• Easy MTP has left the building...
  
  
• Knowledge Sharing Workshop kicks off
  
  
• A Science Week with a difference
  
  
• Now we’re cooking! Good practices for managing research data
  
  
• Ensuring quality training and education in the CGIAR
  
  
• Consortium on Spatial Information (CSI): Stocktaking, strategic positioning and a new funding opportunity
  
  
• ICT-KM Team News
  
  

Advancing Agriculture in Developing Countries through Knowledge and Innovation
The International Food Policy Research Institute's ISNAR Division held an international consultative conference in Addis Ababa at the Hilton Hotel April 7 – 9, 2008 on "Advancing agriculture in developing countries through knowledge and innovation." Scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from a wide range of sectors came together to exchange ideas and experiences (positive or negative) on how knowledge and innovation (technological, organizational, and institutional) are affecting agricultural advancement. The conference showcased innovative research in the field and provide a forum to identify further areas for research and cooperation.

The ICT-KM program is a sponsor of this event and delivered a paper to the conference and will be contributing a chapter in the resulting book on knowledge and innovation experiences for improving developing-country agriculture. The book will show knowledge and innovation frameworks, applications, methods, and empirical research results.

ESA training meeting and workshop and wrap up meeting
At the end of 2007, the ICT-KM program entered into agreement with CIP to take leadership of a project for the Americas Centers (CIAT, CIMMYT, CIP and IFPRI) that focuses on enterprise security activities for these Centers. These activities have included improving the security of Centers network infrastructure; fortifying the CGIAR global network security by including analysis of the CGNET NOC; securing intellectual property, and training information systems security personnel.

One of the key components of this project is the ESA training meeting and workshop and wrap up meeting being held in Lima from 31 March through 11 April. Participating are two participants from each of CIAT, CIMMYT, IFPRI, plus guests from Bioversity, ICARDA, WorldAgroforestry and ILRI (total 10). This packed ten days will include a CISSP (Certified Information Security Systems Professional) certification preparatory course; a CEH  (Certified Ethical Hacker) certification preparatory course; a ESA project review which also benefits from the guest participants in pulling together the threads of the ESA project with a similar global project (Enterprise Security and Business Continuity Project) that wrapped up in 2007.

Latest word from Anthony Collins, the ESA project manager is that the consensus view emerging from the meeting is that the ESA group will be forging ahead in stimulating the establishment of a base-line of agreed best practices on information systems security and standards for the CGIAR.