Stephen Rudgard

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Management and Communication of
Agricultural Scientific Information
Stephen Rudgard Chief WAICENT Capacity Building
and Outreach
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Contents

• The Challenge
• Objectives
• Constraints
• Institutional Capacities
• Human Capacities
• Partnerships

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Principal Challenge
Agricultural Research Organizations

• Core competencies in Research Development
• Imperative
• to acquire information and
• to communicate outputs.
• Opportunities in the New Technologies

Many Organizations are not addressing the
challenge adequately.
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Key Objectives

• Information Content - in digital format, for
  agriculture and rural development
• Innovative Mechanisms and Processes for
  information digitization and exchange, and for
  communication
• Networks amongst key stakeholders

5
Key Constraints

• Institutional Capacities lack of resources and
  appropriate organizational structures
• Human Capacities lack of awareness and skills
• Partnerships poor outreach to key service
  providers and audiences

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Institutional Capacities Investing in Information

• New Institutional Structures
• New Skills and/or New People
• New Content Digital
• New Technologies

• Minimise impact of change
• learn lessons from others
• use existing technologies

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Who are the stakeholders?

• Rural communities and their representatives
• Other scientists
• Government policy-makers and their advisers

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Priority Areas

• Document management and e-publishing
• Rural information and communication systems
• Decision support tools

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Document Management
AGRIS Network Manage Disseminate Documents
www.fao.org/agris
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New AGRIS Vision (2002)

• decentralized approach
• greater diversity of participating organizations
• strengthened role in capacity building
• focus on full text documents
• greater availability of associated information
  about activities/organizations/people
• set of web-enabled standards (AGMES),
  methodologies (AGRIS Application Profiles,
  AGROVOC), and tools (WebAGRIS)

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Rural Information and Communication Systems

• Networking tools and processes for exchange and
  access to information and communication

VERCON (Virtual Extension, Research and
Communication Network)
FarmNet - Farmers Information Network
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Decision-support Tools(for policymakers)

• Briefings
• Policy Papers
• Prediction Models

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Human Capacities
Information Management Resource Kit
(IMARK) Partnership-based e-learning initiative

• Modules - a series of computer-based distance
  learning curricula and resources
• On-line Community - a "virtual" community on the
  Internet for contributors and learners

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IMARK Modules

• Published
• Management of Electronic Documents
• Digitization and Digital Libraries
• Mid-2005
• Investing in Agricultural Information
• Building Electronic Communities

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IMARK supporting AGRIS

• Blended learning
• Face-to-Face
• Distance
• Institutional networks
• SIDALC
• INFOTEC
• Regional Training Courses
• National Training Courses

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Building Partnerships to Build Capacity

• National/Regional
• NARS
• Universities
• IICA
• CARDI
• FORAGRO
• etc.

• International
• FAO
• GFAR
• CGIAR
• BID
• World Bank
• etc

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Summary

• Institutional change
• Investment
• Tools and guidelines
• Capacity building
• Partnership