3️⃣ Adopt a whole-of-system approach
Take a whole of system perspective on supporting the media and information environment to make support more relevant, effective and sustainable.
How to use this section
For a quick self-assessment, see Checklist: Adopt a whole-of-System approach
For practical examples and applications, see Case studies and field insights
In brief
Principle 3 focuses on understanding and supporting the media and information environment as an interconnected system, rather than a collection of individual projects or isolated interventions.
In practice, this means recognising that media organisations and media development actors operate within a broader ecosystem shaped by laws, markets, technologies, governance structures, and social dynamics. Funding, regulation, and policy decisions interact - and can either reinforce or undermine each other.
When interventions are designed in isolation, they risk fragmentation, duplication, and limited impact. A whole-of-system approach helps ensure that different actions - financial, regulatory, and programmatic - are aligned and mutually reinforcing.
Why this principle matters
Independent media do not function in isolation. Their viability and independence depend on market conditions, regulatory frameworks, digital infrastructure, and audience trust.
Interventions that focus narrowly on content production or individual organisations may overlook structural constraints such as platform dominance, weak advertising markets, legal restrictions, or limited access to infrastructure (see case study 4: governance risk and the role of media oversight in infrastructure investments). Similarly, policy or regulatory reforms may fail if they are not matched with financial and institutional support.
This is reflected in practice, where stakeholders report that support often remains fragmented, with limited coordination and insufficient alignment across interventions, reducing overall effectiveness.
Applying a whole-of-system approach helps ensure that support contributes to resilient, pluralistic, and economically viable media ecosystems, rather than addressing symptoms in isolation. It also reduces the risk that well-intentioned interventions create gaps, overlaps, or unintended consequences across the system.
Where this shows up in practice
This principle is most visible in how different parts of the media and information ecosystem are addressed in combination:
Alignment between funding, policy, and regulation may be limited, leading to situations where strategic priorities are not reflected in funding decisions or regulatory frameworks
Coordination across institutions, donors, and implementing actors may be uneven, resulting in parallel or overlapping interventions rather than coherent approaches
Integration of media support with digital, governance, and economic programmes may be partial, limiting the ability to address structural factors affecting media viability
Engagement with local ecosystems - including civil society, regulators, and private sector actors - may not reflect the full range of actors shaping the information environment
Use of data and evidence to understand system dynamics may be insufficient, reducing the ability to identify interdependencies and emerging risks
These challenges often arise when different actors operate in parallel rather than in coordination, when interventions address individual components without considering system effects, or when incentives are misaligned across funding, policy, and implementation. These dynamics are illustrated in case study 7: coordination challenges and joint responses in crisis contexts.
What this looks like in practice
Do
Design interventions that consider the interdependence between media organisations, media development actors, regulators, platforms, and markets
Align funding with relevant policy, regulatory, and digital frameworks where possible
Coordinate with other donors and stakeholders to improve coherence and coverage across the ecosystem
Support both institutional capacity and enabling environments, including legal and market conditions
Use data and analysis to understand how different parts of the system interact and evolve over time
Avoid
Treating media support as a standalone sector disconnected from governance, digital, or economic policies
Designing interventions in isolation without considering existing initiatives or system-wide effects
Focusing exclusively on short-term outputs without addressing structural constraints
Creating parallel structures that duplicate or compete with existing local systems
Overlooking how interventions may shift incentives or create imbalances within the ecosystem
Consider
How different interventions - funding, policy, regulation - interact within the same ecosystem
Whether coordination mechanisms are sufficient to avoid duplication and fragmentation
How to balance support for individual organisations with broader system-level reforms
What role different actors (public, private, civil society) play in shaping the information environment
How system dynamics may evolve over time, including technological and market changes
Field insight
“The whole-system approach means engaging governments, agencies, civil society, and media together. Without that dialogue, we just fund isolated projects.”
- Development agency representative
Key takeaway
Supporting independent media requires more than isolated interventions. It requires alignment across funding, policy, regulation, and market dynamics within the broader information ecosystem.
A whole-of-system approach helps ensure that interventions are coherent, complementary, and capable of producing sustained impact, rather than fragmented or short-lived results.
For practical examples of how system-level dynamics affect media support, see:
Further reading:
Media Viability Manifesto initiative (2024), The Media Viability Manifesto: A Common Framework for Joint Action
How this links to other principles
Principle 1 (Do no harm): System interactions can create unintended consequences if risks are not assessed across the ecosystem
Principle 2 (Increase funding): Funding decisions influence market dynamics and must align with broader system conditions
Principle 4 (Local ownership): Local actors are essential to understanding and shaping system dynamics in context
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