ABOUT THE RESEARCH M edia access and consumption surveys have been conducted infrequently in Myanmar over the last decades. In one survey conducted clandestinely in 1999 for internal use by one of the international broadcasters, respondents listed their top information needs as religious and health information, with news featuring low on the list of preferences.16 This finding seemed counterintuitive to western pro-democracy expectations that all the citizens of Burma were hungry primarily for political news, and led researchers to warn that much of the information they gathered was probably unreliable as respondents would have been reluctant to speak openly about their information needs and consumption habits. In fact much of the research done since then, and right up to today, indicates that religious and health information does in fact regularly rank highly in needs and listening habits of many citizens of Myanmar, frequently higher than political news. This story cautions 16 would-be researchers to guard against assumptions about information needs, especially in situations where research is being used to inform planning for development or democracy and governance interventions. Surveys by InterMedia and Gallup for the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) have been conducted more regularly in the last 5 years, concerned largely with assessing the reach and listenership of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) shortwave radio and TV services. For many years these services, with the BBC World Service and the Democratic Voice of Burma, were assumed to be a primary source of independent news and information for Burmese citizens, especially those in the conflict-affected ethnic states. In recent years the BBG surveys showed an increase in penetration of satellite TV, latterly FM radio, and apparently robust audiences for all the international services. In 2012 it noted many of the key media consumption trends present in the Internews research in Mon State. The survey findings contain proprietary information and are not publicly available. However, no surveys to date can claim to present either comprehensive or granular data that allows for deep-dive analysis or comparative explorations of the different ways in which different population groups across Myanmar access and exchange information. Little to no work has yet been done on looking at what factors contribute to differentiated information flows in various parts of the country, and therefore little is understood about how best to ensure that people access information that could be useful to them in their lives. Up until very recently, it has been impossible to reach many of those areas where citizen access to information and media consumption has long been a mystery – notably the conflict areas. Some of these are still inaccessible today, and even in the medium term future are likely to retain many of the idiosyncratic dynamics described above for information ecosystems associated with prolonged conflict, politicization, militarization, ethnic identity issues, underdevelopment, fear and mistrust of government. An important part of the Center’s exploration into understanding information ecosystems is developing the tools and capacities to capture these dynamics in a rigorous, inclusive way. As a pilot study, the research in Mon State was primarily intended to provide a baseline for the evolution of media and information systems in the next months and years. However, another key objective was to support the iterative process of designing appropriate tools and methods to provide a broad view of the information and communication environment alongside a level of granularity that speaks to the experience of individuals and reveals the complex nuances of trust, influence and information flows. Internews research in Mon State was carried out primarily to trial a methodology capable of reflecting an information ecosystem rather than just patterns of media dissemination and consumption. More 8 INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS in transition: a case study from myanmar part one: rese arch findings specifically, the pilot aimed to capture an ecosystem at a particular point in time, poised at the brink of profound change at the local and national level. Mon State is, after all, a local information ecosystem within a national one, both of them dynamic. The nature of each and the convergent/divergent dynamics between them are fascinating in and of themselves, especially when their current and future manifestations are considered in the light of the last half-century of Burma’s history. However the real utility and value of the ecosystem research perspective will be demonstrated over time, when repeat surveys and improvements to methodology and analysis will prove increasingly capable of identifying and understanding the relationships between the multiplicity of factors that constitute an information ecosystem. The report draws from quantitative and qualitative research commissioned by the Internews Center for Innovation & Learning (the Center) from December 16, 2012 to January 5, 2013 in Mon State, Myanmar. The research sampled respondents from across Mon State, and combines quantitative data from a 500 household survey covering urban, rural, non-conflict, and former conflict areas, with qualitative data from 12 focus group discussions, 24 key informant interviews and 12 photography-centered observations in both non-conflict and former conflict areas. In-country research was carried out through the services of field contractor Myanmar Survey Research (MSR).17 17 For details of the research and sample design, see Appendix Two – Research Design. 9 how to inform, empower, and impact communities INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS in transition: a case study from myanmar how to inform, empower, and impact communities PART ONE: RESEARCH FINDINGS