Kmc4CRP1 201210

From kmc4crps ilriwikis

Organizing, Managing, Communicating and Leveraging Information and Knowledge to Support and Deliver CRP Results: A hands-on Workshop on Approaches, Tools, Systems and Services

Addis Ababa, 17-20 October 2012

Co-organized by IWMI/Water, Land & Ecosystems and ILRI/Livestock & Fish


Key workshop information

Objectives of the workshop:

  • Agree most promising ways to achieve information, knowledge and communication outcomes for CGIAR Research Programs
  • Share skills and knowledge on information, knowledge and communication approaches and tools for CRPs.
  • Find practical solutions to collective challenges and opportunities.

Documentation The main documentation of this workshop is to be found from the event's agenda page itself (following links to specific sessions). Below are a few blog posts that were written about (all or specific sessions of) this event. Finally this presentation by Michael Victor gives a summary of the event. Blogpost: 'Blurring the boundaries between research and communications' (WLE) Blogpost: Writing our science for development: A new look at writeshops (ILRI Maarifa) Blogpost: Co-creating knowledge vital in research for development (ILRI Maarifa) Blogpost: What comms/KM functions for what results? (Ewen Le Borgne's blog) Blogpost: Back on monitoring learning, from social media to impact (Ewen Le Borgne's blog)

Agenda

Logistics

Participants

Resources

Background information about this meeting

The move towards multi-partner CGIAR Research Programs provides opportunities for CGIAR centers and others to work together – to co-create, share and communicate knowledge in new ways. It also poses challenges to information, knowledge and communication systems traditionally built around centers.

We need (and are working on) new products, tools, processes, workflows and forms of collaboration and engagement that help us:

  • Get to available and accessible knowledge
  • Get to connected actors and stakeholders and partners
  • Get research taken up and into use - downstream [extension, IPs, alliances, PV, radio, video, local learning etc] and upstream [policy] and 'sidestream' [peers, government and development practitioners …]
  • Avoid duplication of effort and make communication more efficient for researchers, centers and programs

In the past 18 months, CPWF, ILRI, IWMI and other partners have worked towards a practical set of information and knowledge processes and tools to reinforce CGIAR research for development. These grew from ongoing projects and programs; they also benefited from some higher-level CGIAR-wide conversations on communication, knowledge and data, and ICT organized by the CGIAR Consortium. These processes and tools are taking shape through ‘architectures’ of sharing and communication put together for the CGIAR research programs on Livestock and fish (L&F) and water, land and ecosystems (WLE), and others.

As the focus and directions of the CRPs are now taking shape, we propose to convene a hands-on, practical, participatory meeting to focus on the operational 'architecture' (and the wiring and plumbing) of knowledge and information sharing and uptake in our CRPs (with a particular focus on WLE and L&F). The meeting will also allow both programs to clarify roles and responsibilities between and among partners.

We expect participants (up to 45) to attend from various information, knowledge, science and communication domains, we want to integrate and combine expertise and capacities in new ways to grasp new opportunities, and we want to adopt a very operational focus that builds on concrete products, tools and processes.

The meeting will result in:

- Wider use and uptake of promising tools, processes and approaches - Skills development and expertise sharing on specific tools and products - Enhanced cooperation across centers and partners - Improved roles, responsibilities, coordination and KM processes for both WLE and L&F partners - More effective CRP information and knowledge products and services (and more effective CRPs!)


In terms of scope, we expect the meeting to cover:

  1. Communicating for wider influence and impact – Reaching and engaging with and influencing wide audiences
  2. Research for impact – Translating outputs into research, development and policy outcomes, getting knowledge into use
  3. Knowledge sharing and learning – Enriching organization/program/project learning, interaction and exchange
  4. Publishing – Capturing and disseminating research products and outputs
  5. Internal communication – Linking and connecting teams

Since the Consortium already convened a high-level ‘communicators’ meeting on issues of branding, media, public awareness and social media for these, we would explicitly not look at these areas in any detail. We would build on the outcomes of the September Consortium meeting on knowledge and data strategy.