What value does social media add to governance programmes?

This paper was written by students from the London School of Economics (LSE) Master of Public Administration (MPA) programme in collaboration with BBC Media Action.

Publication date: September 2013

Overview: This briefing highlights the findings of the LSE students’ work undertaken between October 2012 and March 2013: a literature review and analysis of BBC Media Action data from Palestinian Territories and Bangladesh on use of social media and civic participation.

Findings include:

• Use of social media is positively associated with political efficacy and offline participation in the BBC Media Action data
• These findings imply that BBC Media Action should engage purposefully with social media as a catalysing complement to traditional TV and radio programming