Development People

Caroline Nursey, Director of the BBC World Service Trust, talks about the role of media and communications in development and how the expertise of the BBC World Service Trust could enhance the work of other NGOs.

Describe your role at BBC World Service Trust?

Like every Director, my job is very broad.  The BBC World Service Trust has grown fast; it is just over 10 years old and yet the turnover at the end of last financial year was £27 million.  When I started 15 months ago I felt that we were doing really good work but as an organisation some of our internal systems and mechanisms needed to catch up so that they matched the size of the organisation and our aspirations to deliver work.  A lot of what I am doing has been to help position the organisation for its second decade and to get our partnerships with other organisations across the development sector working better.

What are you are working on at the moment?

Our response to the Pakistan floods has been a major focus.  One of the advantages of being part of the BBC is having access to the World Services' ability to broadcast in many languages.  We have been helping them to produce life-line broadcasting to provide key information to people affected by the emergency.  We believe practical information is a form of aid and we are linking with other NGOs to provide information that they need, for instance on water and sanitation or food distribution. 

Another major priority is the work I have been doing to reposition and strengthen the organisation.  Part of it involves changing our visual identity - the brand - and our name, which is a major undertaking and one that involves a lot of internal reflection.  The result should enable us to meet our ambitious plans for the future. 

What role do you think the media and communications should play in development?

Media and communications is a very important area and one that has not had enough attention.  The development of a strong, diverse and independent media is a way of strenghtening the ability of developing countries to hold their own governments and others to account.  Of course, there is always the danger of the media being a force for harm, for instance promoting ethnic violence, but more often it is a force for good.  We provide support in different ways.  As well as training journalists, we try to help the institutions to be independent and to enable their interaction with the public so that they actually become a tool for accountability. 

Media is also quite a cheap way to improve the health of populations and provide information that is vital for livelihoods.  It is not cheap to make a quality radio or television programme but when you consider the numbers of people it reaches the cost per head is really small.  We found that we can have real impact through different media such as drama on radio or television and "Question Time"-style debates to raise issues and get people to talk about HIV prevention or condom use, and to hold politicians to account. 

How can UK NGOs contribute to realising this?

I would like us to work in partnership much more, particularly with UK NGOs.  I think our contribution and expertise could enhance projects by adding something quite vital to get a better overall offering.  Agencies traditionally have some money to disseminate information but they do not usually have the expertise to really look at how do you change people's thinking and get information to them in a way that they can engage with.  We need to work together at an early stage on joint funding applications where we contribute an element of a much bigger project. 

What is the most rewarding, and challenging part of your job?

I get a lot of personal satisfaction out of making things work or causing things to happen which ultimately have an impact on the lives of people living in poverty.

One of the joys and challenges of this job is engaging with the BBC.  We are an independent charity but our close relationship with them gives us many wonderful things including access to the language service and lots of creative people.  At the same time, it means engaging with a huge organisation which does not necessarily understand what development is and which has certain ways of doing things that do not always fit well with a charity.  When it works well it has real impact on people's lives. 

What, in your opinion, is BBC WST's most significant achievement?

The work we do on the role of media in governance and helping people to hold their governments to account is significant.  I am excited by the work we are doing to show that information is critical at a time of humanitarian emergency.  This is an area where we are very much working in partnership with other NGOs and I think we are making a significant contribution to the sector and to people affected by disasters.

The work we are doing around health is already making a real diference and will probably make an even bigger difference if we can work more with other agencies and complement the work that they are doing.

We have a really strong research team that can measure the changes that happen.

What is your vision for BBC WST and for communications for development?

I would like to see us working more closely with other development agencies, sharing learning more effectively both internally and externally, and therefore continuing to improve the quality of what we can deliver both directly and in partnership with others.  I would like us to continue to convince people that the provision of information and provoking the debate around development issues amongst poor people in developing countries is critical to the overall development effort.

Do you have a mentor or someone who has inspired you?

I don't have one person but I am inspired by "beneficiaries" or colleagues who I have met and worked with through the years.  The privilege of a job like this is that you get a chance to sit down in a village and meet the most amazing people who are achieving things in the most difficult circumstances.  I find that incredibly inspiring. 

As a woman, I find it exciting to see that there are now more women as directors of large agencies, and I have been fortunate enough to work very closely with Barbara Stocking, Jasmine Whitbread and Barbara Frost in different contexts.  It was not like that, even 10 years ago and although the pace of change is slow, it is encouraging.

What is the key challenge for BBC WST, and the sector, in the coming year?

For UK NGOs, engagement with the economic climate and the new Government are going to be real challenges.  As when governments have changed in the past, we need to learn how to engage effectively with the new Government so that we can ensure that the best development outcomes will be achieved.

Member Login