The CMI suggests that there are four key dimensions of a media project that need to be assessed in order for a full and balanced picture of the state of the project to emerge. 

• Dimension 1 – Purpose and Impact: This dimension addresses a project’s strategic assessment of their environment, the development of a vision and strategic goal, the extent to which this vision informs the project’s activities, and the extent to which the project has actualised its vision in the period under review.

• Dimension 2 – Ownership & Control: This dimension looks at the degree to which community stakeholders participate at all levels of the project. It reviews the ownership model, participation in management, planning, reporting, reflecting and editorial/programming. This dimension makes an assessment of the extent of the projects engagement with its Development Eco-System, it looks at stakeholder mapping, partnerships and collaborations.

• Dimension 3 – Organisational & Financial Sustainability: This dimension assesses the strength and functionality of an organisation’s systems including governance and decision taking, human resource development, financial management, and critically, the ability of the project to develop and grow different income streams. 

• Dimension 4 – Quality Content: This dimension will assess the extent to which the project’s editorial/programming meets the information and expression needs of its community. It will assess the editorial/programming in terms of the representation of women and marginal groups in the community, bias towards institutions holding political, social, or economic power, the application of media ethics, accuracy and fairness in reporting, the spread of stories and sources, quality of presentation, and the extent to which the programming upholds and advances the values contained in South African Bill of Rights.