Closing the Loop — Responding to People’s #Information Needs from Crisis Response to Recovery to Development

Closing the Loop, a review of Internews’ humanitarian information radio program launched in Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake, argues that information provision should be a core component of any humanitarian assistance or development program. To be effective, the communications program must rely on continual research to identify the information needs of those affected by conflict or disasters, then employ the findings from that research in the selection and production of media programming.

Information matters, especially for individuals affected by severe crises like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. But critically, new research shows that listening to audiences may be just as important. This new paper based on research done for Internews’ humanitarian information radio program launched in Haiti after the earthquake shows that information is a critical component of any humanitarian assistance or development program. Marcus Garcia, owner of the Haitian radio station Melody FM, made the point plain and simple: “Information is as important as food.”

The paper argues that determining what information to provide shouldn’t be a top-down process determined by aid agencies or media organizations. Rather, audience research provides an important mechanism for understanding information needs during times of crises. In designing its daily humanitarian information radio program Enfomasyon Nou Dwe Konnen (ENDK News You Can Use), Internews used research as a fundament part of a broader media project.

Over the period examined in this report, March 2010 to March 2011, Internews surveyed nearly 16,000 Haitians and conducted two sets of focus group studies with 488 others.