Farm Radio VOICES Quality Standards
A framework for effective rural development radio programming
This document sets out Farm Radio’s quality standard goal, principles, and criteria, specifically to support quality improvement processes in programming for rural populations. It spotlights quality criteria for effective participatory radio program processes and provides for recognition of partners producing sustainable interactive quality radio programs that support rural development.
Farm Radio aims to ensure that rural populations have access to sustained quality interactive programming that responds to their information and communication needs in a timely way so that they can make informed decisions for their families and communities.
Working with a variety of radio station partners, Farm Radio increases access to quality programming by enabling as many stations as possible to provide ongoing quality services and to have sufficient capacities to join Farm Radio projects as partners with established quality credentials. Stations who have engaged in quality improvement using this participatory framework will be ready to produce interactive programming with minimal intervention from Farm Radio as they are recognised as quality-assured stations.
The overall goal is to support continuous quality improvement in development radio programming for rural populations, with the understanding that quality programming produces tangible results for program audience.
The purpose of the quality standards is to support radio station’s capacity for continuous quality improvement of programs and associated operations. There will be Farm Radio recognition for those radio stations meeting the standards.
What is in it for Farm Radio?
With the Farm Radio VOICES Quality Standards Framework, Farm Radio will
- have a clear definition of quality, which can be communicated clearly to different groups (radio stations, funders, stakeholders, other investors, etc.),
- have an easy, efficient and sustainable way of evaluating the quality of radio programs about local problems and solutions,
- help prove the assumption that better programs = better livelihoods and health (eg to funders),
- help prove the assumption that better programs = increased audience and investment (eg to radio stations),
- provide training, coaching and tools support to radio stations that wish to have their program quality evaluated and recognized.
What is in it for our audience?
Why would our audience want access to quality programming? By tuning in to quality programming audiences will:
- have regular access to relevant, accurate, and practical content,
- have the opportunity to engage with the program,
- feel that their issues, experiences, solutions and lives are important and are being communicated,
- get support in achieving tangible development results,
- have an opportunity to share their ideas, opinions and needs.
In this document, “our” in “our audience” refers to the public target shared between Farm Radio and the radio stations. Farm Radio doesn’t produce programs but supports the radio stations production process.
What is in it for radio stations?
Why would a station want to meet the Farm Radio VQS standards? With the implementation of the Farm Radio VQS framework, the station will:
- improve the quality of programs,
- offer sustained, participatory and regular quality programs to the communities being served,
- gain recognition as producing quality and interactive programming,
- use the recognition to attract sponsors, investors and funders in programs,
- increase audience, gain trust, and audience loyalty.
What is in it for other media members and communicators?
Many of these criteria will still apply to your work, and you can skip those that don't. For example, social media influencers will perhaps ignore elements of "C: Consistent and Convenient" but the other elements will still be relevant to their work.
What's in it for stakeholders?
Why would stakeholders benefit from high quality programs? With the Farm Radio VQS framework being met, stakeholders will:
- have the opportunity for collaboration,
- get detailed and local community experiences, contribute to solutions and points of view,
- share research information in an accessible way,
- connect with a wider audience,
- scale up the uptake of improved development practices,
- understand and serve rural populations more effectively,
- have a vehicle to help reach their organizational mission and/or their project objectives.
What kind of programs can be assessed using this framework?
This framework can be used to assess the quality of any radio program that seeks to facilitate positive change for our audience (i.e. development programs). These can be programs that focus on issues such as farming, health, gender equality and inclusion, youth, people with disabilities and vulnerabilities, education, sexual and reproductive health and rights, human rights, climate change, human-made security, etc. A quality program will be popular with our audience and have the potential for great impact.
A note about what we mean by “program”. The word program can be defined in different ways. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. In the context of this framework, we refer to “programs” as a series of recurring radio episodes that have a design including: a name, a purpose, a theme, a defined audience, and a predictable schedule.
The Farm Radio VOICES Quality Standards Framework Overview
The Farm Radio VOICES Quality Standards Framework, Farm Radio’s foundational approach to quality, identifies the standards, criteria and indicators of what Farm Radio and its partners consider to be best practice in interactive participatory radio programs for sustainable, positive behaviour change amongst rural populations.
The Farm Radio VQS is organized into 6 broad standards that represent the aspects of radio production for rural populations that are valued by Farm Radio and then into specific areas of operational and broadcast programming performance.
As you go through this framework you will recognize that the standards and criteria reflect Farm Radio’s Statement of Values. This framework is a more in-depth and expanded version of the original VOICES Standards and how you can apply them to your work.
Standards
V – Our programs VALUE our audience (e.g. women, men, farmers, youth and children) who work in a variety of different conditions to achieve more prosperous, just, and vibrant lives for themselves and their communities. Their views guide our programs. We broadcast in their language. We work to win and maintain their trust.
O – Our programs provide our audience with the OPPORTUNITY to speak and be heard, individually and in numbers, on matters of importance to them. Our programs feature the voices of our target audiences and communities, e.g. rural Africans, naming their concerns, discussing them, and organizing and acting on them. We aggregate their voices and, when necessary, share them with people in positions of responsibility who can help resolve those concerns.
I – Our programs provide our audience with the INFORMATION they need in a clear way, from the best sources (farmers and other target audience members, experts, policymakers, etc.) and when they need it most. We gather useful, clear, accurate and balanced information and we broadcast it at the times of the year when our audience can best use it.
C – Our programs are CONVENIENT AND CONSISTENT. We broadcast our programs when our audience is available to listen. Important programs are repeated to ensure that as many as possible interested our audience can hear them. Programs are broadcast regularly and reliably. After broadcast, important program material is made available through other media—for example, by phone, through social media, etc.
E – Our programs are ENGAGING. We produce programs that present personalities, formats, content, and features that are fresh, entertaining, easy to remember, and enjoyable for our audience. There is no excuse for boring radio programs! We present instructional information in ways that help our audience remember it.
S – Our programs SUPPORT our audience as they test and implement practices they consider beneficial for their families and communities. We understand that the world is changing and our target audience must also change to survive and thrive. We learn of beneficial practices that large numbers of our audience may want to apply. We produce programs that support our audience as they work through the challenges of trying something different and potentially better. We celebrate their successes.
Criteria & indicators
Within the six standards, there are individual criteria that provide definitions of what Farm Radio and its partners consider to be best practice in educational radio programs aimed at increasing knowledge and agency, and facilitating practice and behaviour change, and positive outcomes for our audience.
Each criteria has a set of indicators that explain what the performance of this standard looks like in the planning and broadcasting of a radio program for rural development, and what the evidence for assessing this might be. Please note that each episode does not need to correspond to each criteria but rather how these indicators apply to the program overall.
Acknowledgements
The Farm Radio VOICES Quality Standards have been developed using participatory methods with input from radio stations and Farm Radio from Burkina Faso, Canada, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal and Uganda. Their inputs on standards and indicators based on their knowledge of the context of the radio stations in the network has been invaluable.
This work is licensed by Farm Radio under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.