1 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Introduction This question is the focus of our examination of the information management environment. How to invest in PGR information for development?

2 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction As a manager, you deal on a daily basis with information-related issues: Introduction Audience(s) needs Effective dissemination Resources availability Coordination of activities Flexibility to adapt to the new information environment

3 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Introduction The information environment is constantly changing. Here are some examples: Investments in information must take into account these changes. …we need to explore new ways to promote two-way information flows using digital technologies the information environment is more crowded than before… now we have to define our role more carefully the information environment is more crowded than before… now we have to define our role more carefully...

4 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction We can think about these changes under two main categories: Significant changes to the information environment Changes in INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Changes in INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

5 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Changes in information management A significant change in information management: the increase in the quantity of information on agricultural development The principal components of this increase are: The growing number of academically oriented journals (printed and digital) and books Information made available through electronic means, particularly the world wide web. 1 2

6 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Changes in information technology Changes in information technology open up new opportunities as well as new issues, such as: The ways you acquire, process and disseminate information How other organizations use information technology The technologies your audience(s) have access to The durability of investments in information technology

7 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Management and change These changes affect significantly the key areas below: PEOPLE ORGANIZATION TECHNOLOGY CONTENT

8 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Making effective choices How can you develop your organization’s information-related activities to meet these changes? The challenge will be to choose in which of the many possibilities to invest.

9 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction A common scenario Let’s see what kind of issues a manager in an agricultural organization might face during his daily activities. Mr. Sam is Director of the Information Division at the Ministry of Agriculture. He has been asked to lead a project to develop the information activities of the Ministry’s local offices.

10 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction A common scenario These are the main categories of activities that he must consider: Strategic planning Information access Information dissemination Organization and Management Evaluation

11 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction A common scenario....we should find a way to plan, and coordinate all the information-related activities...and to guide staff and other stakeholders in managing them... Concerning strategic planning, he says:

12 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction A common scenario and about Information Access, his staff raises numerous issues: It has become difficult for anyone to keep track of all information of relevance to a particular agricultural issue… It is hard to assess the quality of much of this information.. There is more scientific literature, in paper or electronic format, but prices have risen too high!!

13 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction A common scenario Another member of staff identifies a further area of concern:...we also need to look at the way we currently disseminate the information we produce the technologies used by some of our audiences have changed, and the media we use now for dissemination might not be appropriate anymore...

14 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction A common scenario Then Mr Sam considers the way the organization is currently working. ….we need to identify the key activities and the necessary resources….and we need to think about options for motivating and retaining skilled staff... How is Mr. Sam going to assign responsibilities and motivate staff?

15 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction A common scenario...and we need to keep in mind evaluation... It will be important to find ways to assess if the outcome of our activities match our intended objectives.... Finally, Mr. Sam considers one more issue:

16 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction INFORMATION STRATEGY INFORMATION ACCESS INFORMATION DISSEMINATION ORGANIZATION & MANAGEMENT EVALUATION OF AN INFORMATION PROJECT Conclusions It is important to conduct an analysis of these activities in order to make effective investments in information for development.

17 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction The main changes to the broad information environment include: -changes in information management; -changes in information technology. These changes will especially affect four key areas, both in the internal and external environment: People, Content, Technology, Organization. As a manager, you have to make effective decisions in those key areas, and also in the following activities: Information Strategy, Access, Dissemination, Organization and Management, Evaluation. Summary

18 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction The benefits of doing an Information Strategy A good Information Strategy should be of direct practical benefit: TO YOU TO YOUR STAFF TO YOUR ORGANIZATION

19 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction The benefits of doing an Information Strategy Other potential benefits of an effective Information Strategy are: it can make evaluation easier it is an excellent way of making stakeholders more involved.

20 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Summary An Information Strategy is a deliberate and planned approach to achieving a vision for the future. It offers a framework with a direction and priorities which can guide staff and other stakeholders in managing their various information-related activities. It provides a link between the overall strategy and the handling of information on a daily basis. If your Information Strategy is good, it should be of direct practical benefit to you, to your staff, and to your organization.

21 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction RELEVANCE OF INFORMATION TIMELINESS OF INFORMATION OWNERSHIP OF INFORMATION LONG-TERM USABILITY OF INFORMATION + CRITERIA FOR INFORMATION SELECTION During the development of an Information Access plan, it is important to keep in mind the implications of each of these four features. This can help analyze whether the benefits of accessing certain types of information outweigh the costs. + + Conclusions =

22 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Summary It is important for an organization to have an Information Access Plan. Development of such an Information Access Plan include: assessment of information needs; agreement on the formats of information; and analysis of where and how best to access the required information. One of the underlying assumptions is that information is a commodity with a market price. Four features of information as a commodity are: Relevance Timeliness Ownership Long-term Usability.

23 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Summary o To build an information dissemination plan, there are two kinds of analysis you should do: “external” and “internal”. o Analysis of your audience(s): their identities; their characteristics; their specific needs; the kind of content; the type of medium; and priorities among them. o Analysis of the market trends and environment affecting the demand for your information products and services.

24 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Summary Information management includes four main activities: 1) acquisition of content;2) production of new content;3) storage and retrieval of content; and 4)dissemination of appropriate content to users. To accomplish these tasks, an organization needs five main resources: 1) an enabling policy environment;2) efficient structures and procedures;3) motivated and skilled people; 4) appropriate technology; and 5) helpful alliances. A Efficient management depends on effective application of the five types of resources in the four core information management activities. In order to decide where investments are necessary, we considered three of the main resources in more detail: people, organization, alliances.

25 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction The Evaluation Management Committee Now Dr. Kumar has a list of stakeholders in the project. He will use this list as a basis for creating an Evaluation Management Committee, responsible for: ContentIndicatorsAnalysisLogistics

26 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction The Evaluation Management Committee So far, Dr Kumar and his colleagues have: defined the focus of the evaluation; and developed a list of possible EMC members. The next step will be to call the first Evaluation Management Committee meeting.

27 of 27 How to invest in Information for Development An Introduction Summary The evaluation of an information project requires good planning and management. To evaluate an information project, it is useful to start by breaking it down into four stages: inputs, activities, outputs, impacts. For an effective evaluation, it is important to measure all these stages, instead of stopping at the outputs level. All important stakeholders should be involved in the planning and implementation of the evaluation. Therefore, it is useful to develop a list of key stakeholders that can be used as a basis for creating an Evaluation Management Committee, that will plan and manage the evaluation process.