Principles for Evaluation
Never before have the media played a more integral role in conflict management. At the same time, funding agencies and policymaking bodies have greater expectations for demonstrating impact and efficacy in this area. To meet these growing needs, USIP, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, the Board of Broadcast Governors, Internews and Fondation Hirondelle have collectively authored the USIP PeaceWorks titled “Evaluating Media Interventions in Conflict Countries,”  a set of approaches and best practices for evaluating the role that media can play in conflict and post-conflict countries. The principles were presented at a USIP event, "Media in Conflict: The Evaluation Imperative" on September 9 and were the result of a multi-day meeting of funders, methodologists and implementers that was held in Caux, Switzerland December 2010.

Assessing the Media Landscape
USIP has also developed methodologies to determine which kinds of media interventions can most effectively address issues affecting a fragile society. A manual was created by the Center to present an Intended-Outcomes Needs Assessment (IONA) methodology to provide a template for the assessment of the media landscape in conflict situations. IONA uses a three-stage process to offer a clear and concise process for evaluating the opportunities and challenges of producing peacebuilding programming in fragile states, thereby providing a critical connection between integrating strategic media programming with peacebuilding planning and impact evaluation. The template has been field-tested in Afghanistan and is being adapted into a software program.

A Strategic Framework
The Center is also completing a two-year project to develop a strategic framework for media interventions throughout the conflict cycle, creating a shared vocabulary and comprehensive taxonomy for the field. It will analyze best practices in peacebuilding media across the last 20 years and offer recommendations on maximizing impact.