Members vote to dissolve the Euforic Cooperative

After nearly 15 years the Euforic Cooperative will disappear. Twenty-four members (out of 34) represented at the special general meeting of members, held on 26 November 2009 in Brussels, voted for the dissolution of the Cooperative.

Fifteen years ago, when the Internet started to become a key tool in information and communication, a diverse group of organizations in development cooperation acknowledged its importance for communication and collaboration and constituted Europe's Forum on International Cooperation (Euforic). Euforic was founded by ECDPM - independent, funded by governmental donors -, Clong, Eurostep, CIDSE and APRODEV - all NGOnetworks - and the ACP Secretariat - representing southern governments. The current group of members remains very diverse, including also a number of research networks and institutions.

In a joint effort the Web was used to communicate and to collaborate. Initially the focus was on sharing and disseminating information, over the last years Euforic supported members in using Internet interactively (Web 2.0) in support of networking and collaboration. Euforic always remained on the forefront in working with members on innovative projects and supporting them through training and consulting.

More recently, Euforic supported ICCO’s Compart project that uses Web 2.0 for collaboration and learning within ICCO and with its partners. With ILEIA a similar project was undertaken on a smaller scale. Euforic was also involved with CABI in setting up a repository storing products of all DFID funded research – Research for Development (R4D). In the process of transforming D-Groups, Euforic associates played a critical role. Similarly Euforic has been a partner in support of CTA’s Brussels Briefings since 2007. With NIAS and DDRN Euforic worked in 2009 on using Web 2.0 for communication of research. Campaigns and events were promoted through social reporting, working with FAO, GDN, Concord, IDS, Helvetas and CTA. In training sessions - either open, or targeted for specific clients – Euforic has been building capacities among a diverse groups of staff of member organizations. Euforic staff will work until mid December to transfer outputs of projects and completing work on the IKM-Vines project and the Brussels Briefings.

Funding Euforic has always been a complex issue. As a Cooperative it had limited income from membership fees which were always kept low as the Cooperative was supposed to earn its keep. The combination of a first class, independent public information service on Europe’s development cooperation while at the same time servicing the diverse membership as well as working with individual members on a project basis was not always easy to manage. Over a period of years deficits accumulated, a loan from one of the members allowed a re-start in 2006 but eventually the members agreed that there was no structural viability to the organization, at least not in this form.

To enable the Cooperative to pay all its outstanding debts and close with a zero balance, ICCO, ECDPM and EADI committed ad hoc contributions, at the same time APRODEV, CIDSE, Bernard van Leer Foundation and ISS doubled their membership contribution over 2009.

While the Cooperative is dissolved, there are also indications that – besides project outcomes and capacity development activities over the years - Euforic's heritage will live on: EADI has agreed to host the public information services that are provided through www.euforic.org. Also former Euforic staff and associates will continue to provide training and consulting services under the name 'Euforic Services' communicating through this blog euforic.blogspot.com.

Note: the liquidation also includes the sale of office furniture. For those interested, please click here.

Cooperative Euforic: in the process of closing down

Euforic has called an Extraordinary General Meeting of members to take place on 26 November 2009 in Brussels. On the agenda is the complete close-down of operations and dissolution of the Cooperative.

Over the past few years the Board and staff of Euforic have tried to achieve a minimum degree of financial sustainability of the organization. After a profound financial crisis in 2004/2005 the organization’s finances seemed to recover somewhat in 2007 and 2008 but in the course of 2009 the structural financial instability of the organization showed again. When this became clear the Euforic members were contacted and the Board decided on 30 September to proceed to scale down operations and to dismiss staff (see also the announcement)

Over the years Euforic has provided a free, public information service, funded through membership income and surpluses that were generated through the implementation of specific projects with members. Because of the limited core income, and the small surpluses on projects and services, Euforic has always been financially unstable.

In September 2009 it became clear that the operational losses the organization would incur, required that the ExCo and Board seek immediate financial support for the organization to comply with contractual obligations, particularly regarding the personnel. At this stage however it was very much evident that the financial problems are structural, which is why the Board proposes to completely dissolve the Cooperative. Various member have committed contributions - in particular ICCO, ECDPM, APRODEV, EADI and CTA – that enable (financial) closure of the Cooperative.

Euforic has few assets and the motion to dissolve that the Board is presenting to the members of the Cooperative includes arrangements to dispose of these assets. EADI has kindly offered to seek ways to continue to provide some sort of public information services on matters that used to be covered by Euforic, possibly linking to the original Euforic URL. Some staff have indicated they may continue to provide consulting services as independent consultants together with former Euforic associates, for which they consider to establish a collaborative association provisionally called Euforic Services.

Check also the newsfeed for more news about Euforic's cooperative life

European Development Days 2009: the power of networking

Last week Stockholm hosted the European Development Days, a three day event involving a number of heads of State and thousands of development professionals and students from all over Europe, indeed the world. You can read it all on the official EDD-website.

Even though Euforic – as readers of this blog will know – is scaling down its operations, we were present in Stockholm to promote one of the many exciting projects Euforic has been involved in over the last few years: R4D, an information service providing free access to information on DFID (co)financed research for development programs and over 20,000 outputs of these research efforts.

Several Euforic members presented panel discussions at the European Development Days, or the Development D-days as Rajendra Pachauri, Director General of the Energy Resources Insitute in New Delhi and one of the keynote speakers, called them. CTA invited twelve partners from the South to have stands at the Development Village and organized an important event about land acquisition (also known as “land grabbing”). At an event co-organized by AFD, Koos Richelle, head of AIDCO and others examined aid practices. AFD also organized with DFID and DIE a debate about the evolving aid architecture. Concord co-organized an event about development education, sharing ideas and experiences around involving and mobilizing citizens for development. Citizens were also central to the ECDPM-organized event about the EU-Africa Partnership. EADI together with the Development Gateway Foundation looked at the future of European Development Cooperation: Development Beyond 2015 and APRODEV, CIDSE and Concord staged an event on Copenhagen, Climate Justice and the Right to Development. SNV had a session on Accountability and Transparency and cheered us all up with a musical spectacle at the end of the second day.

Most events attracted quite some interest. A crowd of EDD-visitors lined-up outside the forum on Media and Development. In the panel, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia, Raile Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya, blogger and digital activist Ndesanjo Macha and others discussed the role of media in development. Dominique Darmon of SNV was lucky to get in and reported that there was an extensive discussion around the role of new media. Nowadays in Africa over 17 million phones are in use ... or at least, in use when there is electricity, as Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf noted, underlining that energy and infrastructure are critical priorities for investment in this continent. Odinga explained how he used a blog to communicate with the electorate during the recent presidential election campaign in Kenya, but someone in the audience noted that comments from readers of the blog were screened and the comments criticizing Odinga actually never made it to his blog. So new media can promote interaction and participation but they do not eliminate exclusion, whether because of lack of electricity or because of censorship.

Written communication does not reach too many Africans because of the high illiteracy rates, television is important but technically much more demanding than radio which is the number one “old” means of communication in the continent. At the same time, mobile devices are changing the way the good old radio is operating, boosting its use through for example podcast. During the session several other examples of mobile phone use were highlighted for example how they were used to warn people during recent floodings in Burkina Faso. Phones can also be used to hold the government accountable as the HIVOS/SNV project Twaweza demonstrates.

Some participants in the audience felt that new media pose a greater risk of misinformation while others laud their potential to promote democracy. A BBC reporter asked the politicians in the panel what at the end of the day would make them more uncomfortable: a bad news paper story, or a critical blog ... thus showing that the good old newspaper remains critically important.

Having to attend my R4D stand in the Development Village I saw few live presentations. But I made an exception for the “testimonies” on climate change that were given in the morning of the last day, 25 October. Michelle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti and former executive of the Soros-sponsored Knowledge and Freedom Foundation told about the seven (7) hurricanes that hit her country over the last few years and asked for fairness and just reparations as part of the strategy to confront the climate change crisis, “The market mechanism is not going to save the planet”, she insisted. Moderator Sackur, known from BBC’s “Hard Talk” highlighted her systematic emphasis on fairness and justice and he asked her whether – when talking with European leaders, she felt they actually “got it”. Very honestly she replied that her gut feeling was not very good, but she also made it clear she will not give up fighting for climate justice.

President Emanual Manny Mori of the Federated States of Micronesia explained how his country has been fighting for climate justice for quite some time already. The small islands state is very much exposed to the potentially disastrous effects of the sea level increase. To anyone who doubts whether this is a serious crisis he urged to reflect “Who are you fooling? Not the oceans and disappearing species”. Mori insisted that all nations will have to bite the bullet: “We will face a different world in our lifetime”

Mary Simon has been an activist for Inuit interests for decades. “My homeland is melting” she stated, “the situation is terrifying, villages just sink in the ground because of melting permafrost”. The changes may very well exceed the traditional capacities op her people to adapt. Simon concludes that previous efforts to reduce carbon emissions have not done the job, public policies have fallen short and emissions have continued to grow. Simon stressed the interrelation between economic and environmental security and calls for massive investments in clean technology. A Climate Change Adaptation Fund of 20 billion euro needs to become operational now, not by 2022 as current proposals suggest. Besides climate change, Simon also warned for what she labeled to be misguided policies that affect the Inuit people like the upgrade in CITES of the polar bear which makes them an endangered species, and the EU ban on seal products. It is climate change that endangers the polar bear, she said, Inuit hunting practices are sustainable. She felt that such policies negatively affect the Inuits capacity to adapt and preserve their livelihoods.

Back at my R4D stand, I listened to Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission, through a video live-stream. She said that the political realities will force the EU to be more ambitious about reduction of CO2 emission and deliver climate justice. With Michelle Duvivier and the others we continue to hope (but fear her gut feeling).

For more stories on the European Development Days, check the official EDD-site and sites of Euforic member organizations.

by Rosien Herweijer

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on Euforic cooperative life on European Development Days and on Information, knowledge, and communication

Financial constraints force Euforic to scale down operations

Euforic is facing financial problems. The operational budget of the cooperative is funded through membership fees, income from projects and grants. Membership fees cover only a very small part of that budget. After reviewing the current situation, the Board of the cooperative issued the following statement in a message to members:

"The Euforic Board met 30 September 2009 in Brussels to discuss the financial situation of the organization. All members of the Board agreed that the current situation is extremely serious. Several options to address this critical situation in the short and medium term were reviewed during the meeting.

The Board observes that the lack of structural financial viability of the cooperative inevitably means a continued risk of operational deficits, particularly since the cooperative has a negative general fund and no reserves. Because of this structural dimension and considering that the expected deficit for 2009 may amount to over 50,000 euro, the Board has unanimously decided to proceed to ask relevant authorities for permission to serve all staff redundancy notices and scale down Euforic operations accordingly. It is expected that the staff will continue to work until 31/12/2009. How to handle grants and service contracts with members that go beyond December 2009 will be looked at over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile the crisis implies that the cooperative urgently needs 50,000 euro to cover the 2009 operational deficit and to avoid bankruptcy. A swift transition in which we down-scale and prevent any further operational losses, may enable us to review the long term perspectives for the cooperative during the first half of 2010. To make such a transition, the Board urgently request members to make a contribution financially or otherwise during the coming months. Any contribution, small as it may be, can make a difference! The Board agrees that it is in the interest of all members to avoid Euforic avoid a forced demise of Euforic."

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on Euforic cooperative life and on information, knowledge, and communication

DDRN workshop on communication in North/South research partnerships

Increasingly donors who fund development research programs stress the need to communicate about research priorities, programs and outcomes. Researchers themselves as well as intermediaries have an important role to play in this. Examples of donors with a strong interest in research communication are DFID, DGIS/WOTRO and Danida.

On 12 - 14 August 2009 DDRN, the Danish Development Research Network, convened a workshop in Tanzania to promote effective communication during and after the implementation of three new research projects in Tanzania for which Danida granted funding in 2008. The projects look at livestock, dried fruits and climate change and will be carried out in partnership with Danish universities.

The workshop addressed a variety of issues regarding research communication. Euforic and CABI, another Euforic member, developed and co-facilitated the workshop with assistance from staff of DDRN and the Danish Water Forum (DWF). Over 30 researchers and external stakeholders attended the workshop that was held at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Tanzania.

Drawing on the experience of the Euforic network and aiming to respond to the needs expressed by the participants, the event was designed tailor-made to cover the formulation of a framework communications strategy for each project and to elaborate some example communications products. Also included was a session on how to use the internet to disseminate and access research results.

The workshop began with an analysis of the various stakeholders of research projects and the aims of communicating with them. The goal of communication can be to change the behaviour of stakeholders, to raise awareness about specific issues, to encourage dialogue, or to collect needs. To reach such goals you need to be clear: What is it you want to achieve with your research communication? Who do you want to address? What is your message for them?

This first module of the workshop was followed by presentation sessions that drew on case studies of messages and channels for different communities and actors. In a variety of hands-on exercises participants worked on different products and media. A specific session on writing press releases was supported by a meeting with local journalists from the Tanzanian newspapers “Business Week” and “The Citizen”.



The workshop culminated in a presentation session entitled “The SuperProjects” in which the participating research projects made presentations based on their press releases and communications plans, illustrating the different impact of various styles of presentation. The peri-ubran livestock project illustrated a selection of target audiences and the messages and channels they would use to reach these audiences. The Dried Fruits project proved to be popular with samples of the product available for the audience to taste. The Climate Change study on Kilimanjaro was enhanced by spectacular images.

The workshop provided key documents, many produced by other Euforic members, and illustrated issues with videos from the euforic.blip.tv and r4d.blip.tv channels.

Earlier, Euforic was involved in launching the DFID Research Strategy works with CABI on R4D, a DFID funded project on research communication. Research communication was also a central theme at the June 2009 EADI IMWG-meeting supported by Euforic.

See also Euforic newsfeeds on information, knowledge, communication, and from the IMWG 2009 workshop

Pertinence and quality in an (Inter)networking environment

Over the years, quality of services both in terms of content and usefulness has been a recurrent issue for debate at meetings of development information professionals. It proved to be a difficult issue to come to grasp with, in particular because of the changes that the sector has gone through and – by consequence – the new challenges created by the rapid technological and organizational evolution.

IDS Knowledge Services has recently released a “how we” guide about upholding editorial quality. It is the result of extensive internal reflection and debate at IDS, with the aim to share its experiences and good practices with external parties. And in fact the guide is a nice condensation of the discussions on quality management that were high on the agenda of the information and communication sector.

It is interesting to see that the criteria that were applied in the traditional libraries are still valid in an online electronic setting. And maybe even they have become more critical since the Internet has provided the world with open and accessible channels to publish and share information.

Individual Euforic members may very well draw lessons from this interesting guide. It addresses information providers that produce their own content and want to assume the final editorial responsibility for the broadcasting of it. It does focus strongly on organizations that deliver information services to specific audiences. Particular emphasis is given on information services in an academic/research environment. Useful tips, definitions and lessons center around a series of questions about the elaboration of editorial policies and the management of services. At first sight some of these questions may seem a bit obvious, but they go to the heart of the matter and can be applied as a useful methodology in various types of settings.

What are the lessons that Euforic can draw from this guide? Euforic serves primarily as a ‘relay hub’ for the content produced by its members. Nevertheless, the guide offers useful tips for defining the editorial scope – which may evolve overtime in line with the changing interests of the membership – and suggestions for assessing the quality and relevance of the services.

One of the important lessons is that the information intermediary needs to maintain a strong and intense relationship with its network, content providers and clients. Information doesn’t flow by itself but requires a dynamic and pro-active ‘promoter’. Another valuable lesson for Euforic is that as an information provider the level of ambition definitely needs to match your resources and vice versa.


by Jacques van Laar

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on information, knowledge and communication and on IDS

After 2015: promoting pro poor policy after the MDGs

On June 23, a High Level Policy Forum entitled 'After 2015: Promoting Pro-poor Policy after the MDGs' took place in Brussels. It was organised by DFID, ActionAid, DSA, EADI, and IDS, in partnership with The Broker.

The MDGs have played a major role in focusing development policy since their original incarnation in the 1990s. Some development agencies, notably DFID, have gone as far as to judge their activities on the contribution to achieving the MDGs. What happens when we no longer have the MDGs? How will we promote pro-poor policy after 2015?

The Forum debated these issues and addressed three questions:

• What has been the impact on poverty reduction of the MDG paradigm?
• What are the major global processes shaping development up to 2015 and beyond?
• How can we promote pro-poor policy after the MDGs and amid global changes?

The Broker has published a background article 'Beyond 2015: Rethinking development policy' by Andy Sumner (IDS).

To support the communication and outreach activities of the High Level Policy Forum, Euforic has published a dossier presenting a rich collection of background information plus reports and impressions of the event. We published blog stories, blips, presentations and pictures. You can follow the discussions by subscribing to the High Level Policy Forum newsfeed.

See also Euforic's newsfeeds about the MDGs and the activities of Euforic members

This project is co-financed by the European Union. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission

Towards an MDG plus agenda

At the After 2015 High Level Policy Forum, held in Brussels on June 23 2009, Andrew Steer (DFID) led through the third plenary session, which discussed the question ‘Towards an MDG plus agenda’?

Louis Kasekende, chief economist of the African Development Bank, called for a rethinking of pro-poor policies after the MDGs in Africa. Recent events have shown the fragility of Africa, reflected in the income inequality and the associated social tensions in Kenya or South Africa, the vulnerability to the food crisis, or the reversal of gains in just six months after the financial crisis on the entire continent. Consequently, Mr. Kasekende made three proposals on how to re-design the MDGs:

• Refocusing economic growth: MDG 1 could be split in two goals, namely economic wealth creation and reduced inequality;
• Focus on fragile states: Action may be needed beyond regional effort, because costs for the country and their neighbours are enormous once the country has fallen into fragility like Somalia, DRC or Zimbabwe;
• Broaden ecological sustainability: for example by recognizing the danger of external shocks.
  

Claire Melamed (ActionAid UK) put forward several points, which should be taken into account in the MDG plus agenda:

• Any new narrative has to increase the understanding of the realities of power and gender, which block poverty reduction;
• We need to move to a global welfare state, which is characterized by social justice and redistribution;
• We should stop looking at averages, but move forward to the individual level. Not the average national wealth counts, but we should commit to ensure every individual has access to basic minimum services and income;
• Funding mechanisms should shift from uncertain aid provision to more predictable, redistributive mechanisms, such as innovative taxing;
• The future MDGs should rather be based on rights instead of on charity.

Being the final speaker, Andreas Rechkemmer (UNU-IHDP) put the interrelations between environment and development to the fore. Ecosystems are the precondition for any human well-being, due to the provision of cultural, provisional and regulatory services. Therefore, development, climate change and ecosystem communities have to overcome fragmentation and instead join forces. Essentially, “it is all about resilience building at ecosystem and social system level”, Mr. Rechkemmer argued. We need innovation and social learning to design a transitionary regime which can address the MDG plus, global governance and climate agenda.

See also:

• Euforic dossier on the event
• 'Blips' recorded during the event
• Debate on The Broker
  
• Euforic's newsfeeds on the After 2015 High Level Policy Forum and the MDGs

This project is co-financed by the European Union. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission

Development 'game changers' and the MDG plus agenda

At the After 2015 High Level Policy Forum, held in Brussels on June 23 2009, Jean-Luc Maurer, president of EADI, introduced the second panel which aimed to identify the key meta-processes shaping development (game changers) over the next 10-15 years and their implications on the MDG plus agenda.

Charles Gore (UNCTAD) claimed that the financial crisis is not simply a failure of the financial system, but rooted in the weaknesses and contradictions of the global development paradigm. These shortcomings include market fundamentalism, radical global income inequality, global interdependence without global institutions, the socio-institutional mismatch with the emerging new technological paradigm, and the environmental limits to growth.



So how can the current economic and development downturn be understood? According to Mr. Gore, there are long-wave cycles in development, also known as the Kondratieff cycles, of which one can last between 50-60 years.

• The Kondratieff spring was experienced in the 1950s and 1960s, when national development and economic growth were predominant
• The 1970s coincided with the summer, when economic growth was accompanied by redistribution
• The autumn in the 1980s and 1990s was characterized by global integration and the Washington Consensus .
• Since 2007, we are in the Kondratieff winter period, the focus lying on the Washington Consensus plus poverty reduction. In this downturn period, the MDGs are crucial to fill the gap to the next spring, which can be expected to start in 2012-15.
  

For Mr. Gore the way forward is not to abandon the MDGs, but to develop a new consensus on global sustainable development. We should embed the MDGs in a different policy narrative around productive capacities. MDGs could become social and economic rights which are guaranteed at the global level. In the long-term, they would not be financed through aid, but through innovative global sources of finance, such as taxes on global transactions.



Alfred Nhema of the Pan African Development Center highlighted the African view on the MDGs. Acknowledging that most African countries fail to achieve main MDGs, Mr. Nhema pledges for a coherent assessment of the current situation. How can Africa learn from other regions, such as Asia? Why did the past policies did not push Africa substantially forward on the way to reach the MDGs? Moreover, universal indicators such as the MDGs should be buttressed by locally defined measures. Public involvement from Southern peoples would be essential in the designing of a post-2015 framework.

Richard Morgan (UNICEF) argued that we need to “seriously review or even junk the results-based management approach of the MDGs”, because it is too far away from people’s real life. The basic needs approach and the participatory development approach would be good ways forward.

See also:

• Euforic dossier on the event
• 'Blips' recorded during the event
• Debate on The Broker
  
• Euforic's newsfeeds on the After 2015 High Level Policy Forum and the MDGs

This project is co-financed by the European Union. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission

Impact of the MDG paradigm on poverty reduction

The first panel of the ‘MDGs After 2015’ event in Brussels on June 23, jointly organized by DFID, DSA, EADI, IDS, ActionAid and the Broker, focused on the impact of the MDG paradigm on poverty reduction.

Lawrence Haddad (IDS) introduced the topic by underlining that the preconditions for realizing the MDGs are very different from 2000, the year of their creation. Whereas the millennium year was characterized by growth and stability, our times today are marked by climate change, financial and economic crises, pandemics, and the rise of new economies. This triggers questions on the post-2015 MDG framework: “Should the MDGs focus on outcome or process, should they be global, national or local, should there be less or more accountability, and finally, should there be MDGs or not?”

Salil Shetty (United Nations Millennium Campaign) underlined the achievements of the MDGs from 2000 until 2009. We do not spend enough time on reviewing the successes, although “the MDGs help to make change happen!" Instead of being a 'straight jacket', they are a public good, which can be interpreted differently. However, he acknowledged weaknesses, such as the donor and state-driven and technocratic nature and the ignorance for processes of change and structural causes of poverty. As key challenges, he identified the economic, food and climate crises which create a 'cloud of uncertainties'. Successes have been the weakest in the areas of maternal health and child mortality, and the trade element of MDG 8. The action plan until 2015 should, according to Mr. Shetty, focus on the 'de-aiding' process of the MDGs, move action from the global to the local, and serious reporting.

Enrico Giovannini, the chief statistician of the OECD, clarified that the word ‘statistics’ actually comes from ‘science of the state’. What we need would be 'sotistics, statistics for the society. Further, confronted with multiple crises, he underlined that we need to develop a new narrative which goes beyond mere aid narratives. Equitable and sustainable well-being definitions should be participatory and decided on local levels. “We have to be careful in preparing the repeated game in 2015”, claimed Mr. Giovannini.

Sakiko Fukuda-Parr from the New School University, New York presented her analysis of how the MDGs have influenced policy priorities and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). On the one hand, the MDGs were created as a reaction to the Washington Consensus, instead embracing the idea of inclusive globalization. On the other hand, the strategies of the 22 researched countries focused on the Washington Consensus (liberalization and privatization with little government intervention) plus social investments. In this way, many PRSPs undercut inclusive globalization and counteract the driving motivation of the creation of the MDGs. Despite the lack of impact on policy and the development paradigm, the MDGs did have a huge impact at a normative level. They are a very powerful message, which succeeded to shift international norms, although in a truncated way. Finally, Mrs. Fukuda-Parr underlined that we have to recast the MDG agenda. Most importantly, we have to add a goal on reducing inequality.

See also:

• Euforic dossier on the event
• 'Blips' recorded during the event
• Debate on The Broker
  
• Euforic's newsfeeds on the After 2015 High Level Policy Forum and the MDGs

This project is co-financed by the European Union. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission

Robots to replace european librarians

Forget about web2 and social media, Google scholar and Google books!
The real threat to traditional libraries is a small robot in the shape of a rabbit named after a Children's fairytale - Kalle Kanin. So we saw at the European Association for Development Institutes Information Management Working Groups meeting hosted by NIAS in Copenhagen last week. Whilst primarily discussing key issues on communicating and managing information on development issues we took time out to hear from Kalle.


This wolf in rabbit's clothing can glance at a book, look up it's ISBN numbers, give you a summary and provide a review. As the latest member to join the EADI Information Management Working Group, the initial reception was welcoming. After all this skilled character, who works at NIAS, can speak over 20 languages,know instinctively when his websites are visited and is more popular on Facebook than most librarians could dream to be in a lifetime.

He was however not a big contributor to the open space sessions which discussed everything from Multiple Knowledge, Open Source, Storytelling, Bias in communication, reaching audiences , Information Managers vs Communication specialists, the use of podcasting to reach politicians and other Open Space discussions. See all the blog entries which summarise some of these discussions.

He missed the Euforic session hearing from members on how they are communicating climate change issues, the key note speech of Lea Santana from NEIM, and the peer assist session.
Neither did he see all the tweets, videos and presentations brought together at imwg2009.blogspot.com.


I hear that Kalle Kanin is staring in a remake of Fritz Lang's Metropolis .... Metropolib.

For the Information Management Working Group we're just planning a meeting next year in Brussels.

The results of the open space sessions helped us identifying the issues that we'll be discussing between now and then:

• Improving research communication;
• Making information managers and communicators work together;
• Information management versus creativity;
• Building innovation in our work;
• The importance of low bandwidth;
• Linking up with researchers?

by Chris Addison

See also Euforic newsfeeds on information, knowledge, communication, and from the IMWG 2009 workshop.

Peer-assist session at the IMWG 2009 meeting

After the key note speech of Lea Santana (NEIM - see also her blip interview), participants in the IMWG 2009 meeting jumped into the peer assist session, to discuss some of the issues they are facing in their daily work.

The group identified a series of specific questions on which to compare notes and exchange views:

1. How do researchers share knowledge and learn form the knowledge that is produced and exists?

Some participants noted that learning has to be part of the research process. In this process, important is also to share lessons of what did not work so to learn form failures. A fundamental question remain: How do you learn to do things different, especially bringing together people that speak different languages (researchers, NGOs, policy makers)?

A good example comes form DIIS, that hosts staff from Foreign Affairs and DANIDA for a period of time. This way researchers learn how to write in a way that is more immediate to grasp for policy makers: concise, to the point, in a way that can be useful and not just good for academic carrier. It works also the other way around, with researchers outplaced to DANIDA and working there.

2. What's the role of intermediaries?

If you want your research being applied, it has to be communicated, it has to be made known to the target group that needs to use it. The way you write and communicate research findings needs to have the format geared to the audience. You need to to know who you talk to in order to decide your language. In this process, you also choose the appropriate tool(s) to reach your target group.

The role of communication professionals is therefore a key one. Researchers generate very specific outputs; therefore you need 'brokers' that translate these outputs in formats that can be used and applied. There needs to be an expert in between researchers and non-researchers. However it's was underlined that these intermediaries have to work with the researchers and not for the researchers. Therefore the dialogue between researchers and intermediaries needs to start before the research takes places.

Lastly, it was noted that also other professions have trouble in communicating; what can we learn from experiences in other fields to deal with these issues?

3. Copyright issues

More and more organisations are adopting Creative Commons licenses, what are the pros and cons of this?

Creative Commons allows new distribution ways of information and knowledge produced, making sure that other people can use our work. But as with every deal concerning peoples intellectual property, there's some hesitation around in doing that.

A good example comes form Development in Practice which decided to go for a Creative Commons-Attribution-Noncommericial-No Derivatives license, as it was felt that this protects the interest of the author. However, when you want to apply similar licenses, you need to make it clear to the author from the beginning.

Furthermore, the choice of license very much depends also on where you see that your info is potentially useful.

Plagiarism can happen anyway, regardless of the way of publishing and the license you use; others are the checks and balances which are needed.

One of the participants commented that there need to be more debate on commercial vs. non commercial use of content under CC license.

Useful information on this issue can be found on the web dossiers on open access from EADI, ELDIS and Wellcome Trust. See also the blog post from the open space discussion on the issue during the IMWG 2009 meeting.

Other issues briefly touched upon during these peer assist session included:
- The 'long-tail' of research outputs [Some research outputs are peer reviewed and get increased value and recognition only after the research funds are finished: How do donors go about that?]

- How to compile annual reports [strategy and tools] and how to make them 'live' longer that the time span they cover?

See also Euforic newsfeeds on information, knowledge, communication, and from the IMWG 2009 workshop.

Collaboration, Communication and Climate Change

Copenhagen, 10 June 2009. Today's Euforic workshop was convened in view of the forthcoming COP 15 Climate Change meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009. It was hosted by NIAS in Copenhagen.

After Ramesh Jaura, President of Euforic and Director of IPS Europe introduced the theme, we heard from NGOs, research organisations and think-tanks on the issue of 'Collaboration, communication and climate change'.

Ramesh explained that, before the Rio conference on environment and development in June 1992 (UNCED), development was considered in a different way, being funding and project based; the phrase "sustainable development" emerged from the conference. Since then, more and more NGOs and researchers started to explore the implications of climate change. In Bali, organisations like Third World Network took part in the negotiations representing Southern views.

Four Euforic members - IDS, the DiploFoundation, CABI and DIIS presented their work, this was followed by an overview of other Euforic members.

DIIS presented their climate subweb, including their involvement in the Commission on Climate Change and Development, their work on climate adaptation, REDD studies on Forest conservation, and the DIIS reports on low carbon development. They have also produced a thematic issue of the Danish language journal Den Ny Verden. [see presentation]

DiploFoundation shared their work on training and communication towards diplomats and other foreign affairs professionals.

Capacity development for climate change diplomacy

View more OpenOffice presentations from euforic.

The training begins online, it is followed by an online collaborative policy research case and placement in policy organizations. During this process, participants create a community of practice online. This approach is unique in its combination of online and face to face activities; it empowers people as influencers of change, it merges CoPs that make a difference, and includes those in the south that otherwise wouldn’t have access. Now the question is how this approach could serve the climate change process. As a cross cutting field this has a broad appeal.

Alan Stanley presented IDS knowledge services communicating research on climate change and development.

IDS climate change knowledge services

View more OpenOffice presentations from euforic.

He highlighted three projects: LCA, Community Based Adaptation Exchange and Africa Adapt. The purpose of these different communications initiatives is to ensure that more decisions are evidence-based. The IDS approach is based on the following elements: expertise, diversity, learning, engagement and partnership. Partnership is the most important, as IDS initiatives are just one of many initiatives; working together instead of duplicating efforts is the take away message [see also this video blip with Alan]

Martin Parr from CABI presented their work on communicating research using the Research4development portal.

Research4Development: Challenges in Managing and Sharing Information

View more OpenOffice presentations from Euforic Team.

First they had built a collective database of all DFID funded research together with links to other websites containing the information. At it’s heart lies 5000 projects and 20000 outputs cross linked by themes, countries and actors. As a second step, they turned the site into a service focused on reaching the desktops individuals. This means for example presenting types of information by audience or presenting thematic pages including feeds from DFID communication partners. The information is made more accessible through the use of RSS. To promote this information, a news service fits on top, using for example blogs to discuss research communications and the launch of the new DFID research strategy.

Lastly, Chris Addison gave an overview of the activities undertaken by Euforic members in the different areas they are working, from advocacy to research, from meetings to communications strategy, from online new services news to training.

Euforic Members - Communicating Climate Change issues

View more OpenOffice presentations from euforic.

See also a previous blog post highlighting some of these issues.

Subscribe to the Euforic AGM 2009 newsfeed.

See also Euforic newsfeeds on climate change; information/knowledge, and from the 2009 annual workshop.

Euforic Annual General Meeting 2009

Euforic is a diverse network of development organisations, focusing on information, communication and knowledge management matters from a European perspective. Euforic organises different types of events for learning, training and exchange, providing excellent opportunities to catch up with current developments.

The 2009 Annual General Meeting of Euforic members will take place on Wednesday 10 June in Copenhagen, Denmark, in conjunction with the meeting of the EADI Information Management Working Group on 11-12 June. NIAS – the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies - will be hosting the Euforic AGM and the EADI meeting. Besides a regular business meeting we will organize a open workshop on ‘Collaboration, Communication and Climate Change’ for which we invite Danish guests.

The program for the Euforic AGM is as follows:

11:00 - 13:00 Members meet on business matters of the cooperative
14:00 - 17:30 Workshop ‘Collaboration, Communication and Climate Change’
17:30 Reception (hosted by NIAS)

As part of the afternoon workshop members will make brief presentations on:

• what their organization does in the area of climate change
  
• and/or how they communicate towards policy makers, researchers and practitioners on climate change
  
• and/or what kind of collaboration (or information) they seek in the area of climate change within the Euforic network
  

For more information on the AGM 2009 and on Euforic membership please contact us via info@euforic.org

Information about previous AGMs can be found here:

• 2008: RSS feed - blogstory
  
• 2007: RSS feed - blogstory
  

Nordic organisations join Euforic

In January, the Euforic Board approved membership applications from the Danish Development Research Network, the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

DDRN is a network linking research-based knowledge and development within the sectors of agriculture, environment, and governance. Members are drawn from the research community, the private sector, NGOs and development organisations. Its objective is to contribute to the inclusion of research and research-based knowledge in development assistance and in partner countries’ development activities.

NIAS is a Nordic research and service institute with an international mandate and a focus on political, economic, business, social and cultural transformations in modern Asia in their historical contexts. It works closely with partner universities in the Nordic region to develop critical mass in and add value to research initiatives on modern Asia and to promote synergy and growth in Asian studies, and it provides a window to the Nordic countries for research-based knowledge and information on Asia.

Norad is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Norad's most important task is to contribute in the international cooperation to fight poverty; it contributes to effective management of development funds and ensures that the Norwegian development cooperation has high quality and is evaluated.

Chris Addison visited Copenhagen and Oslo in December 2008.

See Euforic newsfeeds on research, DDRN, Norad, Norwegian cooperation, and NIAS. Also news from Euforic members

Rosien Herweijer joins Euforic as Managing Director

The Euforic Board has appointed Ms. Rosien Herweijer to a part time role as Managing Director of Euforic. She took up her post on 2 February, 2009.

Rosien worked freelance the past two years in Brussels, specializing in learning, change management and diversity in development organizations. She brings a wealth of development practice and management to Euforic, from her previous roles at PSO and posts in the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SNV and UNDP.

Her prior role as Director of PSO Capacity Development is particularly relevant to Euforic – she brings us hands-on experience as a manager of a small NGO in development, covering all dimensions of the job including finance, personnel, communication, fundraising and strategic management.

Accepting her new position, Rosien told the Euforic Board “what I like about Euforic is that it uses technology - the Internet - for learning and sharing in development.”

Peter Ballantyne, Euforic interim manager and director since November 2005, will continue to work with Euforic in a senior programmatic role.

Workshop: Working with Wiki's in Development Organizations - 13 February 2009

More and more development organizations are turning to wikis and other social tools to better communicate, document and share knowledge, collaborate, and exchange information.

Wiki’s are one of the most-used examples and are widely used in the ICCO Alliance ComPart initiative, by Euforic members, and others.

This knowledge sharing session capitalizes on the presence of David Weekly (founder and CEO of PBwiki) and other partners to share lessons and experiences, exploring how wiki’s are contributing to more effective development exchange.

When: Friday, February 13, 2009 from 2:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Where: ICCO - Joseph Haydnlaan 2a, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Provisonal Agenda
14:00 Welcome from ICCO

14:15 ComPart PBWiki supports knowledge sharing in ICCO

14:45 Using PBWiki across the Euforic network

15:15 Presentations

15:45 Pause

15:50 David Weekly (www.davidweekly.org)

16:30 Open Discussion

17:00 Informal networking and ‘Borrel’

Please follow this link to register to this event

See also the web2share wiki and the Euforic newsfeed on web2 and npk4dev

Vacancy at Euforic: Financial Officer

After two years of rapid growth and innovation, Euforic is looking for an enterprising Financial Officer to reinforce its team.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a small, dynamic organization working at the cutting edge to apply information, knowledge-sharing and communication for more effective international development.

As Financial Officer, you will organise and coordinate the financial and salary administration:

• As required, enter, and supervise entry of financial and activity data into the administrative system;
  
• Supervise recording of time registration by staff and consultants;
  
• Produce overall and project financial reports and budgets periodically, and on demand;
  
• Supervise contracts, time budgeting and costing, invoicing, and timely reporting on projects and activities;
  
• Monitor Euforic’s liquid assets (bank and cash);
  
• Liaise with the salary administration firm, auditors, tax service and other agencies as required;
  
• Monitor AO/IC.
  

You will assist the Managing Director:

• In financial policy matters;
  
• In preparing the annual budget as well as the annual accounts;
  
• To prepare financial reports and advice to the Executive Committee and the Board;
  
• To develop and implement a management information system;
  
• To coordinate project administration and reporting.

You are able to work in a small but complex organizational environment, an affinity and background in non-profit or development sectors.

Euforic has a small core team based in the Netherlands. With a team of part-time associates in several countries, it operates as a virtual network using information and communication technologies to deliver public goods to its members and the wider community.

You have:

• Education HEAO-BA or SPD, or equivalent;
  
• Knowledge of English;
  
• Knowledge of VAT;
  
• Knowledge of EC funded projects;
  
• Familiar with on-line bookkeeping systems.

The position is initially foreseen to be 1 day per week (20%), preferably in the Euforic office in Maastricht.

Closing date: 25 January 2009 [interviews early February 2009]
Salary: Ranging from 29.000 to 35.000 EUR per annum on a fulltime basis, depending on education and experience.

Interested? Send us a letter and CV outlining your experience and abilities: info@euforic.org

Launched in 1995, Euforic is a not for profit cooperative, owned and guided by members located in several European countries. Through advice, training, web services and joint projects, Euforic helps people share, access and apply information and knowledge for more effective international cooperation. Website: www.euforic.org

Eighth Brussels Briefing on migration and rural development

On December 11th, CTA and Euforic - in partnership with the European Commission-DG Development and EuropeAid, the EU Presidency, the ACP Secretariat, Concord and IPS Europe - have organised the eighth in the series of Brussels Development Briefings, entitled 'Does international migration affect ACP rural development?'

This Briefing discussed the benefits and challenges that migration can have on the agricultural and rural development of ACP countries, looking at the effects of remittances in this sector as well as the role of ACP diasporas in the development of their economies.

The programme, the background note, and the presentations are available online.

Earlier Brussels Briefings looked at 'Rising food prices: an opportunity for change?', 'New drivers, new players in ACP rural development', 'Does Fair Trade contribute to sustainable development?', 'The climate challenge for ACP agriculture', 'Aid for Trade', 'Advancing African Agriculture' and 'Challenges to rural development in ACP countries.'

Sign up for the Brussels Briefing newsfeed ; also Euforic newsfeeds on rural development, agriculture and migration

Workshop: Web2.0 in development cooperation - Bonn, 27 and 28 November, 2008

After the success of last year's web 2.0 workshop and the positive feedback received from participants, the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) and Europe’s Forum on International Cooperation (Euforic) organised the second edition of the workshop 'Information, Knowledge and Communication - Web 2.0 in Development Co-operation'.

As last year we provided information and communication professionals in the development community with a up-to-date overview of the possibilities and the advantages that web 2.0 tools offer for their work.

Some of the buzzwords include “social bookmarking”, “RSS”, “wikis”, “blogs”, ‘Googling’ and “vlogging” - all are free to use and they provide numerous flexible solutions to the challenges we face.

This ‘web 2.0’ offers various ways to use these opportunities to improve and enhance the data and information management of your own organisation. Most of these offerings are completely free of charge. Used alone or in combinations, the new tools may revolutionize the way development information is created, accessed, shared, and used.

Our two-days workshop combined presentations from people who use the web 2.0 in their everyday work, with intensive guided ‘hands-on’ training.

Participants included both novices to the subject and more advanced users, who wanted to get more detailed know-how. Very interesting was the composition of the group, with a good mix of people coming from different development organisations, being research institutes like DIE and ZEF, development agencies like SDC, networks such as DDRN, and a various range of NGOs and civil society organisations.

The closing roundtable highlighted some of the lessons learned, and how participants started to think about possible use of different applications:

"Several of the tools we practiced with in the past two days seem ideal for running and supporting campaigning."

"I think that both blogs and wikis can offer a lot in terms of supporting our main website; I still need to figure out how exactly to proceed, but I really see potential."

"This training has been very useful, as it provided a broad overview of what's happening on the web and how development organisations are embracing these new tools. Personally, I'm not fully convinced that bloggging is effecient way to communicate, but all the other things we saw these days are very good for information and communication."

"Even if I was already familiar with some of the tools, this type of event allowed me to raise my level of confidence. It is important in fact to see how others are using the 'new' web in a professional way; in particular, I'm impress with the possibilities offered by wikis and RSS feeds. The difficult part will now be to get back to my organisation, and try to mobilize my colleagues!"

This workshop forms part of the Euforic web2share initiative that supports Euforic members in using the new web tools and services and working collectively.

See Euforic newsfeed, dossier and wiki on web 2.0.