Recommendations for Inclusion:
Media Intervention Framework

Define the scope of work

• Define the specific indigenous community you will be working with. There are 24 indigenous languages and numerous indigenous communities in Guatemala. Each community and language (not dialect) is unique and it is important to not generalize their languages, identities, concerns, and needs. 

• Work with study sponsor and specific indigenous point of contact to estimate issues being covered in the assessment. 

• Estimate knowledge, attitude, and behavior of target audience and other relevant stakeholders. 

• Identify the challenge and opportunity for influencing knowledge/attitude/behavior and where target audiences fall on the Ladder of Change (see Strategic Communication Template).

 

Profile media landscape

• Estimate relevant factors using the country context, media landscape, and self-education resources included in the toolkit

• Consult indigenous point of contact for recommendations and suggestions

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Identify issues 

• Identify issues that evoke the most debates and conflict among indigenous and non-indigenous stakeholders

• Work with indigenous point of contact to estimate problems, needs, and objectives/solutions associated with each. 

• Establish the theory of change and prioritize issues based on estimated frequency, the credibility of the source, scale, recency.
   

Create interview strategy  

• Consult indigenous point of contact to identify community dynamics (age, gender, role, occupation, etc) that may affect your ability to interview subjects and obtain desired information.

• Use indigenous point of contact to identify subject matter experts, journalists, community leaders, and other audiences to investigate and evaluate each issue. 

• Refer to the “Information Needs Assessment” for guidance on designing the strategy.

Validate media landscape 

• Interview indigenous and non-indigenous journalists to verify accuracy of media profile and fill in the gaps

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Validate and rank issues

• Expand interview scope to indigenous and non-indigenous opinion leaders, activists, and journalists

• Ask them to identify and rank important issues that generate conflict based on frequency, credibility of source, scale and recency

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Contextualize issues of high importance

• Interview indigenous stakeholders (subject matter experts, activists, community leaders, teachers, students, etc.) and non-indigenous stakeholders to validate estimates about high-importance problems, needs and objectives, and activities

• Identify where they fall on the Ladder of Change and what activities they have done - successful or unsuccessful - to advance change 

• Identify if their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors stem from individual considerations, community/group considerations, or societal/institutional considerations.

• Score for issue importance and respondent credibility - allocate higher points for those respondents who were well informed about the issue, had the authority to speak on the issue, and provided unbiased and accurate information

 

Convert reported needs into projects  

• Reconcile conflicting needs reported in interviews to create objectives for media activities that amplify indigenous voices

• Identify what needs/interests are shared by all stakeholders, how these needs/interests differ, and how certain needs/interests can be an obstacle for meeting other needs/interests

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Involve in-country experts as advisors 

• Identify indigenous experts to evaluate final media designs 

• Confirm with community leaders and those who have the authority to speak on behalf of the specific indigenous community you are partnering with if the community is in consensus about wanting this project and wanting to participate in it. This may take time as their indigenous voices - within or outside the community - are not “unified.” It takes time to build consensus and build support across different groups within the community.

• If you are engaging non-indigenous experts, it is your responsibility to ensure that indigenous voices are given the same level of consideration, if not more, than those of non-indigenous experts.

Finalize interventions objectives

• Continue synthesis of needs to identify objectives that amplify indigenous voices

• Ensure that indigenous stakeholders are actors and not objects being represented 

• Confirm with community leaders and those who have the authority to speak on behalf of the specific indigenous community you are partnering with if the community is in consensus about the finalized objectives. This may take time as indigenous voices - within or outside the community - are not “unified.” It takes time to build consensus and build support across different groups within the community.

• Take a step back to evaluate if the intervention is being done for indigenous stakeholders, or if it is being done with/by indigenous stakeholders. Adapt objectives to ensure indigenous stakeholders are enacting the objectives instead of merely receiving them

 

Design media interventions

• Select activities that realize objectives with indigenous stakeholders and with the consensus of the community. Be prepared for frequent dialogues and discussions and extension of timelines as building consensus is not easy. 

• Activities can be issue-targeted (to transform to desired knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors for moving up the Ladder of Change) or obstacle-targeted (mitigating the obstacle that prevents/impedes advancement up the Ladder of Change)

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Validate interventions with experts

• Receive feedback from indigenous stakeholders evaluating the effectiveness of designs

• Confirm with community leaders and those who have the authority to speak on behalf of the specific indigenous community you are partnering with if the community is in consensus about the intervention. This may take time as indigenous voices - within or outside the community - are not “unified.” It takes time to build consensus and build support across different groups within the community.

• Ensure that indigenous stakeholders are actors and not objects being represented 

• Take a step back to evaluate if the intervention is being done for indigenous stakeholders, or if it is being done with/by indigenous stakeholders. Adapt objectives to ensure indigenous stakeholders are enacting the objectives instead of merely receiving them

 

Report results 

• Evaluate if diversity and inclusion needs have been met in conducting the project

• Conduct interviews with indigenous stakeholders and other target audiences  to see if their needs have been met (refer to Information Needs Assessment)

• Evaluate outputs and outcomes and advancement on Ladder of Change