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Why communication and knowledge sharing in our Megaprograms?

Posted on Sat, 08/21/2010 - 09:05


As new  Megaprograms were being finalized, research defined, new partnerships forged for a new more impactful agriculture research agenda… as the  texture, the vital structure of the new CGIAR  was being defined it became apparent that communication and knowledge sharing related issues were “missing in action”…. but not everywhere… signs that there was a growing awareness of the value of knowledge sharing in research became apparent… the heads of communication of the various CGIAR centers started to make noise around the fact communication and knowledge sharing were being neglected… so these topics made it back to the “must be there” list in a Megaprogram.

African ‘carrots’: Results of a consultation at the African Agriculture Science Week

Posted on Mon, 07/26/2010 - 10:44

On 5th July 2010, I posted a blog entitled “How to motivate more knowledge sharing in research: using the carrot or the stick?” to explore what makes or would make researchers and research projects share their agricultural research knowledge. This received some interesting responses.

How to motivate more knowledge sharing in research: using the carrot or the stick?

Posted on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 06:36

As the CGIAR moves ahead with its change process, it is continuously being told that it needs to do a better job at sharing its vast wealth of research-generated knowledge, so that this knowledge can be applied to solving real problems.
While the publications written-the major output of most projects- are a key source of high quality information these are not often widely available or accessible, and for the majority of stakeholders working in agricultural development, are not applicable to them.
So the message: we need to do a better job at sharing our agricultural science data, information and knowledge in ways that make them available, accessible and applicable.

Want to make knowledge move around: Is the roundtable approach applicable?

Posted on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 09:00

How can you make knowledge move around?  Well like any mechanism that moves around you need the right kind of apparatus to be moved around,  some sort of push or force to make it move, a good track for it to follow, and some momentum to keep it going.  You need the whole system to be applicable to the job.
And this is true of making knowledge travel around- you need it to be in the right format, you need energy to make it move, you need some sort of plan or framework for it to follow, and it definitely needs momentum to keep it going. We see various mechanical contraptions achieve this movement- like the ferris wheel shown in the image- but what kind of systems can achieve moving knowledge around?

XIII IAALD World Congress Roundup

Posted on Fri, 06/25/2010 - 01:28

Montpellier at the end of April was abuzz with eager participants heading to the XIII IAALD World Congress. One of the event’s attractions was a side session on Web 2.0 and Social Media for research uptake, which was facilitated by the ICT-KM Program’s Antonella Pastore, and Pier Andrea Pirani of Euforic Services. Designed to help participants improve the availability, accessibility and applicability of their agricultural information, this pre-Congress session was part of the CIARD Marketplace.

Part 2 – My first back-to-office blog: ‘AAGW and CIARD- a match made in space!”

Posted on Fri, 06/18/2010 - 04:09

So in this second part of the blog about back-to-office blogs, I am actually writing a back-to-office blog about my recent trip to Nairobi, Kenya to work on the 2nd Africa Agriculture Geospatial Week (AAGW10), held on the ILRI Campus from 8th-11th June 2010.

Google Maps, Open Source and Plotting Ongoing Research: Demonstrating Innovation

Posted on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 10:59

It is the perfect time to celebrate CGX 2.0’s birthday by talking about the tangible differences made by ICT-KM’s choice to shift away from proprietary technical architectures and move towards a more ample and sustainable technical landscape.  This technical landscape is epitomized by what is called Enterprise 2.0, “a system of web-based technologies that provide rapid and agile collaboration, information sharing, emergence and integration capabilities in the extended enterprise” (

Agriculture Information Access Marketplace: join us in Montpellier

Posted on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 05:23

On Monday 25th April 2010, just before the official opening of the  IAALD XIIIth  World Conference in Montpellier, France the CIARD partners are organizing an  Agriculture Information Access Marketplace: an informal, interactive event which will see the participation of a wide range of organizations, both large and small.
A fast moving forum that will allow you to share ideas and learn with exhibitors who have real experience in the challenges of the digital information world. Hands-on trainings will also be held.

Show me the goods! The Research map is out!

Posted on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 04:32

If by “goods” you mean our Global Public Goods, and more specifically, the research projects of the CGIAR in Africa, the CGIAR Research Map for Africa – does just that!

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