United States Agency for Global Media

Impact and Results

USAGM networks operate in a competitive, diverse, fragmented global media environment undergoing revolutionary change. There is more information, more channels of distribution and limited freedom of the press.

How do we measure impact?

For any media organization, understanding the audience is critical to developing programming that is appealing and impactful. USAGM has a unique challenge in that our content appears in 64 languages languages and our audiences are located in more than 100 countries countries.

The USAGM Impact Model serves as a framework for collecting data on our audiences and measuring the effectiveness of our programming. It comprises over 35 indicators organized around the agency’s mission: to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. The model looks beyond sheer audience size to assess the change that USAGM’s network and entity programming has made in the lives of audience members, in the local media sector, and among governments.

To assess programming performance, the Impact Model draws from a diverse set of evidence complementing quantitative measures such as survey data and digital analytics with structured anecdotal data.

Sources of evidence that inform the Impact Model

Survey Data

  • USAGM Surveys
  • Omnibus Surveys

Survey Data

  • Website and App Analytics
  • Social Media Analytics (aggregated and analyzed in the USAGM Data Portal)

Survey Data

  • Evidence on guest appearances, impact stories, news pick-ups, co-productions with media partners, government reactions, etc.

Survey Data

  • Databases (CRM, etc.)
  • Internal Records

Impact Pillars and Select Indicators

Below are illustrative samples of indicators in the Impact Model. The full model offers USAGM networks 36 indicators that they can use to fit with market conditions for each region.