CMA Three Year Workplan - Send us your feedback

26/02/2008

The Community Media Association has drawn up a work plan for the next three years. This work plan is outlined below but may also be downloaded as a printable PDF here.

As the national representative body for the community media sector the CMA welcomes and values any comments and suggestions that you may have about the work plan. Please send your feedback to cma@commedia.org.uk

We will do our best to accommodate your views as it is important to us that your needs and requirements inform our work.


COMMUNITY MEDIA ASSOCIATION

OUTLINE WORKPLAN FROM APRIL 2008 TO MARCH 2011

This is the Community Media Association outline work plan for the next three years, showing the overarching themes and issues we expect to address on behalf of the community media sector and the CMA itself.  The three key themes are as follows:

1 Broadcasting, regulatory and funding policy and environment
2 Regional Working
3 Media literacy

1  Broadcasting, regulatory and funding policy and environment:

Radio – We will continue to work both with DCMS and Ofcom over the next three years to ensure that there continues to be adequate access for community radio to suitable broadcasting platforms, both analogue and digital, to enable further growth of the sector as larger players vacate the FM spectrum.  In the first year this will include: working as part of the Digital Radio Working Group on digital technology and migration issues, including the future of the FM spectrum; working with Ofcom to look at the current legislative framework, further licensing rounds and to assist licensed stations to introduce auditable methods to count volunteer time; liaising and acting as a conduit between the sector and both government and Ofcom; continuing our presence on radio related working groups e.g the Community Radio Fund Panel and Illegal Broadcasting Working Group.  As some issues are resolved we will work on emerging issues and themes as these develop.  

We will also work to ensure that community media is fully recognised as part of the wider cultural and enterprise sectors, working with DCMS, ACE and other partners to assist members and the wider sector to deliver on relevant aspects of the Creative Industries Strategy and other economic strategies.

Television – we will continue to work with DCMS and Ofcom to try to ensure a viable future for community and local television, including responding to and involvement in all consultations on television policy.

Convergence – we will work with government and regulators on convergence issues for both community radio and television and the communities they serve, also community media projects using internet only and mobile platforms.  We will also negotiate on behalf of the sector on various copyright issues and copyright fees.

Wider agenda – we will continue to work with government departments to increase their awareness of community media as: a delivery tool for many of the government’s social policy and democratic engagement agendas; an invaluable partner in increasing skills and economic independence for individuals, through its readily accessible volunteering and training programmes; as a practical way to decrease the digital divide; as a means of disseminating and creating arts and cultural opportunities.  We will also work closely with other third sector and citizen focussed groups, also small commercial players with convergent interests, to try to ensure the voice of the citizen rather than consumer is paramount and is included in wider policy.

2  Regional Working

Regional Fora – we will continue to encourage and support  the development of regional fora (through attendance, sharing best practice and brokering relationships with funders and other public and private sector partners) for community media practitioners to share their experiences and increasingly address regional issues with regional solutions, including improved involvement with local and regional decision making  and funding structures.

We will also use the regional fora as a means of improving our communication with members and wider stakeholders, ensuring we have a continued mandate for our work as it develops, where appropriate.

3  Media Literacy

We will continue to work with government and educational structures to embed community media training and practice as a means of increasing self-expression, media literacy and community participation, as a means of encouraging lifelong learning.  We will also work to ensure that young people are also fully engaged and involved in this debate, by assisting CMA members to seek their engagement as part of the general work they already do with young people in their projects.

Organisational:

We will continue to develop our online media solutions, with continued preferential pricing for CMA members, to expand it to form a greater part of our income generation activity.  We will introduce further discounted products for members including new suppliers, insurance and other services for the sector.  We will also develop the “Getmedia” platform (currently in trials) for programme and other content sharing and showcasing for all parts of the sector.

We will undertake a full review of member services and charging structures in spring 2009, to increase the self-sustainability of the CMA.  We will start to address this at regional meetings in 2008, with a view to agreeing revisions at the 2009 Festival.

We will ensure that the focus of the CMA remains the needs of the sector, representation and advocacy for members individually and collectively, at a national and regional level.  We will assist members at a local level where required, including signposting to local and regional agencies.