The South Asia Media and Governance Network Programme (MAGNET) is an action-research project which is supporting the creation of a media - government - civil society forum in each of three South Asian cities:

While multistakeholder partnerships are common in South Asia and elsewhere, the incorporation of the local news media as an equal partner in the decision-making
structure is an innovation on traditional government -
NGO partnerships. The experiences gleaned through the establishment of these fora will be used to contribute to an improved understanding of the media's role in multistakeholder approaches to governance problems in developing countries.

Each forum meets regularly to identify and discuss pressing issues facing the urban poor and is responsible for the design and implementation of demonstration
urban service delivery improvement projects within its city. A small amount of funding is provided to the fora
for these projects and forum partners are expected to augment these funds with their own resources and funds and resources from other sources. The deliberation and project implementation in each forum is being observed and documented by a local action researcher, with a view towards documenting the internal dynamics of the forum and its impact on both governance and service delivery.

The MAGNET Programme was conceived and is managed by the Institute On Governance, a Canadian non-profit think-tank which works to promote and create knowledge about governance in Canada and internationally.