Final Viewership Evaluation Report – Singha Durbar: Creating Possibilities for Collaborative Political Culture in the Public Imagination

Singha Durbar (SD) is a television, radio drama, and outreach initiative that was designed to create possibilities for a collaborative political culture in the Nepalese public imagination. The program was implemented from January 2014 to October 2018, with support from the United States Agency for International Development.
The overarching theme of the drama is good governance and leadership. It depicts how an inclusive government can function well during challenging times and highlight how various arms of the government actually address important issues, including climate change, food security, health, human trafficking, gender, and social inclusion, by presenting a model of collaborative leadership that is able to resolve differences without violence.
The findings from the 2018 final evaluation viewership survey demonstrate that the TV drama was very successful in depicting collaborative governance and influential women in leadership positions. An overwhelming number of respondents (63%) categorized women leadership as the most memorable theme of the drama. Similarly, a majority of the key informants pointed out that the increased women representation was the most liked theme in SD. The data evidenced that people are getting more aware about the importance of good political leader. 65% viewers and 62% non-viewers of the TV series responded that if both men and women were to stand as candidates in the election, they would choose their leader as per the leadership quality that each of the candidate possess. The TV drama was also successful in meeting its goals for increasing public awareness of central and local government mechanisms. The data indicates that SD viewers had a better understanding on the roles and responsibilities as compared to their non-viewer counterparts. After viewing the series, 33% of the viewers realized that their interest towards government activities increased to a great extent, and 53% were positive about the fact that characters and issues presented in SD have provided them with a basis to discuss about good governance and collaborative leadership.