Call for proposals: Participation in the media : people with experience of poverty

Participation in the media: people with experience of poverty

Project summary:The project aims to build understanding of effective ways to support the participation of people with experience of poverty in the media, both in traditional and new media.

Deadline:	21 February 2008 (Full proposals)
JRF Committee:	Public Interest in Poverty Issues Advisory Group
Timescale:	To be completed by end of 2008
Budget:	£55,000
Key contacts:	Teresa Hanley (PIPI Manager), teresa_hanley@dsl.pipex.org, 020 7263 8841 Marguerite Owen (administrator), marguerite.owen@jrf.org.uk, 01904 615903

Supporting documents:

Project summary

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is funding a programme which focuses on understanding of, and equipping better those seeking to build support for UK poverty eradication. We do this through analysis of attitudes to poverty and facilitating dialogue on their implications for communication and change. Past research has shown the power of individual stories to raise public awareness of the reality of UK poverty. It has also highlighted that there are both limited opportunities but also risks for people with experience of poverty to share their own experience publicly. This project seeks to build understanding of effective ways to support the participation of people with experience of poverty in the media. It will learn from existing experience with traditional media but pay particular attention to opportunities being opened up by developments in new media.

The primary audience for outputs will be third sector organisations already involved or interested to support participation in the media. It may also be of interest to those working in the media. It forms part of a wider programme of JRF work which includes analysis of how poverty is depicted in the media, attitudes to poverty and inequality and what approaches to communication are successful in building support for poverty eradication.

Background / context

Public awareness of UK poverty

Public awareness of UK poverty is important. Awareness shapes attitudes which in turn help to ensure and enable government spending and action on poverty eradication. They also have an impact, through individuals' own behaviour in private and professional roles on the lives of people living on low incomes and success of anti-poverty policies. However, research to date shows that many members of the public have limited awareness and understanding of the reality and experience of present day UK poverty. In earlier work carried out by JRF we found that individual real life stories resonate with the public and increased understanding of the experience of poverty in the UK (Castell and Thompson, 2007). They also enabled the opening of more informed discussion on UK poverty.

Media environment

The media environment is changing rapidly. There is increasing fragmentation with a rapid rise in the number of media outlets – TV, radio stations, print and on-line reaching a range of audiences. Vibrant local and community media are active in many locations. There is a growth of multi-media outlets and merging of formats – eg most papers, TV and radio stations have websites (some are only available via the internet). Increased competition and changing media consumption habits have increased the pressure on journalists who now often have less time to develop stories, contacts and networks.

There are however increased opportunities for audience-generated media content. More media formats rely on audience involvement such as radio phone-ins, text and emails to television discussion programmes, photograph and comment in newspaper. New media provide opportunities for people to share their views directly to a public audience, if they can be attracted to the site, without being edited. Social networking technology and opportunities are also increasingly used to connect people and as a means to share information and experiences. New technology is developing rapidly and its access is increasing rapidly.

Participation in the media

There are limited opportunities for people with experience of poverty to share their experience with a public audience. When they do, in the mainstream media it tends to be as an interviewee or "case study" to illustrate a feature which may then be edited and/or commented upon by "experts". A changing media environment is bringing new and increasing opportunities for people to contribute to and create media content eg in radio phone-ins, "have your say "sections and directly to the public through new media.

There are risks associated with participation in the media. Some people on low incomes have reported that they and their families have had very negative reactions from the public, even in their own community when they have been interviewed. Some have felt the editing process results in presentations which misrepresents what they said. Some people have found the experience empowering whilst others find the experience demoralising when they see a difficult situation they are coping with in print or broadcast.

Supporting participation

A number of initiatives aim to support the participation of people in the media through for example:

media training and other capacity building measures for individuals and groups to be spokepeople and interviewees on poverty and related issues;
community media initiatives which seek to build participation at community level.

Some of these initiatives are not targeting people on low incomes directly but many have relevant experience to this project.

There are ethical issues around supporting participation in the media which can leave people exposed to public scrutiny, comment and judgement. There is a dilemma for organisations supporting people's participation in the media in how to balance the potential power of transmitting real life stories with respecting the dignity of individuals.

This project aims to be relevant to the work of those involved in supporting people's participation in the media and in particular harnessing new media's potential. It may also be of interest to those working in the media.

Aim

To build understanding of effective ways to support the participation of people with experience of poverty in the traditional and new media to share their experiences of and views on poverty.

Questions the research will address

What has been the experience of agencies supporting people's engagement in the media – success and lessons learned. This may draw on experience of other sectors as well as those working directly on poverty issues eg refugees, children, older people, disability;
To what extent do current media codes of practice support and protect people telling their story on poverty? Is there experience from other areas eg international, refugees, disability, race which would be relevant for issues of poverty?
Consider the implications of new media:

what new opportunities and risks do new media bring – are these unique to new media?
How can risks be addressed and mininmised?
How is experience from traditional media relevant to these arena?
What indications are there that new spaces for dialogue enabled by new media is being and could be harnessed for discussion of poverty by people with experience of poverty and reach new audiences? How?

Methods

Overview of literature including evaluations which may be available from a range of agencies eg from capacity building initiatives for interviewees. This is foreseen to be a brief exercise to provide a basis for the main activities below;
Interviews with key programme makers and journalists to identify issues and ways these can be addressed ie how to create outputs which meet the demands of the media but minimise risks for people who may be vulnerable.
Interviews with people who have participated in creating media content in a range of ways eg interviewees/case studies, phone-in contributors, part of local or national media projects.
Discussion groups and workshops to consider opportunities in the new media. These should build learning and identify key challenges - mixed participants from media, third sector, communicators (government and non-government), new media thinkers and users.
If guidelines on supporting participation in the media emerge as useful for third sector organisations and others, a draft of these should be part of the recommendations.
Research methodology should consider how the participation of people with experience of poverty will be facilitated in the research and costs of this included eg as an advisory group, participants in focus group discussions, other.
The methodology should ensure the findings and recommendations are relevant across the UK so consider the four countries of the UK, local and national levels and rural and urban areas.

Expected outputs

The expected outputs are a 15,000 word report, detailing the methods, results and policy and practice implications, and a 2,000 word summary (the "Findings"). This will cover the experience, successes and lessons learned of organisations that have supported participation in the media, consideration of opportunities and risks of new media and how any risks can be minimised. The report will be relevant to organisations working at different scales and locations in the UK. Guidance for organisations aiming to support people's participation in the media (mainstream and new) may be included in this.

However, we are open to other ideas about effective outputs beyond or instead of these usual ones. If more than one project is funded from this call, then contributions to joint publication(s) may be required.

Previous outputs

Other recent work funded by the JRF that may be of relevance to this call for proposals includes:

Understanding attitudes to poverty in the UK: getting the public's attention (2007)
Sarah Castell, Julian Thompson
Attitudes to poverty: Findings from the British Social Attitudes survey (2007)
Sarah Castell, Julian Thompson

Submitting a Proposal

It is essential that you read the How to apply for funding section of our website before submitting your proposal, together with the Application guidelines containing the necessary forms for completing your application. There are also details available on what makes a good proposal and projects the Foundation does not support, which proposers should read, as well as some other useful information.

Three unbound, hard copies of all documents are required. Please also e-mail a Word version of the complete proposal, summary and budget forms to Marguerite Owen by the deadline below.

Proposals should be submitted to:

Marguerite Owen
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
The Homestead, 40 Water End
YORK YO30 6WP

Timetable

The deadline for receipt of email and hard copies of full proposals is 2.00 pm on Thursday 21 February 2008.

Unfortunately, late submissions cannot be accepted. Following review by JRF staff and advisers, proposals that meet the required standards will be submitted to the Public Interest in Poverty Issues Advisory Group in March 2008 for their consideration. The Trustees of the Foundation will meet to give final approval for funding in June In the event that Trustees do not approve the work, preliminary costs of up to £2,000 will be reimbursed.

Budget

The maximum budget for this call overall is £55,000 (including VAT and all other expenses). It is expected that individual projects should all be complete by end 2008.

How we make funding decisions (full proposals)

The following criteria will be used in coming to a decision on full proposals:/p>

How far the work will offer new insights or developments.
The soundness and appropriateness of how the work will be done (i.e. design, methods and analysis).
Whether partnerships with relevant other organisations are in place, where these are important.
The experience of the proposers in evaluation methodology.
The ability of the proposers to carry out the work and complete on time.
An understanding of the policy and practice dimensions.

Other issues that will be considered include: whether the proposal pays attention to diversity where appropriate (i.e. attending to gender, ethnicity, class, disability etc.) and whether it is written in accessible, lay language. A full yet accessible explanation of the proposed methods to be used is essential, as is full consideration of the ethical implications of the work and the implications for policy and practice across different nations of the UK.

Key contacts

For queries about the research, including the methods, please contact:

Teresa Hanley
PIPI Manager
020 7263 8841)
teresa_hanley@dsl.pipex.com

For queries about the application process, deadlines etc., please contact:

Marguerite Owen (administrator)
01904 615903
marguerite.owen@jrf.org.uk