2003 - 04 Annual Report - Sbs

75Following the landmark findings of the 2002 SBS-commissioned report Living Diversity: Australia’s Multicultural Future,the Australia Research Council approved SBS’s application for a grant to conduct further related research. Work beganin early 2004 on SBS and Australian Cultural Democracy, a research project involving the University of New South Wales(UNSW), the University of Western Sydney and SBS. The initial stages of the three-year project involve an in-depthanalysis of SBS archival information by a UNSW researcher working at SBS.Preparations for the follow up project began in mid 2004. Initially, a short series of small group qualitative consultationswill take place in regional and remote Australia in the second half of 2004. These follow a successful pilot project inBathurst and Young which was an initiative of the Community Advisory Committee.Research undertaken by SBS Radio during the year involved the employment of a part-time analyst to increase thedepth of knowledge of data obtained from audience surveys undertaken during 2003-04 and in the previous year.This analysis was then used at 10 briefings for the major broadcasting teams and program management to refineprogramming formats and content.SBS Radio also used information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 Census to formulate the new Radioschedules implemented on 1 July 2004. The same data assisted Radio in choosing locations for future outsidebroadcasts as well as identifying potential regional centres for SBS Radio’s self-help transmitter scheme.In July 2003, SBS Digital Media completed a comprehensive benchmark survey of its online audience, providingdevelopers, designers and content producers with a sophisticated understanding of their audience’s behaviour, profileand preferences. A comparative survey in 2004, published on four major SBS websites – The World News, Dateline,The Movie Show and The World Game, gathered feedback from 8,000 respondents over a four week period in April.A review of audience complaints handling procedures was conducted in 2003-04. SBS invited submissions from thepublic regarding concerns and issues they may have about the way SBS handled complaints about programs. Followingan extensive consultation process that included the receipt of public comment from interested individuals, organisationsand institutions, a new model for complaints handling was developed. It will be the subject of further consultation withinterested parties, including staff, in the latter part of 2004 before finalisation.Internal surveys by SBS, which are not obligatory and therefore do not include all members of staff, have revealedthat about half of all SBS employees who responded were born overseas and about one third report that they speaka language other than English at home. The SBS Board will review staffing diversity statistics annually. The SBSDiversity Program encourages diversity within the framework of merit selection and all members of staff are required todemonstrate strong sensitivity to issues of cultural diversity.GOAL 2TO GROW THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR SBS CONTENT AND SERVICESHow will we know we have succeeded?SBS Divisions will set annual targets for revenue growth and report on them to the Board. Increased revenue will bereported in the Annual Report. Extra revenue will be invested in SBS content and services