In the strategy document, there is a section which considers the role of networking and capacity building in the sharing and use of iGPGs. [quote]• Establishing a cross-community network of specialists to promote awareness and cooperation, leading to improved horizontal integration of CGIAR information resources and efforts • Conducting focused workshops and other fora to promote cross-Center, CGIAR-wide collaboration for the maintenance, sharing, and integrated analysis of information GPGs. • Developing and implementing pilot projects, or case studies, that promote the useful integration of diverse efforts and allow for a holistic, or Integrated Natural Resources Management (INRM), approach to GPGs, which will address current research questions requiring information from multiple resources. • Fostering a role for the CGIAR as an important player in agricultural research networks through more active marketing of our GPGs. • Introducing KS approaches into research projects involving donors and partners in order to build trust among stakeholders and to promote greater knowledge sharing and collaboration. • Obtaining feedback on the GPGs and their use through these networks in order to improve them and adapt them to different user groups. [/quote] Which of these are most important in your context? Are there other points that should be considered?

Good ideas, Lorna. Thanks Is there also a strategy in the other direction, with farmers and agriculture workers saying "hey, here is what is important to me?" Today with the new web based software, should we consider recommender systems?

This week we'd like to dig into some of the specifics of the strategy and get your feedback. One area is getting your sense of which of the Challenges are most pressing. Here is a listing of some of the challenges identified in the Strategy document. Which of these do you think is most pressing? Are we missing any other important challenges? [quote]Nonetheless, development partners and global research communities (including CGIAR staff themselves) have difficulties accessing these resources in a consolidated manner. Difficulties include: • A lack of awareness of CGIAR GPGs: Potential users within and outside the CGIAR are not familiar with many of the databases available. There is a need for a concerted effort to promote awareness of available GPGs. • The inability to cross-search CGIAR information "islands" at once: There is presently no mechanism through which a user can search all the information resources held by the CGIAR from a single point of entry. CGIAR Center scientists themselves have no simple way of identifying commonalities between their work and that of their colleagues in other Centers. • Inadequacy of data standardization within and between scientific communities: There is presently no commonly agreed set of standards for describing and searching scientific data held in various communities. There are no commonly agreed metadata standards that will allow the simplest cross-search across these information sources. • The duplication of efforts: There is increased risk of duplication of efforts while collecting, analyzing and processing scientific research data. It is becoming less and less uncommon for scientists from the same institution to collect similar types of data from the same locations without realizing the unnecessary duplication of effort. • Some of the information resides on individual scientist's computers and are not even accessible by scientists within the same Center. • The need to unify individual efforts and increase benefits from cross-sectoral alliances: There is an increased need from individual communities to benefit from scientific databases supported by others. Such cross-boundary alliances are now critical for enriching individual GPGs (e.g. linkages between water management databases and crop production GPGs, and common access to different poverty mapping and land use databases). • A return on investment from CGIAR scientific data resources that is well below its expected potential: As different communities at different locations are collecting similar datasets, there is a huge potential for integrating complementary datasets to form new GPGs, which have greater temporal and spatial coverage.[/quote] Do you have ideas about how to meet these challenges? Please share your thoughts.

These are great, specific examples. Thanks! This triggered two other questions for me. The first is where along the research process do people need access to the data. So for example, there are a number of stages in the research process such as: - Problem Identification; - Research Design; - Doing the Research; - Resuts and Outputs Dissemination; - Monitoring and Evaluation, Where do you think there is most value in opening access? Thinking about the partnership options you suggested, are certain partners interested in some stages more than others? I'll post my second question separately.

Here is the second question you triggered! You talked about [quote]Investing in capacity building of local people in application of agricultural knowledge for better agricultural practices. Establishment of locally owned "e-agricentres' in the villages and market yards and training the local youth and women in e-applications for smooth running of centres might lead to local ownership.[/quote] This helps us think about the larger context of application of data. Is there something we should be paying attention to in larger agricultural development strategies that link things like the development of e-agricenters and the research community? How can that be done realistically, knowing that all parties are probably time poor? Is it a priority? Should there be more interaction between the researchers and farmers, or simply better flow of data?

Greetings Week two of our e-Consultation has concluded with some new voices and an expanded sense of the needs and challenges of meeting diverse users of iGPGs. Thanks to all of our contributors and readers for your thoughtful participation. Below you will find a short summary and links to key discussions of week two, a look at week three, and some reminders on how to make it easy to follow and join in to the conversations. Week Two Summary In week 2 we continued to examine the CGIAR's iGPG [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_conf&cat_uid=17&conf…]. This week we heard more about [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_conf&cat_uid=16&conf…' Needs[/url]. It is clear that the users and potential users are a [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_thread&cat_uid=16&co… group [/url], making access and use a complex issue. A summary of the challenges and obstacles identified so far can be found [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html] here [/url], as a kick of to one of the coming week's discussion. There was a specific thread on the needs around [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_thread&cat_uid=16&co… information.[/url]. The questions raised go to specific issues of the form of data provided and the underlying technical infrastructure issues. In a [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_thread&cat_uid=16&co… thread[/url], a question about how to access the base data that useful reports is based on was raised. While the value add of the report is important, there is additional value in access to the raw data collected for the report. In addition, participants are sharing what they are doing to share iGPGs at country levels. The specific examples and the issues they raise has been very useful. Be sure to check out the discussions to see what your peers are doing and share your work as well. How are their experiences in accessing CGIAR iGPGs similar or different from your organization's experiences? We want to know what you need. [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_conf&cat_uid=16&conf… and Overview[/url] [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_conf&cat_uid=16&conf… Strategy[/url] [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_conf&cat_uid=16&conf…' Needs[/url] Week Three This week want to seek your input on some specific sections of the Strategy. Our first discussion will be on some of the challenges faced in trying to share iGPGs. Please share your thoughts in the [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_thread&cat_uid=16&co…: Which are most pressing?[/url] discussion. We will be adding new discussion thread during the week, so make sure you are subscribed to be alerted. We'll also be looking at: • Network and Capacity Building • Standards and Metadata • Value Added Services Some of our colleagues will also be gathering for the Web2forDevevelopment meetings in Rome. CGIAR is hosting a face to face workshop on September 28th at FAO in Rome. If you are in Rome, please consider the invitation you can find [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_conf&cat_uid=17&conf…]. We'll be sharing the results of the meeting back here in our online space so we can all have a link - online and face to face! Subscribing Just a reminder: to make it easier is to come to the site and click into each of the major areas and then select "Watch this conference" towards the top right of the page. Then every time someone posts to that area, you will receive an email. You still must come to the site to reply. You must subscribe individually to each area. On the site you can also find links to the strategy documents and help with the discussion software

Dear Dr. Teodosio Thanks for sharing your paper. I invite you over to the discussion areas to share your expertise in relationship to iGPGs, especially with agri coops. You can find the [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_conf&cat_uid=16&conf… discussion here[/url] and the [url=http://www.e-agriculture.org/270.html?&view=single_conf&cat_uid=16&conf…' Needs discussion here.[/url]

Dear Nazrul Islam Thank you for joining the conversation. Can you say more about the farmer trainers? How might they be bridges between CGIAR's iGPG data and their fellow farmers? You mentioned the need to have questions to understand the data. Would the trainers help facilitate this with those producing the CGIAR data? Please, say more!

Pierina, that would be great. We will be keeping this forum open beyond the official "end date" of the e-consultation as well so that people can continue to provide input. It is important to keep the lines of communication open! Thanks Nancy

For those not familiar with the Geonetwork, here is a website where you can learn more... [url]http://csi.cgiar.org/index.asp[/url]