UNESCO's Media Development Indicators (MDIs) provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating five key aspects of a country's media landscape: regulation and control, pluralism and diversity, role in democratic discourse, professional and institutional capacity, and infrastructural capacity. The MDIs were developed over two years through an international consultation process and aim to establish measurable standards for assessing media development gaps and needs. Pilot studies applying the MDIs have been launched in several countries to advocate for evidence-based policymaking and target development assistance for the media sector in an effective manner.

1. UNESCO’s Media
Development
Indicators (MDIs)
5Ws + H
Presentation by Wijayananda Jayaweera
Director, Communication Development Division, UNESCO

2. Why indicators
• Development Indicators indicate desired
outcomes of development interventions.
• Indicators defines development standards
• Indicators are used effectively to asses the
development gaps
• Indicators enable the development
partners to devise a negotiated roadmap
to achieve the outcomes

3. What are the MDIs?
• Comprehensive set of indicators for evaluating
the media landscape of any given country.
• Five categories of indicators:
1. System of regulation and control
2. Pluralism and diversity
3. Media as a platform for democratic discourse
4. Professional capacity and supporting institutions
5. Infrastructural capacity
• Each category has key indicators and sub-
indicators, means of verification and a guide
to potential data sources

4. How were they developed?
• 2-year international consultation process
• Mapping of the main existing initiatives and their
respective methodologies
• Value and relevance to the priorities of the IPDC
identified
• Focus on measurable indicators, whether
qualitative or quantitative.
• Expert Group meeting
• Endorsement by Intergovernmental Council of
IPDC

5. Why MDIs?
• Provide a common framework for assessing
media development and approaching policy
issues
• Help in identifying and addressing development
gaps through evidence-based recommendations
• Advocacy tool for gvts, local stakeholders and
international development agencies for targeting
development assistance in the media sector in
an effective manner.
• Can be used in country programming with
UNCTs (UNDAF/CCAs), donors and partners
• Encourage endogenous longitudinal assessment
as progress is made

6. Applying the MDIs –
Where, when and with whom?
• Pilot MDI-based studies launched in Bhutan,
Croatia, Ecuador, the Maldives and
Mozambique.
• Request from government when possible
• Partnership with independent local research
institution/media development organization.
• Multistakeholder consultation (civil society, gvt,
parliamentarians, public and private media
organizations, etc.)
• Time frame: 6 months - 1 year per country

7. Promoting MDIs’ use internationally
• MDIs available in 8 languages
• Distributed to heads of all relevant UN agencies
by UNESCO DG
• MDIs acknowledged by UN agencies,
intergovernmental bodies (EU, WB...) and major
media development organizations.
• IPDC allocated $ 100,000 to support member
states wishing to make MDI assessments.
• Collaboration with UIS on new media statistics

8. Lessons to be learned
• Involving all major stakeholders in media dev. field
to ensure widest possible endorsement.
• Ensure balanced geographical representation to
avoid “Western” biais.
• Endorsement by intergovernmental body provides
extra legitimacy
• Quantitative > qualitative measurements when
possible; gender-sensitive, pro-poor indicators.
• Indicators conceptualized with the purpose of
assisting media development programmes, not
imposing conditionality.
• Diagnostic tool, not means for comparing countries

9. Conclusion
• Indicators needs a consensual agreement
for universal standards/norms/practices
• Indicators help Member States to prepare
their own road maps for development
• Indicators enables all partners to identify
their respective contributions
• Indicators enable us to link our result
based programme to national strategies