[cma-l] CMA Outline 3 Year Work Plan

[Jaqui Devereux]

Dear CMA members and interested parties,

Please find below our draft work plan for the next three years.  We 
would really value your comments and suggestions as part of our planning 
process for next year.  If you have any or want to point out omissions, 
different emphasis etc then please get in touch.  I can assure you that 
we will do our best to incorporate your views, as it is important to us 
that we have a mandate from you for our work.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes

Jaqui

Jaqui Devereux

Acting Director
Community Media Association
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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 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.

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 voluntary, community and faith 
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 (with a particular 
focus on the education and adult learning sectors) to form a greater 
part of our income generation activity.

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.



-- 
Jaqui Devereux

Acting Director
Community Media Association

15 Paternoster Row
Sheffield
S1 2BX

+44 114 279 5219


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