Comment Others 8% 40% 52% 0% 0% Samurdhi 10% 43% 43% 0% 5%

• Comparatively, more Samurdhi recipients provided higher ratings.

7.11 Primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19 Pandemic

Overall profile for the province

Primary Sources used to access information on Covid-19 80% 69% 70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20% 6% 8% 10% 5% 10% 2% 0% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others

• In line with the trends observed in the Uva Province, TV is the most accessed media for information related to Covid-19, followed by social media, radio, newspapers and web- news channels.

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District wise trends

Primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19 Pandemic- District wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Monaragala 3% 6% 79% 8% 2% 2% Badulla 5% 7% 74% 9% 4% 1%

• The trends across the districts are similar to the provincial level observations. Gender-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Gender wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Female 6% 7% 75% 10% 1% 1% Male 1% 5% 84% 6% 3% 0%

• No major variations are observed across gender dimensions, except for a larger proportion of male respondents accessing information on Covid-19 through TV and a marginally higher usage of social media by female respondents identified than male respondents.

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Age-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Age wise trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others >60 years 0% 18% 71% 0% 0% 12% 41-60 4% 7% 86% 2% 2% 0% <40 years 3% 3% 77% 13% 3% 1%

• TV channels were the most accessed source of information on Covid-19 across all age categories. Higher proportion of respondents under 40 years of age accessed information related to Covid-19 from social media, while those above 60 years reported higher use of radio. Economic status-wise trends

Primary source used to access information on Covid-19- Economic-status trends

Others

Web news

Social Media

Radio

Newspaper

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Newspaper Radio TV Social Media Web news Others Others 2% 5% 79% 3% 9% 1% Samurdhi 6% 9% 83% 3% 0% 0%

• TV channels were the predominant source of information on Covid-19 across the economic categories. A marginally higher proportion of Samurdhi respondents accessed information from radio while a higher use of online news was reported by non-Samurdhi respondents.

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7.12 Feedback on the reliability of the primary source that respondents accessed to know about Covid-19.

Overall profile for the province and district trends

Primary Source Overall District-wise ranking of information categories provincial rank Badulla Monaragala

Newspapers 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

Gender-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Gender-wise trends Male Female Newspapers 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

Age-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial Age-wise ranking of information categories rank <40 years 41-60 >60 years Newspapers 3 4 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 1 Social Media 4 3 4 4 Web news 5 5 5 4

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Economic status-wise trends

Primary Source Overall provincial rank Economic-wise trends Samurdhi Others Newspapers 3 3 3 Radio 2 2 2 TV 1 1 1 Social Media 4 4 4 Web news 5 5 5

• No variations are observed across districts, gender and economic dimensions in terms of the feedback on reliability of sources for information related to Covid-19. However, for respondents below the age of 40, social media is perceived as one of the reliable top three sources in contrast to popular believe of the top 3 reliable sources of TV, radio and newspapers.

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Capacity Development of Local Governments (CDLG) project United Nations Development Programme Room No. 34 & 35, Block 2, BMICH, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07

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