Transcript International Food Policy Research Institute sustainable solutions for

WEB 2 and IFPRI
Looking OUT
Looking IN
Looking FORWARD
Presented by Nancy Walczak and Luz Marina Alvaré
For the Web2 For Dev Conference, 25-27 September 2007, Rome
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
IFPRI – who we are
• International Food Policy Research Institute
– A center in the CGIAR Alliance
– Mission: to provide policy solutions that cut
hunger and malnutrition
• Around 230 staff
– Headquarters in Washington DC
– Major offices in Addis Ababa and New Delhi
– Other offices in Abuja, Accra, Dakar, Kampala,
Beijing, and San Jose
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
IFPRI and Web 2
• Implementations led by
– Library and Knowledge Management
– Computer Services
• This collaboration essential as both skill sets
are needed
• Receptive environment
– Service orientation generates trust
– IFPRI’s flat structure conducive to implementing
new services
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
IFPRI and Web 2
• Help in producing and disseminating
knowledge within a community framework
– Reaching out to external audiences
– Enhancing internal communication and
collaboration
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking OUT -- Challenges
• Reaching Internet users potentially interested
in IFPRI’s work
• Engaging IFPRI’s audience in a natural and
open dialogue
• Building content and knowledge together with
our audiences and collaborators
• Working collaboratively with a dispersed team
• Staying connected to IFPRI “friends”
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking OUT – Using Feeds
• Goal: extend IFPRI’s web presence beyond the
institutional site
• XML feeds
– Started using in 2004
– Produced from InMagic library/publication catalog
– Harvested by commercial content aggregators such as
• RePEc (http://repec.org/) harvests from
ftp://ftp.cgiar.org/ifpri/RePEc/fpr/
• OIAster (http://www.oaister.org/) harvests from
http://www.ifpri.org/oai.xml
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking OUT – Using Feeds
• RSS Feeds
– Started using in 2005
– Highlighted on home page and on
http://www.ifpri.org/IFPRIrss.asp
– Through FeedBurner
• Results
– IFPRI publications can be found from many web sites
– IFPRI information more prominent in search engine
results
– Links to IFPRI’s web site grew tenfold in a year (from
2,200 to 22,000)
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking OUT – Using Blogs
• Goal: establish dialogue on food policy issues
• Blog World Hunger
– Started in 2005
– Created in a blog space on GoDaddy
• Results: linkages again climbed, reaching
more than 60,000 three months after the
launch
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Increased Linkages to IFPRI
Increased Linkages to IFPRI Website
70,000
65,000
61,400
60,000
55,000
50,000
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
21,900 21,900 22,600
19,900 20,600
25,000
20,000
16,600
15,700 16,900
12,500
15,000
10,000
5,000
18,900 19,100
6,070
2,209
2,510
0
Jul-04
Sep-04
Nov-04
(SSRN)
Jan-05
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Mar-05
May-05
Jul-2005
(Blog)
Sep-05
63,000
Looking OUT – Using Wikis
• Goal: help dispersed teams work more effectively
• CGVlibrary wiki
– Started in 2007
– Uses PBWiki
– Participants at all CGIAR centers and CGIAR Secretariat
and ICT/KM Program
• Results:
– Up-to-date information available to all participants
– Knowledgebase for the project
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking OUT – Social Bookmarking
• Goal: quickly and collaboratively create a list
of best resources
• http://www.ifpri.org/2020chinaconference/re
ferences.asp
– Started in 2007
– Uses Del.icio.us and term Food4all
• Results: list will continue to grow and live long
after the conference that motivated it
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking IN – Challenges
•
•
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Sharing information
Creating an institutional knowledgebase
Creating community
Educating staff on the use of new technologies
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking IN – Using Blogs
• Goals: increase participation, open
communication, and create community
• Wikipedia definition of “Food Policy”
– Done in end of 2005
– Used blog space at GoDaddy
– IFPRI staff jointly crafted the definition
• Let’s Blog IFPRI
– Started in 2007
– Uses WordPress
– Gives staff a place to “talk”– business and
nonbusiness
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking IN – Using Blogs
• IFPRI Renovation News
– IFPRI undergoing in-place renovations
– Staff informed of renovation activities through a
blog
• Done in WordPress
• Used as a bulletin board to alert staff
• Creates a knowledgebase of the process
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking IN – Using Wikis
• Goal: to simplify the entry of content into
IFPRI’s Intranet
• Information pages coded in HTML
– Content producers could not directly create or
update
• Use wikis as a content management system
– Currently in transition
– Using the wiki component of Microsoft Sharepoint
Services
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking IN – Web 2 training
• Goal: IFPRI staff participate in external researchrelated dialogues
– Increasingly being held within Web 2 platforms
– Not all staff comfortable with the platforms
• To increase participation
– Training routinely offered in various Web 2
technologies
– Training supported by wiki
– Use of internal Web 2 tools allows “safe” initial use
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking IN -- Results
• Internal uses quite new but all positively received
• Optimistic that they will help
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Efficient information access
Timely and decentralized content management
More effective collaboration
Reduced e-mail
• Require staff to work differently
– Have to go to the information rather than having it
come to you
– Not all ready so implement e-mail compatibility
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Looking FORWARD
• Using feeds to produce an E-Table of Contents
• Personalizing IFPRI’s Intranet
• Using wikis as a content management system for
parts of IFPRI’s web site
• Using a wiki to collaboratively develop IFPRI’s
strategy document
• Helping research staff create personal web pages
• Creating a community space for IFPRI “friends”
• Using instant message to provide service and
support
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Web 2 and IFPRI
• Three years of experience
• IFPRI’s structure well suited to quick
implementation
• Web 2 tools are helping to address many
communication and collaboration challenges
• Training and use in daily work is shifting IFPRI
staff attitudes toward these services
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Nancy Walczak is the Head of Computer Services at the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI); Luz Marina Alvaré is the Head of Library and Knowledge
Management at IFPRI.
Copyright Nancy Walczak and Luz Marina Alvaré 2007. This work is the
intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be
shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright
statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the
copying is by permission of the authors. To disseminate otherwise or to republish
requires written permission from the authors.
International Food Policy Research Institute
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty