The Why Poverty? evaluation report Final Report 10.12.2013 Submitted to: Don Edkins Executive Director Steps Internationl 7 Glynnville Terrace, Gardens, 8001 Cape Town South Africa Tel: +27 21 4655805 Fax: +27 21 4655806 Email: [email protected] www.whypoverty.net Presented by: Dena Lomofsky, Cathy Chames, Tiffany Mugo and Kathryn Davies With information from case studies by Nana Davies, Helga Jansen-Daugbjerg, David Elliott, Marit Erdal, Laurie Jones and Laura O’Shea Southern Hemisphere Phone: 021 422 0205, Fax: 021 424 7965 Email: [email protected] www.southernhemisphere.co.za FInal evaluation for Why Poverty?, for Steps International, December 2013 Executive summary Background to the project The Why Poverty? project achieved a global launch in November 2012 with 8 long films, 34 short films and an online website and social media engagement. This project of Steps International (Steps) was an unprecedented collaboration between 69 broadcasters1. The main objectives of the project were to make a high quality documentary series with a new narrative on poverty, to raise awareness and understanding of poverty the world over, to inject knowledge and passion into the global debate about how to tackle poverty, and to engage audiences with the subject. According to the brief for film directors, “… the series will be a forward-looking approach to one of the great issues of our time – looking for genuine answers to the question the title poses, and providing the food for thought that will bring about solutions. .. films will be selected that combine intellectual rigour, great characters, strong narratives, and, above all, an ability to engage with a massive international audience.2” The key intended objectives were to: • involve filmmakers, broadcasters, civil society and influencers/campaigners as voices from different backgrounds and societies in shaping the project • create films capable of affecting audiences worldwide • distribute the films to broadcasters globally and online • develop an online strategy and cross-media platform to continue reaching people • develop and implement an outreach and audience engagement process • develop emerging filmmakers from developing countries • develop a monitoring and evaluation system for the project. The key purpose of the evaluation was to establish the extent to which the above have been met (effectiveness) and to identify how audiences have engaged with the films (outcomes). Through the identification of lessons learned and recommendations, the evaluation contributes to strengthening future projects that Steps may implement. The evaluation includes this main report, and four accompanying case studies. It took place after the global launch, between January and May 2013, and social media figures were updated in November 2013. 1 Co-producing broadcasters were DR, BBC, SV, NRK, VPRO, YLE, NHK, ZDF/ARTE, ITVS (PBS). Others involved were the European Broadcasting Union, the Open University U.K., the Communications Initiative, and funders, namely the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Bertha Foundation, the Bernard van Leer Foundation, the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation, Danida and the Danish Ministry of Education. 2 Why Poverty? Directors brief 06.04.10 Southern Hemisphere. PO Box 3260, Cape Town, 8000 Tel: +27 21 422 0205 Page | i Fax: +27 21 424 7965 www.southernhemisphere.co.za FInal evaluation for Why Poverty?, for Steps International, December 2013 Methodology The findings are based on a participatory mixed method evaluation comprising in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, online analytics, survey data and document review (primarily of monitoring data generated by the project, but also by project partners and other stakeholders). The data was gathered based on a monitoring and evaluation plan and system that was developed for the project. The evalution plan included both outputs and outcomes, and the framework for measuring outcomes covered shifts in social norms (knowledge, attitude, awareness); strengthening organisational capacity; strengthened alliances; strengthened base of support; and improved policies (at least the attention of policy makers at this stage.) Findings Effectiveness Overall, the findings highlight that Why Poverty? was an impressive collection of long and short documentary films and educational resources, which drew the attention of television and online audiences, and sparked an online interest through Facebook and twitter. The series has helped to popularise a discourse on poverty moving from charity to justice, making poverty accessible to a global audience; this is the power of storytelling. • Development, production and editorial vision The final 8 long films were selected from 85 proposals obtained from film-makers, based on a brief that was developed following targeted consultations in the sector. This process of identification and selection of long films was viewed positively by all those interviewed. The short films were commissioned from filmmakers from around the world, with a specific focus on filmmakers from developing and transitional world countries. A total of 346 submissions were reviewed, and in the end 15 of the 34 short films were made by filmmakers from the developing world. Feedback from emerging film makers has been positive, and they appreciated the opportunity to contribute by sharing developing world perspectives, which enhanced the complexity and nuances of the stories they were telling. The work undertaken with developing world filmmakers has led to improved knowledge and skills in film making and has increased their access to professional networks of filmmakers, as well as establishing links to broadcasters. The recruitment and selection process involved a number of innovations including workshops held on the margins of film festivals and a filmmaker development workshop that focused on helping emerging filmmakers to develop their story and pitch. • DistriBution - broadcast The distribution of the films through 69 broadcasters is an unprecedented broadcast collaboration. All the licenses are owned by Steps International, which means that the films can be used extensively online and in outreach processes. The EBU was a central partner in the broadcaster collaboration, and the project was attractive to EBU members because it allowed Southern Hemisphere. PO Box 3260, Cape Town, 8000 Tel: +27 21 422 0205 Page | ii Fax: +27 21 424 7965 www.southernhemisphere.co.za FInal evaluation for Why Poverty?, for Steps International, December 2013 broadcasters to be part of a global event, have access to high quality international films and still produce their own national content for their viewers. It is difficult to calculate the total reach of the project because data submission by broadcasters was limited. The participation of Latin American broadcasters through the TAL network brought a new target audience to Steps. • DistriBution on-line The most successful way of showing the films on-line was through YouTube. The YouTube channel attracted 1,538,430 viewers during the period 1 November 2012 – 31 October 2013. The number of viewers has tripled since the broadcast period. Viewership has an English-speaking and Northern European bias, and an older demographic. Subscriptions to the YouTube channel continue to grow steadily, and the number currently stands at 41,000 subscribers. In April 2013, large groups of channel subscribers came from India (7,288), the UK (3,855) and Saudi Arabia (2,615). The film Education, Education, went viral on Chinese video-sharing sites, and was shared over 700,000 times in March 2013. It was still attracting about 1000 views per day in April 2013, until it was blocked by the Chinese authorities. • Marketing and strategic communications According to TopsyPro, the project had an estimated reach of 34,531,169 on Twitter by April 2013. The most active countries on Twitter were the US, UK, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Often the response on Twitter reflected an engaged broadcaster presence on twitter. Most of the tweets were praised or promoted the films or other related content and websites. Those broadcasters that combined their own programming, marketing and educational activities with the screening of the films had the most success, and the ones who did this well included TVO, ITVS, VPRO, and DR. On-line engagement provides an important global networking element to the project, although many countries had their own hashtags and language is still a barrier. The marketing and strategic communications efforts of Why Poverty? would have been strengthened if they were underpinned by a more defined marketing strategy. • Educational outreach and audience engagement The findings of the evaluation highlight that the Why Poverty? films stimulate audience engagement and motivate people to do more. Social media engagement tends to focus on praising or promoting the films, but do not facilitate depth of discussion and debate. Online discussion forums (e.g. the ITVS on-line symposium) or off-line screenigs and panel discussions are better for stimulating quality debate. The screening data shows that the films are effective in stimulating deep discussions and for helping people to think about appropriate responses to poverty for the 21st century. They can be powerful mobilisation tools, and they are good educational resources. While the films can inspire people to action, the avenues for action can be provided by NGOs or campaigns to ensure