Impact and Learning
The International Fund’s What Works Unit (WWU) leads our learning and impact work, helping the Fund, its grantees and partners understand what is effective to build a more resilient future for independent media. We have developed cutting-edge tools to measure media viability, and we regularly generate comparative evidence of what works across our global portfolio, and foster peer-to-peer learning.
Our Portfolio
Our Coverage
We work across low and middle income countries spanning four continents. Our grantees are navigating a diverse set of challenges, including rising instability and conflict, intensifying legal and political pressures, declining referral traffic from digital platforms, and funding cuts.
Funding Impact
Media organizations cannot innovate, grow, or deliver the best possible service to the public when they are struggling to survive. Alongside investments in systemic solutions to market challenges, we see the stabilizing power of core, flexible support—
even in the toughest contexts.
Financial
Health
- Media organizations are using flexible core support to increase their revenue. This is allowing organizations to invest in areas that will sustain them in the longer term and protect their editorial independence. More than half of IFPIM grantees have increased non-grant revenue, though results vary: some have achieved significant growth, while others, particularly in contexts of economic or political instability, face major obstacles to revenue generation.
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of grantees increased their total revenue
of grantees increased non-grant revenue
Reach And
Engagement
IFPIM funding enabled the majority of grantees to reach new audiences and increase engagement on social media. This progress came despite major challenges, including reduced visibility on digital platforms, smear campaigns against independent media, and declining public trust.
of grantees increased their audience reach
of grantees increased engagement in social media
Diverse Workforce
In a time of job cuts and shrinking newsrooms, over half of our grantees bucked the trend by maintaining or even expanding their workforce.
Women and young people comprise the majority of staff in most IFPIM grantee organizations. Diversity and representation continue to be a strength, helping newsrooms to reflect broader audiences and bring more diverse perspectives into editorial decisions
of grantees increased their editorial staff
of media organizations workforce are women
Words
In the Fund's annual survey, grantees reported overwhelmingly positive feedback on their financial sustainability and societal impact as a result of IFPIM funding. Core funding also helped them become more resilient to external economic and political threats: over half said that it shielded them from pressures from donors, advertisers, or political actors.
of grantees reported a major impact on financial sustainability
of grantees said funding helped them resist external pressures
"Unlike traditional grants that require alignment with partners missions, IFPIM has given us the flexibility to pursue our own goals, sustain operations, and rethink our revenue model."
-Media Organization Executive Director, Eastern Europe
of grantees reported having a greater societal impact as a result of IFPIM funding.
of grantees reported reaching a more diverse audience as a result of IFPIM funding.
"A number of the reports/stories we produced have yielded tangible results with life transforming interventions on the lives of the subjects of the stories we told-both people
and communities."
-Media Organization Coordinator, West Africa
