The Triple-A Framework to Make Research Available and Useful

If you look behind the production of high quality science, you will likely find people who are propelled to do what the do, day in and day out, by a passion for science and a dedication to improve the livelihoods of others. The work of a researcher often entails a strict attention to detail that might frustrate lesser-dedicated people. But think how much more frustrating it must be for a scientist to discover that the output of his research hasn’t reached all of the people who could benefit from it. Research outputs should be made easily available to all potential users, but the reality is that such outputs are often used once by the organization instigating the research, and then left to idle on a computer’s hard drive or in a database with restricted access or in a seldom-read publication.

On 30 November 2008, the ICT-KM Program, the Forum on Agricultural Research for Africa (FARA) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID - through its R4D initiative) conducted a side-session attended by some 35 people at the CGIAR’s Annual General Meeting in Maputo, Mozambique. The session convened to discuss 'Opening Access to Agricultural Research - A Triple-A Framework to Make Research Available and Useful.’ Participants represented complementary disciplines: communications, information management, science, and science management. The session followed an earlier presentation with senior CGIAR managers as part of a discussion on international public goods.

The Triple-A Framework, which was developed in late 2007 by the ICT-KM Program and later broadened through partnership with CIARD, focuses on the availability, accessibility and applicability of research outputs.

• Availability: assembling and storing outputs so they will be permanently accessible, and describing them in systems so others know and can find what has been produced.
• Accessibility: making outputs as easy to find and share and as open as possible, in the sense that others are free to use, reuse, and redistribute them, with appropriate acknowledgement and without restrictive legal, technological or financial barriers.
• Applicability: research and innovation processes that are open to different sources of knowledge, and outputs that are easy to adapt, transform, apply and re-use.

An introductory presentation argued that many research outputs, especially in the form of publications, are generally much less accessible than we would wish – but that promising 'pathways to accessibility’ do exist and can make a substantial difference along the entire research cycle. There are also promising new avenues through social media that have potential to open up and diversify research communication.

Participants formed groups to reflect on these notions and to identify concrete pathways and other solutions to overcome accessibility gaps.

Two groups looked particularly at availability and accessibility and one group examining applicability. In general, the Triple-A approach was recognized as useful, particularly to help identify different publishing outlets and services where research outputs should be 'posted.’

Both groups called on research institutes and Centers to adopt common standards to describe and tag their outputs and when building information and web systems. They want the content of these systems to be easy to exchange and share. Initial efforts in this area by the CIARD initiative were recognized to be a good step forward.

One of the groups discussed who should be responsible for these issues – information and communication specialists or scientists themselves. Consensus indicated that both groups have to be made much more aware of what is possible, with researchers and research managers needing additional capacity building, especially to ensure that they make communication an integral part of project planning, from inception to completion.

For the CGIAR, the recent performance monitoring was appreciated as creating an external demand on Centers to collect and list all their peer-reviewed outputs. It was suggested that this should be extended so the Science Council would expect Centers to also deposit a digital copy of all these outputs in a suitable institutional repository. Thus the quality and the accessibility of the outputs would be guaranteed.

Reflecting on the whole emphasis on peer reviewed outputs as 'the’ indicators of science performance, Sheelagh O’Reilly from the Research Into Use Programme argued that publishing outside standard journals should be seen as "not only acceptable but highly appropriate".

The ICT-KM Program will be focusing more on Triple-A activities in 2009 and is exploring possibilities to work with Centers to help improve their current Triple-A standings.

The above article was taken from an ICT-KM Program blog post.

We welcome feedback on the ICT-KM News, so please feel free to contact us at ictkm@cgiar.org