Removing Barriers, Increasing Effectiveness - amarc

Chapter 17: AMARC Structure, Functioning and Effectiveness 71BackgroundIn 2006, AMARC commenced on a process to evaluate the impact of itsmembership’s work on development and social justice as well as thecontributions of AMARC to that process. The process was assisted by theCommunications for Social Change Consortium (CFSC) and carried out througha membership survey, the convening of an electronic discussion forum and theholding of regional consultations. Key outcomes of the process are to be found inthe following documents:• AMARC Community Radio Impact Evaluation: removing barriers,increasing effectiveness;• Why Assess Community Radio: it works, doesn’t it?• Global Review of Community Radio;• Evaluation of Community Radio Social Impact;• The Impact of Community Radio;• How AMARC Can Make a Difference; andThe programmatic recommendations arising from the process have beencaptured in the draft strategic plan presented to the AMARC 9 GeneralAssembly. But institutional recommendations remain to be addressed. Thus, tocarry the process forward into and beyond AMARC 9’s deliberations, a furtherconsultation process was developed for internal reflection and review onAMARC’s structure, functioning and effectiveness. Key among those steps wasthe convening of a consultation among AMARC’s International and RegionalBoards of Directors and Secretariats held just prior to AMARC 9 and furtherworkshop consultation with members at AMARC 9.The consultation addressed AMARC’s vision and priority-setting; its strategicplanning process; its mechanisms for ensuring the good governance and soundfinancial management during implementation of its strategic plans; and itsmonitoring and evaluation mechanisms of both immediate outcomes and longtermimpact. The aim was to move towards a more coherent and integratedapproach on these four fronts by AMARC within and across its regional andsectoral sections, as well as globally. The following resolution sets out the keyrecommendations:Vision and Priority-SettingDialogue among AMARC’s regional and sectoral sections must be facilitatedaround AMARC conceived and acting as a non-governmental organisation, anetwork and a part of various social movements. Currently membership71Resolution adopted by AMARC members at AMARC 9 World Conference of Community RadioBroadcasters, 16 November 2006AMARC Community Radio Social Impact Assessment 2007 Page 100 of 128