The Nepali government has been distributing welfare advertisements to the media since 1959. The main aim behind this practice was to provide economic support or media sustenance in the absence of alternative sources of revenue for media houses at that time. But the economic scenario of Nepali media has changed largely in comparison to the 1950s and the 1960s. Yet, a huge amount of public funds is still being spent in the name of welfare advertisement.

By analyzing policy documents related to welfare advertisements, and by comparing it to the nature of public welfare advertising in other countries, this paper shows that it is the media that is benefiting the most from the distribution of the advertisements as opposed to the public. It argues that instead of media sustenance, public welfare should be the main purpose of the distribution of welfare advertising. To ensure public welfare, it suggests ways to reform the current practice of distributing public welfare advertising and highlights the importance of public awareness messages reaching the right audience.

There has been an unmatched increase in the number CSOs in Nepal post-1990. The working areas of these CSOs vary. While some simply implement project activities, others focus on policy advocacy. Different organizations working in various sectors tend to have their own advocacy strategies developed through collaboration with organizations working in similar sectors. The understanding of advocacy among these organizations tends to be similar. The tools and techniques used by these organizations also appear to be similar. The only observable difference is the frequency and timing of use of these tools and techniques. This study suggests that CSOs in Nepal should coordinate and collaborate with each other. Collaboration among organizations working in same sector as well as among organizations working in different sectors would allow such organizations to learn from one another‟s mistakes and best practices. A consortium of CSOs specializing in policy advocacy therefore is necessary to deal with the challenges that CSOs are facing during a time of political transition of the nation and increasing donor dependence for funding.

Over the last few decades, the role of ‘group-formation’ for community development has drawn substantial interest from policy makers, academics and development practitioners. The paper aims to examine the growing popularity of these development groups especially in the context where ‘groups’ are now the common entry point in the programme designs of most development agencies, programme and projects in Nepal. The increasing popularity of this approach brings attention to some important questions. Is group formation a sin-qua-non for community development? Does group mobilization always work out as per expectation?
The purpose of this paper is not to provide a complete alternate option to the group approach but rather raise a note of caution on why excessive reliance on this strategy must be viewed cautiously. By highlighting some issues related to this approach, this paper aims to indicate that although groups formed for community-driven development have great potential, they should not be viewed as a panacea for developing communities’ rather just one component to tackle the dynamics of developmental challenges.