COMPLETION
REPORT
ON
TECHNIAL
ASSISTANCE
TO
THE
PROJECT
TCP/BGD/3205
Enhancing Rural Communication Services for
Agricultural Development through Community Rural Radio
Supported by: FAO
Submitted by:
Bangladesh NGOs
Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction: In December 2010, a Letter of
Agreement (LOA) was signed by Bangladesh
NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) with the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations for the provision of
technical assistance to the project TCP/BGD 3205 “Enhancing Rural Communication
Services for Agricultural Development through Community Rural Radio” in Bangladesh.
The overall purpose of this agreement is to provide technical assistance to the
project (TCP/BGD/3205) for the implementation of rural radio and communication
services in Bangladesh under the direct supervision and leadership of
Agricultural Information Services (AIS) of Ministry of Agriculture.
To
achieve this purpose, within a period of 13 months, BNNRC assignment falls in
the following key areas:
·
Provision
of technical assistance to the design, installation and management of a
Community Rural Radio (CRR) at local level.
·
Support
to the implementation of communication strategies and plans at both national
and local level, including the provision of policy advice for the
institutionalization of CRR services for rural development.
·
Design,
production and broadcasting of radio programmes and use of multimedia
communication materials at the field level.
·
Provision
of ad-hoc training on radio programming, production, equipment management and
maintenance to project stakeholders at different levels.
During
its course of implementation, BNNRC will take lead, support and assist AIS (the
implementing agency) and CDC (Community
Development College
i)
A detailed work plan and time schedule
for the activities to be carried out by BNN RC
under this LoA.
ii)
In consultation with NPD, Lead Consultant
and CDC- revise and finalize detailed project work plan and time schedule,
operational strategy, list of priority activities, as well as technical and
physical inputs required.
iii)
A baseline survey conducted in project
pilot areas.
iv)
Technical documents pertaining the
technological aspects e.g. selection of equipment and infrastructure for
communication activities, assessment of best options for the application of
rural radio, ICTs and other media.
v)
Assist CDC in assessing the training needs
and develop an overall training plan in cooperation with local CR staff,
volunteers and other stakeholders in order to train national and local staff.
vi)
Ad-hoc training provided to project stakeholders
on the following topics :(a) Rural Radio as a communication medium and Radio
Broadcasting Process, equipment and facilities (b) Participatory Strategies and
Partnering for Community Rural Radio,(c) Radio Broadcasting skills: Broadcast
speech, performance and Scriptwriting,(d) Community Radio Programme Formats,
Planning and Development,(e) Management and Program Sustainability of Community
Rural Radio.
vii)
A CRR Program schedule and a series of
radio programs and multimedia materials.
viii)
In collaboration with DAE, AIS and
specialized technical institutes like CDC, develop feasibility studies for the
establishment of RCS and CRR both at the institutional and local level.
ix)
Produce periodic Reports (Activity
progress, field observation etc.)
ACTIVITIES
AND RESULTS
A. Preparatory Activities:
The Preparatory phase
includes signing of the Contract with FAO, engagement of staff, staff briefing,
contact and meeting with project-related staffs (and consultants) of AIS, CDC
and FAO and submission of a work plan to FAO.
BNNRC has signed the
Letter of Agreement with FAO on 7th December 2011.Immediately it
deployed staff and a briefing was done for its staff internally at BNNRC office
premises. Several initial meetings and interactions were taken place with
officials of Agriculture Information Services, FAO and CDC on their missions.02
consultants (Cloefe Torres and Marie Stella) of CDC along with National Project
Director Mr. Jahangir Alam visited BNNRC office in their 2nd mission
at February 2011.
In
cooperation with CDC, a work plan indicating what activities will be undertaken
by BNN RC to comply with its TOR
has been prepared and submitted to FAO (Bangladesh Office), although there were
provisions to further improve and review of the work plan.
B.
Technical Supervision and Supports in CRR installation and Implementation of
CRR in Amtali
One
of the important components of BNNRC contract is to provide technical
guidance/assistance to AIS throughout the process of CR installation and
implementation. As part of this assignment, BNNRC has deployed 02 experienced
radio Engineers to fulfill the task.01 Radio Engineer has been engaged from the
start of contract period and another was engaged at the later part of the task.
i)Assessment
of Site
He
has started his work through an assessment of site by visiting and on-site
interaction with stakeholders. His assessment considered physical (noise,
accessibility, appropriateness of building), biophysical (flooding, antenna
obstruction) and socio-cultural aspects of the site. The catchment
/broadcasting area map was drawn accordingly (Drawing attached.)
(ii) Supervise building renovation
In collaboration with
the construction contractor (engaged by FAO) and consultation with National Project
Director (NPD-AIS), he was actively involved in preparing and revising the
blueprint of studio building including layout, room measurement, entry/exit,
window location etc. He has supervised the on-going renovation work of the building,
documented key problems/solutions during actual building repair and submitted
observational progress reports (with recommendations) to NPD and FAO Country
office. In cooperation with CDC Consultants, he has conducted and prepared
report on final inspection of renovated building and finally ensured that the
accomplished construction/renovation work of the building is suitable for
transmitter and studio-set up.
iii) Supervise Acoustic Treatment for Renovated
CRR Building
BNNRC technical expert
has reviewed an earlier version of estimate (& specification) for Acoustic
treatment of the studio. A design has been prepared and the whole work has been
re-estimated. Accordingly, a specialized company has been selected and engaged
in acoustic treatment work.BNNRC technical expert has provided inputs
throughout the whole process including procurement, delivery and inspection of
materials for acoustic treatment.
iv) Supervise Studio set up
BNNRC Engineer has prepared and
submitted design and layout of CRR Amtali studio. The
Studio design & layout included:
- Broadcast studio
- Floor Plan
- Transmission room (to contain FM
transmitter, patch bays & others)
- Production & Editing studio
- Conference/meeting room
- Toilet/Bath room etc.
Besides, the expert
provided inputs in finalization of draft inventory of studio broadcast and
production equipment.
v) Supervise
Progress in Tower & Antenna set up
In
cooperation with AIS project officials and technical consultants of FAO, BNNRC
Technical expert (Engineer) has finalized the location of Tower and Antenna set
up and guided the construction contractor in construction work accordingly.
Simultaneously, in cooperation with CDC consultants the technical
specifications of those tower and antenna have been determined.
vi) Studio & Antenna
set up and third party verification
To
make the technical supervision more transparent and participatory, BNNRC team made
several visits in CRR Amtali location and discussed several times with NPD,
Lead technical consultants and CDC consultants during their mission visits in
Bangladesh.Altogether 10 visits have been made by the technical experts.
Steps
have been taken according to the recommendations made by BNNRC expert engineer
during his last visit. Acoustic works have been finished and the antenna was
set up. Emergency exit windows have been re-fixed, pertex re-set and steps
taken to install power supply provisions and fire-protection measures.
WEBEL
Mediatronics Limited (WML) of India supplied the transmitter and other related
equipment. Immediately after the transmitter reached at station site, third
party verification has been done. Both CDC and BNNRC experts jointly visited
the station site and took part in third party verification process.
The
Inspection Team included Consultants as follows:
- Professor Marie Stella C.Tirol,
CDC
- B.Mr.Abhishek Ghosh Dastidar, WML
- C.Md.Shazada Selim, BNNRC
The
Team has submitted the report which mentioned the comment like: “The inspected items are in proper packed and
found physically in good condition.”
Later,
the transmitter has been set up and tested for broadcasting on 25th November 2011.
C. Baseline Survey in CRR Area-Amtali
BNNRC has led the process of conducting a baseline survey
in CRR-Amtoli area. Since no audience study has been done so far in Amtoli,
Barguna District of Barisal Division, it is quite justified to do so to
understand and assess the level and status of understanding of community
listening habits, preferences,
information needs, mass media and information and communication technology
(ICT) use, and participation in community radio broadcasting. It was expected
that the results of this audience study would provide a general profile of the
potential CRR- audiences specifically in Amtoli. This profile would be used in
directing the thrusts of the community radio station as well as in
strategically planning the station’s programming.
Throughout
the months-March and April, BNNRC, in cooperation with CDC, AIS and FAO
(country office) finalized Methodology, respondents, survey area, questionnaire
and timeline of Baseline Survey. The chronological order of the survey tasks
include: orientation of the surveyors, data collection, FGDs and KIIs, data
processing (Classifying, coding, tabulating data and analysis), Writing/drafting the Survey report,
Report Presentation and feedback received from the experts, submission of Final
report. CDPR (Center for Policy and Research), a reputed research institution
based in Dhaka University was engaged to accomplish the baseline survey
assignment. A group of young researchers, headed by Dr.Ashraf Mahfuz, a scholar
and a teacher of MIS Department of Dhaka University took charge of the task. An
orientation was organized on May 19, 2011 at NSS Training Center, Amtali with
the field surveyors.
The
final editing was now in progress to make the research a printable version.
Other progress is also made for printing of the report.
D. Training conducted:
During the time, AIS
Project team under guidance of technical consultants of FAO has conducted a TNA
(Training Need Assessment) and submitted to CDC, which the consultants have
finalized by providing additional inputs. Accordingly, the dates and training
schedules have been finalized. The training for the first batch has been
started on 27th December on –“Community Radio Program Production Process”.
03 other trainings were conducted as
per the following schedule:
- Radio Program
Planning Process(03-6th December)
- Broadcast performance or
performing techniques in audio(07-8th December)
- Community
Rural Radio Management and Sustainability(09-14 December)
(Photograph)
E.
CRR staffs received training by BNNRC
08
AIS Staffs (Staff of Community Rural Radio Project) received training from
BNNRC throughout the period from March-July 2011 through BNNRC’s capacity
development initiatives supported by other donor agencies.
AIS Participant: Name &
Designation
|
Course Title
|
Venue
|
Duration
|
Md.Saidur Rahman
Broadcaster
Community Rural
Radio(Krishi Radio)
Md.Nazrul Islam
Shikdar
Station Manager
Community Rural
Radio(Krishi Radio)
|
Community
Radio Station Management Training
|
IDB
Bhaban,Agargaon,Dhaka
|
March 16-20
2011
|
Md.Zahid Hossain
Program Producer
Community Rural
Radio(Krishi Radio)
Md.Zakir Khan
Script Writer
Community Rural
Radio(Krishi Radio)
|
Community
Radio Content Development Skills
|
National Institute of
Mass Communication (NIMC).
Kallyanpur,Dhaka-1216
|
April 07-11 2011
|
Md.Zakir Khan
Script Writer
Community Rural
Radio(Krishi Radio)
|
Community
Radio Production Skills Training
|
National Institute of
Mass Communication (NIMC).
Kallyanpur,Dhaka-1216
|
April 15-19 2011
|
Md.Shamim
Technical Participant
Community Rural
Radio(Krishi Radio)
Md.Hasan
CM
Community Rural
Radio(Krishi Radio)
|
Community Radio Basic
Journalism Skills Training
|
National Institute of
Mass Communication (NIMC).
Kallyanpur,Dhaka-1216
|
May 15-19
2011
|
Md.Saidur Rahman
Broadcaster
Community Rural
Radio(Krishi Radio)
|
Editing and
Broadcasting skills for Producers of Community Radio-1
|
National Institute of
Mass Communication (NIMC).
Kallyanpur,Dhaka-1216
|
July 09-13
|
F. BNNRC’s participation in developing
RCS
Under the leadership of
CDC and AIS, BNN RC took part in
developing/strengthening/sustainability process of RCS at national and local
level. This will include the following:
- Assist
LTA and CM in mapping of stakeholders in RCS and CRR by providing information
on possible institutions
- Participate
in the national RCS national workshop and local communication planning by
bringing in the role of CRR
- Conduct
consultations with stakeholders for creation of Local Communication Management
Committee (LCMC)
As part of this
process, BNNRC representative participated in National Planning Workshop
for Rural Communication Services on April 5-7, 2011 at the IDB Bhaban Conference
Hall in Dhaka ; Bangladesh.BNNRC also took
active part in organizing the workshop. Skeletal communication for development
(ComDev) plans which include Vision, Mission, and Goal (VMG) have been
formulated in four project areas, namely, 1) agriculture; 2) forestry and
environment; 3) culture and education; and 4) rural development as the key
workshop output. The terms of reference (TOR) and resolution for the Rural
Communication Services (RCS) have been approved by the workshop participants.
An initial RCS core group was formed during the workshop where BNN RC has also been included as an active
member.
BNNRC
representative also participated in RCS-CRR Project Introductory Meeting and
Dialogue among Stakeholders, conducted on April 11, 2011 at the Upazila Conference Hall in
Amtali.
Other than these BNNRC
representative also attended in Project Coordination Meeting and periodic
de-briefing sessions of CDC at NPD office on regular basis.
BNNRC has also provided
support to AIS in getting the spectrum allocation from BTRC.
G.Problems faced and lessons learnt:
The project got a
kick-off a bit later than the original time-pan. This led BNNRC to reschedule
and its activities than the original time-line and ToR. Some of the plans
(e.g.accoustic treatment) have been revised .The renovation/construction work
also passed through a change process. BNNRC has to accommodate all those.
There are yet many things
to do to link up this community media to the benefit of the wider audience.
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