CommsConsult was asked to undertake an independent evaluation of Inter Press Services (IPS) EU–funded project ‘Trading out of poverty: the difficult marriage between trade and development’.
This three-year EU-funded project aimed to increase public awareness about the effects of trade on development, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and other low income countries. Through online and print distribution of independent news articles in a majority of EU member states, IPS proposed to expose at least 10 million European readers and 3,000 decision-makers to the information. Its ultimate ambition was to enhance public support and strengthen political will towards the improvement of trade relations, and the improvement of coherence between trade and development policies, using the power of the media.
The evaluation reported against the project objectives, and recommended practical ways to improve the marketing and dissemination of project-related stories, while also exploring strategies that could be used by the project staff to target key audiences, such as decision-makers.