Ofcom have announced the membership of its Community Radio Fund Panel.
The Panel has been set up under the Communications Act 2003 to manage and administer the new Community Radio Fund. The three-member panel will report to the Ofcom Board and produce an Annual Report.
The Community Radio Fund was established by Government to provide financial support to new community radio broadcasters. For the current financial year, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has made ?500,000 available to the Fund, and has indicated that a similar figure will be available for the next two years.
The three members are:
Kevin Carey (Chair) is the founder Director of humanITy, a charity which focuses on Information and Communications Technologies and social inclusion. He is also a National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts Fellow in accessible broadcasting, and Vice Chair of the RNIB. Kevin is a member of Ofcom’s Content Board.
Richard Hilton is Head of Management Accounting at Business in the Community, a charity and membership organisation that works with companies to improve the positive impact of business on society. He is also Treasurer of the Community Media Association (CMA) which is a UK membership association that supports organisations that manage local community-based radio, television and internet projects.
Thomas Prag is Chairman of Media Support Solutions which specialises in setting up radio stations within developing countries such as Afghanistan and Botswana. He was the Radio Authority?s member for Scotland and Chairman of its Access Radio pilot scheme. Previously, he was Managing Director of Moray Firth Radio, Inverness. He is a member of Ofcom?s Advisory Committee for Scotland.
The Community Radio Fund Panel will be inviting applications for the 2005/06 Fund towards the end of November 2005. Any group that holds a community radio licence will be able to seek financial support from the Fund.