In Africa, an estimated 90% of households own a radio. But for all its muscle in connecting with the masses, radio communication remains mostly one-way. If radio was more interactive, listeners could share information, communicate grassroots reactions to current affairs and mobilise change.

Now, a pioneering research collaboration between Cambridge’s Centre of Governance and Human Rights, in the Department of Politics and International Studies, and FrontlineSMS, a UK-based non-profit organisation, aims to help transform African radio into a two-way communications channel. In so doing, the project will assess the capacity of interactive radio for improved citizen awareness and greater citizen engagement.

Developing tools, investigating outcomes

FrontlineSMS provides free software to enable users to send and receive text messages with large groups of people – a particular advantage in the developing world where the use of mobile phones and text messaging is rapidly increasing but internet access is limited. At the core of the project is the tailoring and deployment of the software to community and local radio networks, enabling radio stations of any size to use a laptop to gather information from listeners via mobile phone text messaging, helping them to shape programming and communicate with their audiences in real-time.

Other project partners include Developing Radio Partners and Internews, each of which has a long-standing track record in media development in Africa and will be essential to help pilot test the software in Kenya, Zambia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi. A subsequent worldwide roll-out is planned for mid-2011.

Alongside this tangible goal of the project runs a sociopolitical investigation of how new communications technologies influence governance relations and practices, as the Centre’s Director Sharath Srinivasan explains: ‘Without question, ‘hybrid media’ that combine the interactive power of mobile SMS with the reach of radio have the potential to expand citizens’ political capabilities and enrich public sphere interactions. But a major challenge has been to develop an empirical sense of how transformative this can be in relation to public debate, political participation, accountability and governance.’

Understanding this impact is precisely the type of question that interests the Centre, which was launched in 2009 as an interdisciplinary hub for research, teaching and engagement with policy and practice on issues of human rights and governance in Africa and the global South. The project is harnessing interdisciplinary expertise across the University, from the Computer Laboratory, Judge Business School, Engineering, Social Anthropology and Psychology.

Social technology innovation meets academia

A collaboration between the University and FrontlineSMS makes sound sense, as Ken Banks, founder of FrontlineSMS, explains: ‘The impact of tools in the mobile-for-development field tends to suffer from a lack of rigorous academic scrutiny, and most impact assessment is carried out after the event rather than being an intrinsic part of the deployment process. As a result of the collaboration, from the outset and for the first time, this project will determine user behaviour, identify system design and monitor impact throughout the project life cycle.’

‘Imagine thousands of radio stations being able to interact with citizens on issues from agriculture to politics, health to human rights, and how this can change the nature of public discussion,’ adds Sharath Srinivasan. ‘This study is our entry point for looking at such issues more broadly. Our long-term vision is to evolve the programme into evaluating not just the mobile phone and radio but also a whole range of communication technologies and how they are reconfiguring governance relations in Africa and beyond.’