Periodicals: Support to start-up costs

CTA is prepared to assist with meeting the start-up costs of a limited number of periodicals for a 2-3 year period; it may do this by buying subscriptions or supporting specific costs relating to translation, production or distribution. This support is for journals or bulletins in fields of particular interest to ACP countries that are not adequately covered by other periodicals or organisations. CTA's support is generally limited to the start-up phase; it is not intended to sustain such publications.

The objective is to promote periodicals that respond to the information needs of one or more ACP target groups to a wider audience, whilst allowing them time to become self-financing. However, experience shows that these periodicals find it difficult to survive after CTA has withdrawn its support; emphasis is therefore placed on supporting journals with a sound business plan.

CTA does not have the means to support, indefinitely, the numerous requests for funding for bulletins and journals. Moreover, advances in communication and information technology have prompted CTA to examine the different options for disseminating information according to the target public (e.g. printed material versus electronic format). The Internet allows the Centre to offer an alternative to ACP networks and institutions for disseminating their information.

CTA's continued support to a small number of periodicals is therefore based on the following criteria:

• The theme or field covered must meet the thematic priorities of the ACP regions
• The periodical must not duplicate information from other sources or channels supported by other organisations in the same field
• The content must be reliable and the presentation appropriate for the target audience
• There must be evidence of a comprehensive business plan for the periodical
• The periodical must have a large potential readership
• The publication must appear regularly within a reasonable time limit.

This type of support takes into account the activities being implemented by the Information and Capacity Development Department (ICDD).