open access and capacity building in ict4d some apc projects (& personal perspectives) ann tothill, 6 September

Association for Progressive Communications apc The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of civil society organisations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups and individuals working for peace, human rights, development and protection of the environment, through the strategic use of information and communication technologies…

for Progressive Communications technology practice and policy National, regional and international ICTs policy advocacy Strategic use and capacity building –Development of open source software tools –Aggregation of resources –Training/informational materials development –Training –(Analysis)

for Progressive Communications open access for capacity building Opening up access to… –Physical infrastructure –Tools –Capacity building –Information/knowledge –Opportunities to create and share knowledge Publishing is only one element

for Progressive Communications itrainonline 5-year old partnership initiative of organizations working in development internationally –Core partners APC, Bellanet, FAO, IICD, INASP, OneWorld, UNESCO –ItrainOnline information gateway –Multimedia Training Kit (MMTK)

for Progressive Communications itrainonline information gateway Many online ICTs capacity building resources (training, informational), but –Not always appropriate for CSO and ICT4D contexts –Duplication of effort among partners Joint clearinghouse for online resources on strategic use/ICT4D needed Result: ItrainOnline portal (English, French and Spanish)

for Progressive Communications ITO OS section graphic ITO portal (continued)

for Progressive Communications birth of the mmtk ItrainOnline partners –“Why don’t we develop training materials in a common format for ItrainOnline?” (and hey, leave a few stroopwafels for me). UNESCO –“Why don’t we support the development of a toolkit to help community media practitioners and telecentres bridge the gap between and new media?” = MMTK moment

for Progressive Communications mmtk principles Reusability reduces duplication of effort Adds value to training initiatives “Mediated” use by trainers, but of value to end user “Open content” approach –Extends reach –Essential for adaptation / contextualization –Seemed like a good idea at the time –(Public funding) Modular –“Mixing and matching” –Contextualization / localization / translation –Repackaging –User contributions / updates –Good training practice No frills –Focus on substance –Bandwidth –Ease of reuse

for Progressive Communications components Session plan Handout Slides Exercises Case studies Evaluation tools

for Progressive Communications scope Technical skills Content production Organizational development Legal and ethical issues

for Progressive Communications growth spurt Projects / organizations Content areas Target audiences Languages Training format / duration Cross-pollination with other types of toolkits and materials collections Next: more materials, industrial strength backend (Sky = limit?)

for Progressive Communications back to earth Open access publication is one aspect of open access –E.g. “Physical infrastructure Tools Information/knowledge Skills to use effectively Opportunities to create and share knowledge” –Tensions are possible Open access is not an end in itself –“Open interventions” not always most effective means to end

for Progressive Communications “open juggling” Open access does not necessarily mean accessible –Bandwidth –OSs etc. –Navigation –Documentation/support –Users with disabilities –File formats Open access publication/open source software financial sustainability Balancing aspects of OA, and OA with other requirements & long-term concerns Accessible now does not necessarily mean accessible tomorrow “Open quality”? User/contributor understanding of licensing provisions (CC)

for Progressive Communications on balance Need to increase awareness of complexity of broader open access terrain Our projects span the broad open access terrain, and struggle with balance, competing demands No doubts about appropriateness/value of OA publication for our current materials projects –Approach important to achieving ICT4D and broader capacity development goals –No revenue loss –Commitment to “MMTKing” materials from face-to- face training is attractive to donors

for Progressive Communications open access and capacity building in ict4d some apc projects (& personal perspectives) ann tothill, 6 September