ENRAP III: Proposed design www.enrap.org

What is ENRAP? Knowledge Networking for Rural Development in Asia/Pacific Region; IFAD-IDRC collaboration Supports IFAD projects in knowledge networking and sharing for improved impact of project activities Networks projects with stakeholders & information sources Focus is on strategic intervention & application of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) Project life – late 2002 to May 2007 Works with IFAD projects in 8 countries Basic hypothesis here is that if IFAD projects can share information better, the impact on their project outcomes will improve…… Strategy of Local, national and regional networks through ENRAP email list Specific interest focused groups Training, workshops, other gatherings Direct support for 8 countries in the region (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam and China) Planned over 2002-2005, Coordination from IDRC regional office, Delhi National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 2

National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 3

Goals and Objectives The main goal of ENRAP II is to improve the impact of IFAD-funded projects on the livelihood of poor rural communities in Asia/Pacific by strengthening and deepening networking and knowledge sharing at all levels The general objective of ENRAP II is to help IFAD-funded projects in Asia become more effective in documenting and sharing learning and experiences about good practices in rural development, particularly for the benefit of the poor communities, primarily through electronic media. The basic idea is to support IFAD projects in achieving their poverty reduction objectives through better knowledge sharing. The effort has been to build networks to facilitate this sharing among IFAD projects and stakeholders. In doing so we have tried to test the use of a variety of ICT tools innovatively to catalyze this process. National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 4

Specific Objectives (Connectivity): Assess and strengthen as necessary, present technical networking capacity in IFAD-funded projects (Capacity Building): Build and expand the capacity of community based organisations and rural communities in IFAD-funded project areas (including participating CBOs, NGOs, and line agencies) to integrate the use of electronic media into their day-to-day operations, thereby nurturing a culture of learning and knowledge sharing. Activities supported under ENRAP are guided the specific objectives as mentioned in the ENRAP Project Design Document and may or may not have fully been accomplished as worded here. For instance the capacity building of Project staff has been relatively more than staff of CBOs, NGOs and line agencies. The specific objectives have also been informed by our own learning and dialogue with projects, a point that was noted by the mid-term review. National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 5

More Specific Objectives (Networking): Develop the following types of communities for sharing knowledge (including local and indigenous knowledge), experiences and best practices among project stakeholders: local within-project networks among project stakeholders; national networks of IFAD-supported projects and those of other collaborators; and, regional network(s) of national networks; (Innovative ICTs): Design and test innovative technical and institutional models and prepare guidelines for IFAD-funded projects to make effective use of ICTs. National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 6

Networking While sharing at the national level intensified, interest in regional sharing increased too. National meetings, national lists Thematic exchange through email and workshop Smaller thematic networks emerged M&E GIS Digital Video Documentation National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 7

Connectivity ENRAP provided technical assistance for projects to plan for appropriate connectivity solutions. Internal & external connectivity: Laos projects (VSAT), NMCIREMP (Connecting municipalities). Feasibility studies: ULIPH (wireless), NADP. Intra-office communication: REAP & WUPAP (LAN), DASP (WAN). As a result communication and sharing improved. Increased requests: training, mailing lists, documentation, community radio. Websites, newsletters, audio-video information. Discussion on thematic lists. National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 8

Capacity building Demands for building skills in the use of ICT tools for effective knowledge management & sharing increased. ICT Training for project staff OCISP newsletter, HRDP case studies CHARM documentation of project lessons WUPAP website http://www.wupap.gov.org/ Philippines email list enrapphilippines-cl@lyris.idrc.ca Building capacity in digital video exposed projects to the documentation possibilities of this medium Community level sharing and training Dissemination to policy makers Monitoring ENRAP continued to support skills building through training and hardware to improve project capacity for sharing and networking National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 9

Innovative ideas Innovative ideas explored provide lessons for other IFAD projects School-on-air Digital Video documentation for sharing information on poverty reduction Software-based internet-enabled project M&E system National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 10

ENRAP III: Building on phase II 2 key ideas proposed Creating sustainable knowledge sharing networks at national and regional levels Target audience – projects and partners in rural poverty reduction Action research to use ICT tools for livelihoods improvement – eg. micro-finance, natural resources management, market information, etc. Target audience – IFAD project communities Networking: both virtual and face-to-face At national level, 1. Need to engage national actors who can take responsibility of leading national network. Who could these be? National govt., ministries, other key IFAD partners who are interested in IFAD project knowledge? Will projects find it useful to have a platform to regularly and systematically share their knowledge? If yes will they be able to commit funds and time to this activity? 2. If we agree with the above, what activities can be taken up for national networking in phase III, and who will implement these – FLO, partner govt., both? Regional networking: could be thematic…. Action Research: ICT applications for the poor. The variety of ICT tools is increasing rapidly which can be used to support rural communities for example by better access to information on marketing of agriculture produce, cheaper and better ways of grading it thus improving the negotiating power of sellers/farmers. It can also help in getting health and education support for poor and remote communities. More examples: monitoring projects activities with the use of mobile phones, latest weather information for fishermen, using GIS to map natural resources and study changes (irrigation canals created etc.) National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 11

ENRAP III: Building on phase II What do you think? Creating sustainable knowledge sharing networks at national and regional levels Action research to use ICT tools for livelihoods improvement – eg: use of ICTs in micro-finance, NRM, market information, etc. Networking: both virtual and face-to-face At national level, need to engage national actors who can take responsibility of leading national network. Who could these be? National govt., ministries, other key IFAD partners who are interested in IFAD project knowledge? Will projects find it useful to have a platform to regularly and systematically share their knowledge? If yes will they be able to commit funds and time to this activity? Regional networking: could be thematic…. Action Research: The variety of ICT tools is increasing rapidly which can be used to support rural communities for example by better access to information on marketing of agriculture produce, cheaper and better ways of grading it thus improving the negotiating power of sellers/farmers. It can also help in getting health and education support for poor and remote communities. More examples: monitoring projects activities with the use of mobile phones, latest weather information for fishermen, using GIS to map natural resources and study changes (irrigation canals created etc.) National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 12

Thank you National Sharing Workshop, 10-12 January 2007, Baguio city, Philippines 13