Evaluation of EngageMedia’s Project ‘Digital Rights and Video for Change: Building the Movement in Southeast Asia’

1.1 Introduction

EngageMedia is a non-profit organization that promotes digital rights, open and secure technology, and social issue documentary. Combining video, technology, knowledge, and networks, EngageMedia supports Asia-Pacific and global changemakers advocating for human rights, democracy, and the environment. In collaboration with diverse networks and communities, EngageMedia defends and advances digital rights.

EngageMedia was founded in 2005 and has operated programs in the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua, Malaysia, and provided an ad-hoc assistance to other countries in Asia as requested. Their office registration is in Australia, and it has a staff presence in all countries, except for Cambodia and Myanmar which have been managed under a Mekong coordinator based in Thailand.

Under the Strategy for Sweden’s regional development cooperation in Asia and the Pacific region 2016-2021, EngageMedia was selected as a partner since there was no genuine regional CSO contribution in the Asia portfolio covering primarily digital rights and technology. In Europe and North America, there have been several civil society networks and working groups working on this topic. While there were some ad-hoc and emerging networks at a national level in Southeast Asia, they were almost non-existent at the regional level. This lack of regional infrastructure impacts the effectiveness of policy advocacy, as there was less knowledge exchange, less peer-learning, less collective strategizing, and less collaboration.

The Embassy of Sweden Bangkok assessed that EngageMedia’s project could address these challenges. Another advantage was that EngageMedia has targeted the new and non-traditional actors of human rights. In the assessment of the Embassy, EngageMedia is able to draw millennials and new actors such as documentary filmmakers, writers, technologists, social media activists, artists (so-called changemakers), to discuss digital rights, digital security, social and environmental justice issues, making human rights messages more reaching out to the public through creative and innovative means. These agents of change and approach are rare in the regional portfolio.

1.2 Evaluation object: Intervention to be evaluated

EngageMedia’s visions and objectives are:

• To create impact through advocacy on digital rights, open and secure technology, and video for change at the social, cultural, and public policy levels
• To help changemakers better advocate for human rights, democracy, and the environment through EngageMedia’s various approaches
• To strengthen knowledge, skills, and resources in effective communications and advocacy, digital rights, open and secure technologies, and video for change
• To develop networks and platforms for digital rights, open and secure technology and video for change practitioners

With support of the Embassy of Sweden Bangkok, EngageMedia’s project "Digital Rights and Video for Change: Building the Movement in Southeast Asia, 2019- 2022" aims to strengthen the digital rights movement to defend democratic space in Southeast Asia. EngageMedia’s work on Digital Rights, Video for Change and Open and Secure Technology programming attempt to responding to persistent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and rapidly changing regional and global contexts.

The objectives of EngageMedia’s project are:

• Objective 1: Improve EngageMedia's organisational effectiveness by developing its communications and technology, management and governance, and monitoring and evaluation
• Objective 2: Increase the reach and impact of EngageMedia's advocacy on digital rights, open and secure technology, and Video for Change at the social, cultural, and public policy levels
• Objective 3: Strengthen changemakers with knowledge, skills, and resources in effective communications and advocacy, digital rights, open and secure technologies, and Video for Change
• Objective 4: Strengthen networks and platforms for digital rights, open and secure technology, and Video for Change practitioners to foster collaboration, engagement, campaigning, and mobilization.

The project is being implemented in five countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Thailand. The total budget for the project period is SEK 18,740,000.

1.3 Evaluation rationale

The end of programme evaluation is to be carried out as part of the agreement condition. EngageMedia is in the process of developing a proposal for a continued funding from Sweden. The EngageMedia’s project has not been the object of a fully independent evaluation by Sida before.

The end-term evaluation will assess the degree of achievement of the EngageMedia’s project to date against the expected outputs and specific objectives as defined in the project’s theory of change (ToC). Meanwhile it will also assess and make recommendations for adjustments in design and implementation arrangements for future regional project designs. The evaluation will be used to inform decisions on how project implementations may be adjusted and improved.

2.     The assignment

2.1 Evaluation purpose: Intended use and intended users

The evaluation will assess the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of the project. It will also assess the extent to which project has adopted human rights-based and gender responsive approaches both in programming and operational levels.

The key objectives of the final evaluation are to:

• To assess the performance of the project in terms of achieving the intended project output results and contribution to outcomes according to the project’s theory of change
• To review the progress made against the recommendations of the past evaluations/reviews including those of the Embassy of Sweden Bangkok and other donors as well as assess effective implementation of operational policies
• To provide the Embassy of Sweden Bangkok and EngageMedia with an input to upcoming discussions concerning the preparation of a potential new phase of intervention
• To evaluate effectiveness and efficiency of a project as an input to the decision on whether the project shall receive continued funding or not.

The final project evaluation will be conducted with support of an external consultant team/institution for and the participation of local, regional and international partners, EngageMedia’s current and former staff as well as direct beneficiaries on the review and evaluation of project progress. Relevant actors should be systematically considered early in the process to maximise opportunities for an active role and increase ownership of the evaluation process. The primary intended users of the evaluation are EngageMedia and the Embassy of Sweden, Bangkok. During the inception phase, the evaluator and EngageMedia will agree on who will be responsible for keeping the various stakeholders informed about the evaluation.