| Dear Colleagues,
Collaborate, Create, Communicate...
The last two
weeks of May have been very intense and extremely productive.
After attending the excellent Negotiation Course organized
by the Gender and Diversity Program, we successfully
held 2 ICT-KM Program Workshops at IPGRI. I would like
to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude
to all participants for generously contributing time
and ideas to the Program. We hope you have also taken
home some good ideas and contacts. I am now getting
ready to travel to Sri Lanka where I will represent
the ICT-KM program at the strategic HR and G&D Meetings
next week.
Details on the activities of the
Program follow. Happy reading!
ICT-KM 2004
INVESTMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENTAL UPDATES
The Content
for Development Projects Coordination Workshop
was successfully held from 20 - 21 May at IPGRI, Rome
and was facilitated by Mark Fulton, a Senior Consultant
from Intersol Group with 17 participants including Project
Coordinators, ICT-KM Advisory Group Representatives,
IT Managers and Information Managers.
The purpose of the
workshop was to improve the coordination of the Content
for Development Projects and thus maximize their impact.
At the end of the workshop, excellent progress towards
a common action plan was made, and numerous linkages
and synergies were identified.
A full report of
the workshop will shortly be distributed to those who
attended. If you are interested in receiving a copy
please contact Florine(f.lim@cgiar.org)
Current Projects Status
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PROJECT UPDATES
Virtual Resources Center
The consultancy
on "Inventory of CGIAR Intranet Needs and Resources"
is now available. Centers are invited to express interest
by 9 June to take charge of this consultancy. The VRC
Content and Policy Team will review requests and a Center
will be chosen by 14 June. Consultancy will commence
on 15 June.
The terms of reference
for the consultancy can be obtain from Dario Valori
(d.valori@cgiar.org),
Project Coordinator of Virtual Resources Center.
Expressions of interest
should be sent to Dario Valori and be composed of a
page describing a) Who will be in charge, b) In which location and c) The composition
of the Team and how it will operate.
Confirmation on
adherence to the due dates given in the attached paper
is critical.
Global Public Goods 2
The proposal for
the Global Public Goods Information Systems Rehabilitation
- Phase 2 (GPG2) Project was submitted to the Center
Directors' Committee. We are currently awaiting the
outcome of the proposal.
This proposed Project
will build on the work of the first phase of the GPG
Investments and on the work of the ICT-KM 2004 Investment
Plan.
In essence the project
describes a vision of a CGIAR managing and sustaining
critical information systems it holds as Global Public
Goods (GPG's), through integrated and collaborative
approaches between CGIAR Centers and national, regional
and international partners and maximizing the value
and use of these GPG's, all in support of more effective
action towards solving problems related to agricultural
development, alleviating poverty and hunger.
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RECENT MEETINGS AND INITIATIVES
Program Evaluation Design Workshop
This workshop took
place from 24 - 26 May at IPGRI, Rome and was led
and facilitated by the Director of IDRC's Evaluation
Unit, Terry Smutylo with 31 participants attending;
Directors General, Deputy Director General, IT Managers,
Information Managers, System Office representatives,
Challenge Programs Representatives, ICT-KM Program Advisory
Group representatives and Project Coordinators.
The workshop introduced
the Outcome Mapping Concepts that were construed as
a useful tool for monitoring and evaluating the ICT-KM
program as a whole and potentially some of its projects.
The objective of the workshop was also to expose colleagues
to a new way of thinking of Monitoring & Evaluating
(M&E) and we hope they benefited from participating
in this.
Information on Outcome
Mapping methodology can be found at www.idrc.ca/evaluation
Examples of Outcome Mapping use: web.idrc.ca/ev-27705-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html.
Let me thank all
the participants on whose ideas we will draw on to prepare
a good M&E Plan for the ICT-KM program.
A full report of
the workshop will shortly be distributed to those who
attended. If you are interested in receiving a copy
please contact Florine (f.lim@cgiar.org)
Mini Advisory Group Meeting
Capitalizing on
the presence of Advisory Group members in Rome, a mini
Advisory Group Meeting was held on 24 May to discuss
some of the most urgent issues relevant to the ICT-KM
Program
Issues discussed
were the ICT-KM Program Update, Investment Plan Update,
Advisory Group Membership, positioning of the Program
at the upcoming AGM, AG Members view, communication
expectations and level of participation.
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TECHNICAL CORNER...
Active Directory Project
This
project is almost complete with IITA, IFPRI, WARDA and
IRRI to join. WARDA has extended their implementation
to an unfixed date in June and IITA has postponed their
update until after 8 June. CGNET have sent an updated
list of all the ISA site routes to the ISA Administrators.
A
short paper outlining the benefits of Active Directory
will shortly be distributed.
Reminder:
weekly updates on the Active Directory project are posted on the IT collaboration site at
http://forum2.ipgri.cgiar.org/cg-it/
IT Managers can log on to the website for details.
Exchange 2003
As you are aware CGNET is assisting CGIAR in planning and
executing its migration to Exchange 2003 by preparing
detailed guidelines and providing center-by-center guidance
throughout the transition process. The CGIAR Policies
Review Team has reviewed the proposed guidelines by
CGNET in consultation with the IT community at large
and responses have already been sent to CGNET. The CGNET
Exchange Team has already responded to the comments
received to date.
Upgrading to Exchange 2003 will commence once all Center
HQ's and remote sites fully migrate to Active Directory.
WorldFish Center has expressed interest to be the
first Center to migrate to Exchange 2003.
The complete set of Exchange 2003 Guidelines and Policies
is now available for review by IT Managers at
http:\\docad.cgiar.org.
Bibliographic Management Software
Currently we are exploring the possibility of negotiating a consortium
agreement for the purchase of Bibliographic Management
Software to bring about savings and benefits to CGIAR
as a whole.
I am currently in contact with the Information Managers
community to obtain the latest information on Bibliographic
Management Software commonly used across the CGIAR system.
Contact with relevant vendors will then commence.
SPSS
In answer to requests from users, we are also exploring
the possibility of a consortium agreement with SPSS.
TECHNOLOGY WATCH
This column is especially
dedicated to keep a regular watch for emerging ICTs
of potential interest to the CGIAR.
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COMING UP
I have been invited to present
"Mainstreaming Knowledge Management and Sharing in
the CGIAR" at the Human Resources Management Meeting
scheduled for 6 - 8 June in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This
workshop is organized by Nellooli Rajasekharan, the
SAS-HR Director with the objective to strengthen the
strategic partnership between the ICT-KM program and
the SAS-HR program.
Following on from 8-11 June in
Colombo, Sri Lanka, I will be attending the Gender
and Diversity Strategic Planning Workshop organized
by the Gender and Diversity Program. This workshop will
focus on helping Centers set their own 1-, 3- and 5-
year goals for gender and diversity and the designing
of G&D's new 4-year Action Plan.
I will be attending the Advanced
VIPP Facilitator Training held from 4-9 July in
Penang. This training course is organized by Dr. Hermann
J. Tillmann of IKAP-Network for Capacity Building in
MMSEA. The overall objective of this training course
is to improve the skills of experienced facilitators
and trainers in conducting effective group events.
I have been invited to attend
the Annual CSI Meeting at ESRI's International
User Conference in San Diego, August 9-13. In addition
to this, I have also been invited to attend the Senior
Executive Seminar on the day prior to the main conference
starting.
Collaborate,
Create, Communicate...
this is the motto of the ICT-KM Program. We believe that
by expanding the CGIAR's opportunities to work together
and communicate we will produce better science to help
poor in developing countries, and we will get that knowledge
to them.
Your comments are especially welcome. Please visit the Website,
http://ictkm.cgiar.org/ or write to
ictkm@cgiar.org with comments and/or
ideas for the next monthly update.
Working together for a better future,
Enrica |
