1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Stephen Rudgard Chief WAICENT Capacity Building and Outreach Management and Communication of Agricultural Scientific Information

2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information The Challenge Objectives Constraints Institutional Capacities Human Capacities Partnerships Contents

3. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Core competencies in Research & Development Imperative to acquire information; and to communicate outputs. Opportunities in the New Technologies Principal Challenge Agricultural Research Organizations Many Organizations are not addressing the challenge adequately.

4. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Information Content - in digital format, for agriculture and rural development Innovative Mechanisms and Processes for information digitization and exchange, and for communication Networks amongst key stakeholders Key Objectives

5. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Institutional Capacities – lack of resources and appropriate organizational structures Human Capacities – lack of awareness and skills Partnerships – poor outreach to key service providers and audiences Key Constraints

6. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information New Institutional Structures New Skills and/or New People New Content – Digital New Technologies Institutional Capacities Investing in Information Minimise impact of change – learn lessons from others use existing technologies

7. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information  Rural communities and their representatives  Other scientists  Government policy-makers and their advisers Who are the stakeholders?

8. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Priority Areas Document management and e-publishing Rural information and communication systems Decision support tools

9. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information AGRIS Network Manage & Disseminate Documents www.fao.org/agris Document Management

10. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information decentralized approach greater diversity of participating organizations strengthened role in capacity building focus on full text documents greater availability of associated information about activities/organizations/people set of web-enabled standards (AGMES), methodologies (AGRIS Application Profiles, AGROVOC), and tools (WebAGRIS) New AGRIS Vision (2002)

11. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Rural Information and Communication Systems Networking tools and processes for exchange and access to information and communication VERCON (Virtual Extension, Research and Communication Network) FarmNet - Farmers Information Network

12. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Decision-support Tools (for policymakers) Briefings Policy Papers Prediction – Models

13. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Human Capacities Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK) Partnership-based e-learning initiative Modules - a series of computer-based distance learning curricula and resources On-line Community - a "virtual" community on the Internet for contributors and learners

14. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Published Management of Electronic Documents Digitization and Digital Libraries Mid-2005 Investing in Agricultural Information Building Electronic Communities IMARK Modules

15. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Blended learning − Face-to-Face − Distance Institutional networks − SIDALC − INFOTEC Regional Training Courses National Training Courses IMARK supporting AGRIS

16. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Building Partnerships to Build Capacity National/Regional NARS Universities IICA CARDI FORAGRO etc…. International FAO GFAR CGIAR BID World Bank etc…

17. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Science and Technology Information Summary Institutional change Investment Tools and guidelines Capacity building Partnership