Pii is committed to developing researched-based programs with measurable results. The Pii implementation of Media Initiative For Children was evaluated by Dr. Paul Connolly, who had co-authored with Alan Smith and Berni Kelly, groundbreaking research on young children. Their report, “Too Young to Notice? The Cultural and Political Awareness of 3-6 Year Olds in Northern Ireland,” was the first in-depth study of the impact of community attitudes and behavior on young children. Research is a critical indicator of success or failure and is a part of every MIFC.

"We did a large study in 2001 where we surveyed 350 children ages 3-6 in Northern Ireland, across the board, random sample, from every background and area. We simply showed them as many different things which were associated with Northern Ireland as possible.

"What our findings actually showed was that if we start listening to children's voices, you find that actually they are being impacted on by the violence, by the conflict. They are picking up the division. They were learning emotionally, instinctively what it meant to be Catholic or Protestant.

"They were learning cues and ways of telling people apart. They're developing the attitudes and dispositions of their community but they didn't have the knowledge to back it up." - Dr. Paul Connolly, Queen's University, Belfast