This is part of Sapio Research’s series: 16 Useful Desk Research Sources and how to use them
What is it?
BBC Media Action is an independent charity that spearheads media and communication projects with the aim of aiding people who are coping with turbulent times, improving health, and ensuring the accountability of leaders.
Their researchers conduct surveys in Africa, Asia and the Middle East to better understand the lives of the population in the developing world.
Who can use it?
The information that these researchers provide helps understand how people make decisions, what their views on social issues are and what they think about the power structures around them.
Information found during this investigative work is used to inform the production of TV, radio, and online programs. Furthermore, the data provided by BBC Media Action can be used by those who wish to monitor or stimulate change or learn from the data about how to build future projects. Media Action shares their findings as far as possible; they publish a report to be used by policy-makers.
How to use it
BBC Media Action offers free access to their research, insights, and publications. However, its most powerful feature is its data portal, which provides a breakdown of their data by country and theme, it displays this information on interactive charts.
To access the data portal, first head to the research and insight section of the website.

Next, click on the data portal tab. This page also contains research and insights, and highlights from BBC Media Action’s blog.

You can start to explore the data by selecting a country and a theme.

You will be provided with some key insights and be able to refine your search further by selecting a research question.

From here you can review the data, add breaks and even export the chart for later use.
