Although the Knowledge ShareFair was held almost two months ago at FAO Headquarters in Rome, the event is still creating a buzz among participants. Articles about the Fair and interviews with people who attended the event are still being posted on the ICT-KM Program’s blog. The most recent posts talk about the impact the Share Fair has had on the work of participants post-Fair. Live the Share Fair through the experiences of Florine Lim, Tonya Schuetz, and Silvia Renn. Feel free to browse the blog and leave your comments.
Since the Fair, we have conducted a Social Media Online Workshop, a two-week event that explored the use of social media and how the various tools can help CGIAR communications experts get their message across more effectively.
The ICT-KM Program likes to practice what it preaches, so we are presently trying out a tool called Twitter, which was explored during the workshop, to see how many more readers we can reach. Twitter is a networked web and mobile phone-based, short messaging system. Also called micro-blogging, this tool allows users to write brief text updates (less than 140 characters) and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted, pre-specified group.
Examples of micro-blogging, wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, podcasting and other innovative social media tools will be explored and presented to you later. However, suffice to say that the main goal is to get the word out and help make our work truly available and accessible.
Towards the end of March, the CGIAR communication experts who participated in the online workshop will converge in Penang for a four-day, face-to-face meeting. Look out for updates on this, and also the launch of CGXchange 2.0, the new way to collaborate in the CGIAR.
In this issue of ICT-KM News you can also read about the inroads CGMap is making in Africa, how our AAA concept is being applied to Centers’ research, the latest addition to the CGXchange team … and much more.
Must go now. Time to get to Penang for the Communications workshop and Nairobi for our first African Geospatial week. Stay tuned!
Enrica
Leader, ICT-KM Program and
Chief Information Officer, CGIAR
Main News
The AAA Way ... Or No way!
The ICT-KM Program’s Triple-A (Availability, Accessibility, Applicability) benchmarking exercise recently kicked off with Bioversity, CIAT, CIP, CIMMYT, ICARDA, ICRAF, WorldFish and the Challenge Program for Water and Food signing up for a self-assessment opportunity that will help improve the impact of their research (click here to view the introductory presentation). Participating Centers and Programs will decide on the level of availability and accessibility they want for their research outputs, and also the pathways to get there. The WorldFish Center’s research outputs are currently being analyzed by an ICT-KM Program consultant, with results scheduled to be announced at the end of March. CIAT is next on the list.
Read More
CGX2.0: The Times They are A-changing
The times they are a-changing. Technology continues to change; the way we collaborate with others has changed; and the way the CGIAR conducts its business is currently undergoing radical change. With the present air of change that is permeating the entire System, it was inevitable that CGXchange would, sooner or later, have to answer the call for a portal that meets current needs. As such, CGXchange’s intranet concept has been exchanged, so to speak, for a dual concept application that satisfies both the need for public content and the need for ‘private’ collaboration spaces.
Read More
Follow the Map to Agriculture Research in Eastern and Southern Africa
The first CGIAR research map is making a big difference to those interested in our work in eastern and southern Africa. These days, instead of spending endless hours tracking down reports and papers, all it takes to get an overview of the Centers’ current research in those regions is a few clicks of a mouse. Powered by CGMap, an application developed by the ICT-KM Program, and populated with data contributed by scientists working in the field, the research map can also help reduce the possibility of duplicated research; facilitate complementary research; encourage collective actions; bring our work to the attention of investors …
Read More
If a Tree Falls and Nobody hears It ...
The recent two-week, Social Media Online Workshop explored how various social media could help CGIAR communication professionals disseminate compelling news stories, and share knowledge and information in a way that the messages are being heard. Thirty communication professionals from the CGIAR investigated how social media can be used to innovate our communication efforts. Tools like blogs, wikis, photo/video sharing, etc. were explored. Participants will meet in Penang, Malaysia, on 23 March 2009 for a four-day face-to-face meeting to discuss, among other things, the role and scope of communications in the new CGIAR.
Read More
Enhanced Website to Better Target Agricultural Investments
HarvestChoice recently launched a comprehensive collection of data products designed to better inform strategic policy and investment decisions aimed at improving farm productivity and profitability, and market development. The website is intended to be the “go-to” resource for analysts and decision makers seeking integrated, consistent, and spatially-referenced information, provided in an interactive portal. The data collection focuses on factors relevant to crop production and marketing in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) agriculture, such as climate, soil and pest conditions and constraints, current and future cropping systems geography and performance, and access to markets.
Read More
Going Beyond the Conventional Use of ICTs in Agriculture
This June, participants at the Science Forum 2009 will have the opportunity to take part in a workshop that will discuss ways of harnessing the potential of computing and ICTs in agricultural science, research and technology for the benefit of resource poor farmers. Participants will seek to identify the global priorities in research in using ICT in agricultural science and technology generation as well as the needs for technologically less developed countries in using ICT.
Read More
CIAT's Super Campus Savers
Not only is CIAT sitting at the forefront of software technology and development (it was the main developer of CGMap), but the Center is also enjoying substantial savings on well-known software products. All of this was made possible by a Campus Agreement, a licensing program that enables educational institutes, and their students, faculty and staff, to take advantage of a wide range of Microsoft products that might otherwise be too costly for them to purchase. Congratulations to CIAT’s IT Department, led by Carlos Meneses, on this initiative.
Find out if your organization is eligible for a Campus Agreement!
Read More
We welcome feedback on the ICT-KM News, so please feel free to contact us at ictkm@cgiar.org