Building Capacities to Access and Communicate Research Evidence for Development: Lessons of Collaborative Initiatives in Sierra Leone Thomas Songu ICT Director, Njala University (NU) CEO, Sierra Leone Research & Education Network (SLREN) tsongu@njala.edu.sl / info@slren.org WACREN 2017 Conference ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST, 30-31 March 2017

Outline Introduction INASP’s project in Sierra Leone Consortium Activities Lessons Learnt Conclusion Question? 03/05/2019

Introduction Access to current online scientific literature needed by researchers for improved visibility on global research map, for national development. Necessary to skill library and IT personnel to provide support for easy access to online scientific literature Important to train faculty / students /users to access online scientific literature for effective use - current and future, life – long learning Having a strong body in place to coordinate access and use of online scientific literature is of prime importance 03/05/2019

INASP’s project in Sierra Leone INASP team visited Sierra Leone in early 2013 to begin a project Information gained during the visit was compared with previous experience in other countries, as well as feedback from contacts in USL & NU A pilot project was initiated with NU and USL to enhance research capacity and access to free online resources – AGORA, HINARI, etc. It was clear that improvements in universities ICT infrastructure and library services would be key to improving access to research They also recognized that raising awareness of the online literature that is already available (through Research4Life, open access, etc.) could help to make the case for further campus network development 03/05/2019

INASP’s access initiative in Sierra Leone Offer 18 packages, containing about 17,000 journals and 4,000 books Free at point of use – worth over $750,000 Different access routes Negotiated free access in Sierra Leone Option to expand to paid, very heavily discounted content (150 packages, containing about 50,000 journals and 20,000 books) 03/05/2019

Research4Life content HINARI: Health www.who.int/hinari/en/ AGORA: Agriculture www.fao.org/agora/en/ OARE: Environmental Science www.unep.org/oare/ ARDI: Technology and innovation www.wipo.int/ardi/   The resources also include cross-cutting thematic areas such as economics, public policy, anthropology and development. 03/05/2019

Activities – sensitisation and training Symposia for academic leaders and researchers Online information literature management training for librarians and ICT staff members Greater awareness and use of online resources - AGORA, HINARI, OARE, ARDI Improving ICT infrastructure through the establishment of SLREN and participation in regional NREN meetings Raising visibility of Sierra Leone research National journals and repository development (DSPACE) Proposal writing workshop Planning and communicating research INASP and partners at IPAM, USL in 2014 AuthorAID workshop held in NU in Feb 2015 03/05/2019

Successes Researchers/ Faculty/Students look up to the libraries for online scientific literature to support teaching, learning and research. Users have access to global current online scientific literature in offices and homes to enrich their works. Researchers engage in collaborative work globally. Repositories being set up in institutions and situated in libraries. Researchers have ability to assess more grants for projects. Researchers now involved in several national projects because of the current ideas they bring onto the table. 03/05/2019

Lessons Learnt Sensitisation for buy-in from stakeholders right from the beginning is very necessary. Important for Librarians to work with IT personnel as partners. Formation of a formal co-operative group is very important right from the beginning even with free access to resources to ensure sustainability of access in future. Responsibility placed on libraries for access to current online scientific literature is most appropriate as they deal with paper versions already. Continuous training of library personnel, IT staff and Users (faculty, researchers & students) is key. Continuous relationship with stakeholders is very necessary. 03/05/2019

Conclusion Research output and Journal articles have increased Funding for research activities from donors have increased. Government now regularly invites researchers to serve on project committees and think tanks. Library practice is being standardized in member libraries for easy use of each other’s resources. Library consortium established to provide stronger purchasing power through discounts, for access to scientific literature. SLREN established to champion development of advanced ICT infrastructure and services to improve teaching, learning and research environment for national development

Thank you! 03/05/2019