Representatives of national, regional and global organisations attended a Global Consultation in May 2013 at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa where they endorsed the CIARD movement and agreed on a new focus to support innovation in smallholder agriculture. The partners reaffirmed their commitment to enlarge the movement, reinforce efforts to make agricultural knowledge more easily accessible and enhance its scope to support smallholders better. The meeting was hosted by CGIAR and co-organised with CTA, FAO and GFAR.

A wide range of actors at national, regional and global levels, with shared experiences and tools for opening access to agricultural data and knowledge, have contributed to CIARD’s achievements since its inception in 2008. The participants reviewed progress to date. A key achievement has been the global registry of agricultural information resources and services, the CIARD.RING, which continues to grow, and is expected to exceed 500 organisational contributors shortly. It was agreed that greater coherence of actions by partner organisations had been achieved and will improve as the movement expands. CIARD harnesses and reflects growing international interest in opening access to agricultural knowledge among all actors in food security and rural development, including through the G8, the G20 and the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development.

The Consultation drew on findings of partner meetings in 2011 and 2012 and on visioning exercises held during the meeting to identify priority action areas for the coming two years and key elements in a work programme. The principal message in relation to advocacy and communication will focus on openness and integration of knowledge for wider appropriation and use. High priority was given to advocacy for broader involvement in CIARD. Resource materials will be developed for adaptation and use by partners.

High priority was also given to two sets of evidence, namely the effectiveness of the CIARD movement itself and benefits to agricultural and rural communities of ‘openness’ in agricultural knowledge. In addition, the CIARD website will be redesigned so that its content reflects better the collaborative nature of CIARD and its impact. In addition, the use of “open” information for value-added services will be demonstrated. The Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK), webinars and the revised CIARD.RING interface will continue to represent major CIARD-related actions in capacity development.

The self-assessment “Checklist” and the associated “Pathways” will be revised to fit the broader scope, covering “Organizational culture and capacity”, and “Knowledge sharing” in support of innovation systems aimed at smallholder producers. A mechanism will be established for continuing collaborative development of the Pathways.

These actions will be driven by the Task Forces created to coordinate CIARD activities in advocacy, capacity development and content management. The global community on Agricultural Information Management Standards (AIMS) comprises members with an extensive range of expertise on relevant topics, and it will continue to play a major role in delivering the products and services conceptualised by the Content Management Task Force. It was agreed to examine further the need for a more formal governance mechanism for CIARD. Complementary communities already supported by CIARD partners will be leveraged to extend collaboration in opening access to agricultural knowledge.

For more information:  http://www.ciard.net/expert-consultations#latest