IRIN Evaluation Report - March 2003
by Graham Mytton & Sharon Rusu

102. During the course of the evaluation, OCHA senior management, IRIN management and some staff were interviewed. The purpose of these interviews was to collect and analyse management and staff perceptions with a view to identifying concerns regarding the current and future sustainability of IRIN. The interviews identified that the major concern was sustainability and cost-effectiveness. On the basis of these two benchmarks, three indicators were established against which to assess IRIN management performance:
     
     • IRIN performance on products and services: end user satisfaction (already postively reviewed in Part 2 and below)
     • realizing savings through progress in technology
     • effectively managed planning, staffing, and resources
103. These indicators are used hereafter to assess IRIN's sustainability and cost-effectiveness, beginning with end user satisfaction as an indicator of customer satisfaction with IRIN's products and services.

     End User Satisfaction

104. Assessing end user satisfaction rates or IRIN's value-added to its users is one indicator by which to gauge management strength. As reviewed under IRIN's performance on products and services in Part 2, the view of the majority of IRIN users is that they found IRIN's products impressive, its service personal and responsive, and its scope and style unique. They further found IRIN widely accessible via email and its website, useful for many purposes and at no cost. An important aspect of IRIN's value-added, however, was that its users perceived that its content influences decision-making: from passing on important stories through the use of IRIN content for briefings and as case studies for students, to decisions on programmes or projects based on IRIN's daily monitoring or features of often conflicting views on humanitarian situations. Finally, IRIN subscribers find it so valuable a source that two out of four of pass on content to others, with the result that IRIN's potential audience and impact are multiplied and enhanced.

     Advances in technology

105. By 2000 the number of IRIN subscribers had grown to 10,000 with the result that the old system was at the limit of its carrying capacity. Under the old system, e-mail distribution was centrally controlled out of Nairobi, and the website was hosted by ReliefWeb and updated in Johannesburg. The annual cost for connectivity through UNON in Nairobi was US$60,000 annually with related staffing costs for staff dedicated to the e-mail distribution and subscriber management. Under the old system, reports went out at the end of the day, with the largest distribution on Fridays. Due to connectivity problems posed by Kenyan telcoms and UNOP not working on weekends, IRIN IT staff often worked overtime. Under the old system, daily e-mail distribution took between 12 and 14 hours, while under the new system delivery of an article to all subscribers takes less than 5 minutes. At the same time, the website is updated as the articles are written. The move to a new system ³⁰, has saved on both staff and distribution costs even though IRIN has continued to make provision for those who are 'digitally disadvantaged'. ³¹ IRIN estimates total savings in the area of US$255,792 annually (See table below for breakdown).
106. Though the total benefits of the new system are not easily quantifiable, reduction in unit production costs are one indicator (as a result of the new, more visible website which translates into increased links with other websites and user hits), and subscriber increases are another. Subscriber increases were 53% in 2001 (the first year of operation of the new system), and 39% at November 2002. Based on predicted increases in subscriptions for IRIN Central Asia service, PlusNews and continuing increases in the French service if suitably enhanced, estimated yearly projected growth in 2003 on subscriptions is 35%. An additional benefit with the new system, is its capacity to support statistical analysis which permits IRIN to amass details on report production, subscriber behaviour and preferences impossible under the old system.³²
     
     

     Type (yearly)	Old System	New System	Savings
     Distribution	60,000	7,200	52,800
     Staff costs	331,700	203,204	128,492
     Subscriber management	92,496	18,000	74,500
     Total	484,196	228,404	255,792
     Table 1: IRIN's old and new system savings in US dollars

     
     
107. IRIN's new system has already proven its worth in cost savings, web access and reporting. However, outside its control are communication links in Nairobi that pose a continual problem and expense. Thus a reliable high-speed connection is a necessary future expenditure. 'Down time' occurs often (on the average 8 hours per week), along with a slow link and other complications. IRIN has taken steps to right this problem through a V-SAT connection for which they have presently requested proposals from service providers. The indications of potential costs at this time for a suitable link are US$50,000.00 for installation and US$ 6,000.00 monthly for a high-speed connection. Though expensive, V-SAT is the recommended option in countries like Kenya where local service providers cannot deliver and reliable service. The V-SAT option is recommended solely for Nairobi as other IRIN offices have reliable connections via local service providers that are a good and less expensive option than V-SAT.³³
108. Another useful indicator of the impact of the new system on IRIN's performance can be drawn from analyzing the numbers and user preferences of visitors to the IRIN website. Website activity rose dramatically from 2000 to 2002. In 2002, IRIN received roughly 4 million hits per month (July 2002), against 1million in 2001 and 500,000 in 2000. At the same time, sites linking to IRIN have increased exponentially: in November 2002 over 8000 sites linked to IRIN an increase of 60% from March 2002. The e-survey of IRIN users showed that the majority of IRIN email subscribers - 73% - also visit the IRIN website, and one in four IRIN users had visited the IRIN website within the previous week. Judging from this performance, the website is both a complement and an alternative to the email service, with the added value of greatly enhancing IRIN's global visibility and access.

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