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October 2006


Snippets

OED Subscription Renewed
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the ultimate authority on the English language, is available to CGIAR staff members for another year. Negotiations by the ICT-KM Program mean that staff can continue accessing the 20-volume Second Edition of this definitive dictionary, plus at least 1,800 new and revised words each quarter, without even having to turn a page. A few clicks of a mouse will take users to the online version of the dictionary, where they can find the meaning of more than 600,000 words and take advantage of an array of sophisticated yet easy-to-use search functions. This handy resource, which has experienced an increase in the number of CGIAR users over the last few years, is available to all staff either at http://www.oed.com or via CGXchange. Since OED is accessible by IP authentication only, access will not be granted to users on the road or at home.

CGVlibrary Hailed as an Example
A presentation of the CGVlibrary by Luz Marina Alvare, IFPRI's Head of Information and Knowledge Management, at the recent USAIN (United States Agriculture Information Network) 2006 Conference was so well received that the CGIAR's only System-wide online library is being hailed as the example to follow when creating a one-stop shop for agricultural information. Indeed, New York's Cornell University Library, the host and main sponsor for the conference, wants to work with the CGIAR to build a soil and health quickset. Kudos to Luz Marina (who coordinates the ICT-KM project responsible for the CGVlibrary) and the team of CGIAR Information Managers for a job well done.

Monitoring and Evaluation for Learning
Although monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are widely regarded as useful components in program and project management, many organizations have cultures, histories or procedures that undermine their effective use for learning and reporting. The ICT-KM Program has been actively applying M&E components to support ongoing learning and decision making as it implements its three-year strategy. Read all about the Program's experience to date in Monitoring and Evaluation: The ICT-KM Program Experience, a paper that offers suggestions for overcoming constraints to the use of M&E.

Upcoming Events

GFAR Invitation
The ICT-KM Program has been invited to facilitate a session entitled "Blending Knowledge Systems for an Inclusive Approach to Innovation" at the GFAR 2006 Conference to be held at the National Agricultural Science Center, New Delhi, India, on 10 November 2006. The interactive knowledge sharing session will discuss ways of blending international science with local knowledge in order to improve the livelihood of the poor, and how best to build collegial relationships essential for concrete results. Find out more about this event in the next issue of ICT-KM News.


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High-Speed Internet Developments in South America

New remote sensing platforms and data programs have dramatically increased the availability of satellite image data for the analysis of climate, agriculture, environment and society. However, substantial problems remain in acquiring and managing large data volumes. Data providers and consumers usually incur significant costs in copying remote sensing data to tapes and disks. Internet transfer of satellite imagery is only possible on broadband networks. Even then, downloads times can be considerable – a situation that is often compounded by unstable Internet connections.

Academic and research networks have led developments in high-speed Internet in a bid to improve the acquisition of large volumes of data, with many countries installing the necessary infrastructure to develop these networks. In the United States, such a system is referred to as Internet 2, Latin American countries are developing a system called RedCLARA (Cooperación Latinoamericana de Redes Avanzadas), and Colombia launched the National Advanced Academic and Technology Network (RENATA) at the beginning of this year.

More recently, during the 12th meeting of the Society of Latin American Remote Sensing Specialists (SELPER) held in Cartagena, Colombia, in September 2006, CIAT presented a conference paper that assesses the potential of high-speed Internet as a medium for transferring large satellite imagery data sets between the US and Colombia, between Colombia and other Latin American countries, and within Colombia.

Download times for transferring data were assessed and comparisons were made between the efficiency of high-speed networks and normal broadband, as well as between other means of transferring satellite data. Download times using the high-speed networks were four times faster than conventional Internet speeds. However, it is felt that it is possible to get download times that are 15 times faster. The limitations are not technological but arise from the bandwidth that Colombia purchased in the initial phase of Internet2 development. Once programs have estimated their needs for Internet2, more bandwidth will be purchased, making higher download speeds possible.

High-speed Internet access at CIAT, CIP and CIMMYT was developed under the ICT-KM Program.

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