How can targeted research help members of the development community hone their information‐sharing efforts at the policy level and at the grassroots level? What can members of the development community do to help improve the policy information flow in Africa, with a view toward supporting effective development policies? These questions are at the core of the multiyear AudienceScapes project launched by InterMedia in spring 2009. Its broad aim is to provide research and analysis to guide the information‐sharing efforts of development practitioners at the grassroots and policy levels, thereby supporting more effective development outcomes. Pilot research was conducted in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. AudienceScapes researchers gather and analyze data at two levels: among citizens ‐‐ measuring their access to and use of media and communication technologies as well as word‐of‐mouth networks, and how these relate to citizens' exposure to information on key development topics (health, agriculture and personal finance); within policy communities ‐‐ mapping the complex "information ecology" in which development policymakers operate. This report on access and use of mass media draws from a nationally representative survey of Zambian individuals conducted in spring 2010. Other reports from Zambia address use of mobile phones, the policy information environment, and access to critical health information. All AudienceScapes analytical reports, as well as a data query tool and other features, are available on the AudienceScapes website (www.audiencescapes.org). These resources give development professionals and their partners the means to provide critical information when and where it is needed to empower local communities.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117567/1/2010_Murthy-Hussain_InterMedia.pd
