Assignment title: Household survey to determine where WMC should prioritise traditional FM relay stations over digital-only broadcasting
Proposed duration: 10 weeks from contract signature
Primary output: Ranked list of provinces/district clusters for: (i) immediate relay investment, (ii) hybrid radio-digital model, and (iii) digital-first programming
WMC’s 2025 Radio Audience Consumption Study indicates that younger audiences increasingly access Women’s Radio through Facebook and other digital platforms, while traditional radio remains more important for older people and remote communities. The study further suggests that Ratanakiri and underserved parts of Siem Reap warrant closer assessment, and it notes that the 2025 evidence base was skewed toward younger, urban and Facebook-reached respondents. A household survey is therefore needed to assess offline and low-connectivity households more accurately.
1. Background and rationale
- WMC currently broadcasts from Phnom Penh (FM 103.5) and operates relay stations in Kampong Thom (FM 104), Battambang (FM 106.3), and Kampong Cham (FM 99.3). The 2025 Radio Audience Consumption Study found that most respondents accessed Women’s Radio content through Facebook rather than AM/FM radio, but older respondents were more likely to prefer traditional radio. Qualitative evidence from remote and Indigenous communities in Ratanakiri, and case evidence from Siem Reap where WMC has no relay, indicate that traditional broadcasting may still be the most inclusive medium for households with limited internet access, limited smartphone use, low literacy, or work patterns that reduce connectivity, such as farming in areas without signal.
- At the same time, the 2025 study acknowledged important limitations: the sample was dominated by younger respondents, urban residents, and people reached online through Facebook. That means the study was less able to represent households that are offline, poorer, older, more remote, or outside the current digital audience. To guide future investment decisions, WMC now requires a province-focused household survey that can determine where traditional radio relay stations are likely to produce greater reach and social value than digital-only distribution.
2. Purpose of the assignment
- The purpose of this assignment is to identify and rank the provinces, districts, and location clusters in Cambodia where WMC should prioritise traditional FM relay station investment instead of, or before, relying primarily on online digital broadcasting.
3. Objectives
- Measure household access to media, including FM radio, smartphones, internet connectivity, electricity, and preferred information channels.
- Estimate the size and profile of audiences that are more likely to depend on traditional radio than on digital platforms.
- Compare current relay provinces, digital-dominant provinces, and underserved provinces with no current WMC relay presence.
- Assess interest in WMC’s editorial themes and program types among both current listeners and prospective listeners.
- Identify the social groups and settings where radio has comparative advantage, including older people, women, remote villagers, Indigenous communities, and people working in fields or other low-connectivity environments.
- Produce a practical ranking of provinces and district clusters for relay expansion, hybrid radio-digital strategy, or digital-first distribution.
4. Key research questions
- In which provinces and districts do households still rely on FM radio as a regular or trusted source of information?
- Where is internet access too weak, costly, irregular, or impractical for WMC to depend mainly on digital broadcasting?
- Which population groups are least likely to be reached by Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, websites, apps, or podcasts?
- Where would a new WMC relay station add substantial reach beyond current digital channels?
- Which provinces are better suited to a hybrid model, where relay broadcasting is combined with strong digital distribution?
- Which provinces remain predominantly digital-first, where additional relay investment is unlikely to be cost-effective?
- What content topics, languages, time slots, and formats would make traditional radio most valuable in high-priority provinces?
5. Scope and geographic coverage
- Benchmark province/city for digital-dominant media use: Phnom Penh.
- Existing WMC relay provinces for comparison: Kampong Thom, Battambang, and Kampong Cham.
- Priority validation provinces highlighted by the 2025 study: Ratanakiri and Siem Reap.
- An additional 2–4 candidate provinces to be proposed in the inception report using criteria such as remoteness, absence of current WMC relay access, weak connectivity, rural poverty, cross-border or mountainous geography, or the presence of Indigenous communities.
- Within each selected province, the sample should intentionally cover urban/peri-urban areas, rural villages with ordinary connectivity, and remote villages or work settings where mobile internet is limited or absent. Where relevant, the design should include Indigenous communities and older listener populations.
6. Study design and methodology
6.1 Overall design
- The primary method shall be a face-to-face household survey. The survey may be complemented by a limited number of key informant interviews, short signal/coverage observations, or local market checks where these help interpret the quantitative findings. However, the household survey must remain the main basis for ranking provinces and locations.
6.2 Sampling approach
- Recommended minimum survey size: 2,400 households, or approximately 300 households in each of 8 provinces. Larger samples may be proposed if district-level ranking is required.
- Primary respondent: adult household member aged 18 years or above selected through a transparent within-household method.
- Oversampling should be considered for adults aged 45+, remote villages, and Indigenous communities where traditional radio may remain more relevant.
- Sampling weights shall be applied where necessary to restore representativeness.
6.3 Indicative questionnaire modules
|
Module |
Purpose |
Illustrative variables |
|
Household profile |
Segment audiences |
Sex, age, education, occupation, language, disability, ethnicity/Indigenous identity |
|
Access and infrastructure |
Assess feasibility of digital vs FM |
Phone ownership, internet availability, data affordability, electricity, batteries, radio set ownership |
|
Media behaviour |
Measure actual habits |
Weekly use of FM, TV, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, website, app, podcast |
|
Listening context |
Identify radio advantage |
Home, farm/field, commuting, workplace, evening vs daytime access |
|
Trust and preference |
Measure likely uptake |
Trusted sources, preferred formats, willingness to listen to WMC by platform |
|
Content demand |
Guide programming |
Topics, languages, local issues, time slots, interest in women’s rights and social issues |
6.4 Data collection requirements
- Data collection shall be conducted face-to-face using tablets or other secure digital devices.
- Questionnaires shall be developed in Khmer and translated or interpreted into relevant local/Indigenous languages where needed.
- Enumerator teams should be gender-balanced and trained in informed consent, privacy, and respectful interviewing.
- Back-checks, spot checks, audio audits (where appropriate), and daily consistency reviews shall be built into quality assurance.
- The consultant must pilot the questionnaire before full rollout and revise tools accordingly.
6.5 Analytical framework
- The final analysis must go beyond describing media habits. It must explicitly rank provinces and district clusters for WMC decision-making. The consultant shall develop a Relay Suitability Index, or equivalent decision framework, that clearly distinguishes where FM relay investment is justified, where a hybrid approach is preferred, and where digital-first distribution remains most efficient.
|
Decision dimension |
Indicative weight |
Example indicators |
|
Connectivity disadvantage and offline dependence |
35% |
Weak/no internet, high data cost, low smartphone use, listening in fields or remote areas |
|
Current and potential radio dependence |
30% |
Weekly FM use, preference for AM/FM, trust in radio, likely uptake if WMC signal becomes available |
|
Audience relevance to WMC mission |
20% |
Demand for women’s rights, health, violence prevention, human rights, youth, legal awareness |
|
Operational value and practical reach |
15% |
Population concentration, likely catchment, comparison with digital reach, feasibility for later technical assessment |
7. Scope of work / tasks
- Review the 2025 WMC Radio Audience Consumption Study and other relevant WMC documents.
- Prepare an inception report, including final methodology, sample design, province selection, tools, workplan, and quality assurance plan.
- Develop, translate, and pilot the household questionnaire and any short qualitative tools.
- Recruit, train, and manage field teams.
- Conduct household fieldwork and quality control.
- Clean, weight, and analyse the data.
- Prepare province profiles, maps/tables, and a ranked decision matrix.
- Present draft findings to WMC and revise based on feedback.
- Submit final report, datasets, tools, and presentation materials.
8. Deliverables
|
No. |
Deliverable |
Indicative timing |
|
1 |
Inception report with methodology, final province list, sample design, workplan, and QA framework |
Week 2 |
|
2 |
Draft questionnaire(s), translation(s), and enumerator manual |
Week 3 |
|
3 |
Pilot memo and revised tools |
Week 4 |
|
4 |
Fieldwork completion note and preliminary topline tables |
Week 7 |
|
5 |
Clean dataset, codebook, and weighted tabulations |
Week 8 |
|
6 |
Draft analytical report with provincial ranking, typology, and recommendations |
Week 9 |
|
7 |
Validation workshop/PPT deck for WMC management and final report, final dataset package, and short decision brief (5–7 pages) |
Week 10 |
9. Indicative timeline
|
Phase |
Weeks 1–2 |
Weeks 3–4 |
Weeks 5–8 |
Weeks 9–10 |
|
Inception and design |
X |
|
|
Methodology, sample and tools approved |
|
Pilot and revision |
|
X |
|
Pilot completed and tools finalised |
|
Fieldwork |
|
|
X |
Household data collected and quality checked |
|
Analysis and reporting |
|
|
X |
Toplines, weighting, ranking framework |
|
Validation and finalisation |
|
|
|
Draft report, workshop, final package |
- Proven experience designing and managing household surveys in Cambodia.
- Strong expertise in media research, audience segmentation, and quantitative analysis.
- Demonstrated understanding of rural communication, gender issues, and inclusive research practice.
- Ability to work in remote provinces and manage multilingual or Indigenous research contexts where relevant.
- Experience producing actionable decision tools, dashboards, or prioritisation frameworks for programme investment.
11. Management and reporting arrangements
- The consultant/team will report to the designated WMC focal point. WMC will review and approve the inception report, tools, sampling plan, and draft/final deliverables. Regular progress updates shall be provided at least once per week during active fieldwork and analysis.
12. Ethical and safeguarding requirements
- Obtain informed consent from all respondents.
- Protect respondent privacy and personal data.
- Ensure participation is voluntary and non-coercive.
- Avoid collecting identifying information unless strictly necessary.
- Apply gender-sensitive and culturally respectful research protocols.
- Use referral guidance where interviews surface distress, violence, or protection concerns.
13. Proposal submission requirements
- Technical proposal describing understanding of the assignment, methodology, sample design, and workplan.
- Financial proposal with itemised budget.
- Team composition and CVs of key personnel.
- Examples of similar household survey or media research assignments.
14. Budget and payment schedule
- The consultant shall propose a detailed budget covering personnel, training, piloting, travel, accommodation, field allowances, translation, data processing, analysis, and reporting. A milestone-based payment schedule may be agreed, for example: 20% upon approval of the inception report; 30% upon completion of fieldwork; 20% upon submission of cleaned dataset and toplines; and 30% upon acceptance of the final report and decision brief.
15. Expected final use of findings
- which provinces or district clusters are immediate priorities for traditional relay expansion;
- which places should be served through a hybrid radio-digital model;
- which areas should remain digital-first for the near term; and
- what content and scheduling adjustments are most likely to increase uptake in each category.
Please send CV and cover letter to
Email: info@wmc.org.kh , ed@wmc.org.kh
Phone: 023 881 497
Website: https://wmc.org.kh
Please mention "www.Cambodiajobs.Biz" where you saw the ad when you apply!
