Survey Background
Bamenda Radio Listenership Survey · Northwest Cameroon
- Foundation Radio (FR)
- Youth Outreach Program · Bamenda
- Johns Hopkins University SAIS · Washington, DC
300
Final valid responses
309
Surveys collected
21
Youth surveyors
10
Survey teams
Jun 30 – Jul 1
Training Phase
21 youths aged 12–29 from the Youth Outreach Programme trained to design, create and implement a city-wide survey instrument.
Jul 2–4
Fieldwork Phase
Ten teams of two carried out the survey across neighborhoods, quarters and surrounding villages of Bamenda. Each team covered a distinct geographic area.
Post-survey
Focus Group & Analysis
A focus group with surveyors reviewed initial findings for interpretation and context, and evaluated the overall efficacy of the survey instrument.
Between June 30 and July 1, 21 youths from the Youth Outreach Programme, aged between 12 and 29, were given training to design, create and implement a city-wide survey. Over the following three days (July 2–4), these youths carried out the survey in neighborhoods and quarters around Bamenda and surrounding villages.
The surveyors worked in ten teams of two (and in one case, three), with one surveyor acting as the interviewer and the other as the recorder. Each team was given a 40-page notebook to record answers, with each interview expected to take the front and back of one page — no more than 10 minutes per interview, with an estimated 20 minutes between interviews. With ten teams conducting ten interviews a day for three days, the target was 300 surveys. In fact, 309 were collected, allowing some to be set aside as incomplete or contaminated, bringing the final number to exactly 300.
Up-Station
Sonac Sheet
Bali Park
Nghomgam
Mendankwe
Nkwen
Ntarinkon
Bambili
Old Town
Food Market
Key Preliminary Findings
✔️ Respondents indicated a strong desire for news — both local and international. News far outranked all other program types.
✔️ Gospel music and Cameroonian music styles were the most commonly preferred music categories.
✔️ After three months on air, Foundation Radio is listened to regularly by 6% of all respondents — but the station's existence is widely known.
✔️ Foundation Radio's listenership skews toward an under-35 age demographic.
✔️ Regular Foundation Radio listeners are significantly more likely to have purchased a product heard advertised on the radio.
The results from this survey will assist Foundation Radio in accomplishing its objectives to facilitate citizens' access to information and promote a well-informed citizenship. Taken only three months after the station began broadcasting, this survey is intended to serve as a benchmark for future evaluations — allowing FR to concretely evaluate its efforts and impact on the community.
📻 Foundation Radio
Research Team
🔴 Audrey Bottjen
MA Candidate · Johns Hopkins SAIS
🔴 Nicholas Wexler
MA Candidate · Johns Hopkins SAIS
🔴 Youth Outreach Programme
21 surveyors · Bamenda, Cameroon