"Internews’ research reveals a confluence of conditions in ASEAN that make the present time a critical moment for Freedom of Expression / Right to Information (FoE/RTI) interventions in the region. As donor support dwindles, and threats to FoE increase, there is a danger of a severe roll-back of the rights and freedoms in the region that underpin thriving democracies. The backdrop to this scenario – ASEAN integration along with various other regional synergies – has created an opening for dialogue on key social issues such as FoE/RTI that connect countries within the region." (Conclusion)

"Donors are increasingly bundling their support for FoE/RTI initiatives under the broader funding streams of governance or poverty alleviation, decreasing the overall funding available for FoE/ RTI, and leaving expert groups in the region with diminished resources, and little margin for error or experimentation. A significant finding of the research points to a shift in financial commitment by donors away from freedom of expression and right to information initiatives as programme priorities that deserve separate and focused funding. This results in a decrease in funding for FoE/RTI interventions and compounds the already vulnerable foundation for FoE in the region. This means that the technical and institutional strength of the many local and regional organisations, expert in their respective field, is significantly underserved. In turn, this means the sustainability of more promising approaches is at risk. Some organisations receive modest organisational capacity support for limited periods of time, but rarely enough to achieve significant traction. Additionally, the more prominent international or regional donors in this area (at the time of writing) tend to focus their efforts on lobbying, advocacy and campaigning." (Page 16)