MEASURE Communication Final Report - Population Reference ...

14 MEASURE Communication Final Report
Following the release of new materials, MEASURE
Communication broadcast their availability via e-mail to
numerous U.S. and international listservs and posted them
on the project’s and PRB’s websites. The materials were also
regularly displayed and disseminated at professional conferences
(PAA, APHA, and GHC) and international technical
and policy forums, such as numerous Cairo+5 meetings
in 1999, Beijing+5 meetings in 2000, and the World
Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.
Evidence of impact
Orders for publications after initial mailings were a key
indicator that MEASURE Communication publications
contributed to policy learning by maintaining a steady flow
of information. Over the course of the project, PRB
received nearly 43,000 requests for a total of 344,101 copies
of publications. Forty-one percent of these copies went to
recipients in Africa, 20 percent to Latin America and the
Caribbean, and 15 percent to South and Southeast Asia
(see Table 3). The large demand for print materials in
Africa probably resulted from the relevance of the materials
to that continent’s reproductive health problems and the
dearth of materials available locally (frequently mentioned
in questionnaires and key informant interviews). Beginning
in 2001, the bounceback questionnaires asked recipients to
estimate how many people would SEE the reports and how
many would USE them. In the 5,035 questionnaires that
contained responses to these questions, recipients stated
that a total of 630,716 people would see the reports and
163,733 would use them. This represents an average of 125
people seeing each copy, and 33 people using it. While
these are estimates, it is clear that readership far exceeded
the number of initial recipients.
More requests originated in the United States (11 percent
of additional copies distributed) than any other
country because USAID cooperating agencies often
requested copies for redistribution to their projects’ audiences
in developing countries. Apart from these requests,
TABLE 3
COPIES OF INTERNATIONAL
PUBLICATIONS REQUESTED, BY REGION
Region
% copies requested
Sub-Saharan Africa 41
Latin America & Caribbean 21
South & Southeast Asia 15
North America 11
Oceania 7
Middle East & North Africa 3
Western Europe 1
Eastern Europe & Eurasia 1
25 percent of requests came from four developing countries
(see Table 4), and 34 percent of requests came from
the top six countries.
In all, nearly 43,000 requests came from about 150
countries, and roughly 40 percent of all organizational
entries on the mailing list requested a publication. Some
organizations repeatedly requested additional copies for
distribution to their staff, field offices, and affiliates—and
for redistribution in conferences and training workshops.
While it is not possible to display the diversity of organizations
here, Table 5 (page 15) lists those organizations
that requested more than 1,000 copies of publications
(multiple orders for multiple publications). These organizations
represent diverse fields and countries, but most
can be characterized as having both policy and educational
missions in their countries and communities.
The bounceback questionnaires included with all publications
gathered evidence of policy learning through
several multiple choice and open-ended questions.
Readers could respond to multiple choice questions rating
the usefulness and selecting from a range of possible uses.
Open-ended questions asked readers to describe how the
materials were used and whether the materials changed
their views. The thousands of responses provided
glimpses of incremental learning in many facets of
national life as well as decisionmaking at a grassroots
level. The following are illustrative examples from three
publications that focused on reproductive health.
Regarding “New Population Policies: Advancing
Women’s Health and Rights”:
It will be very helpful for policy development of women’s
RH rights and designing programs.
—Assistant Director, Women’s Program,
Family Planning Association of Bangladesh,
Dhaka, Bangladesh
TABLE 4
TOP 10 DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
REQUESTING INTERNATIONAL
PUBLICATIONS
Country
% copies requested
India 8
Nigeria 7
Ghana 6
Kenya 5
Philippines 5
Zimbabwe 3
Bolivia 3
Uganda 3
Pakistan 2
Peru 2