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The evolution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has drastically transformed the field of international development. Many organisations were quick to take advantage of the efficiency, publicity, cost-effectiveness, and increased knowledge base that comes with using the Internet and other ICTs. Still others have yet to harness the power of the Internet.

 

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) supports projects aimed at improving the livelihoods of rural communities in the Asia-Pacific region. IFAD believes that there is significant informal and undocumented knowledge generated and residing within the projects it supports, regarding innovative solutions to development problems and the effective implementation of projects. Failure to document this information ignores the experience and knowledge of beneficiaries. The mutual sharing of such latent knowledge comprises a potentially valuable resource to development organisations that is currently largely untapped. IFAD has come to recognize the potential benefits of using ICTs like the Internet to document and share the knowledge generated within its projects.

 

This project is a collaborative effort between IDRC and IFAD. The project's first phase (Electronic Networking for Rural Asia/Pacific Projects) aimed to bring Internet to rural development projects funded by IFAD. Building on the previous phase, phase II works to assess and maintain existing infrastructure and capabilities, as well as build and expand on present capacities. Its main directive is to help IFAD-funded projects become more effective in documenting and sharing knowledge. It does this by initiating research and development in the area of knowledge networking and Internet applications at the local, national, and international levels. It also tests innovative technical and institutional models for IFAD-funded projects to make effective use of ICTs in their daily activities. Over 40 projects in eight countries are involved. Projects are carried out in close collaboration with local organisations and consultations with potential users. Local electronic newsletters, agricultural market information dissemination and shared electronic libraries are examples of ENRAP-supported activities.

 

To help IFAD-funded projects in Asia become more effective in documenting and sharing learning and experiences about good practices in rural development, particularly for the benefit of the poor communities, primarily through electronic media. More specifically, the project aims to:

The central ENRAP Website (www.enrap.org, seen at right) provides an electronic space for collaborative work and exchange of information.  It allows for interactive database access, posting of documents and photographs in native formats by all users, conducting electronic conferences, and contributing web pages on line. Other countries not receiving direct assistance from ENRAP can benefit from free training materials, documents and databases, technical advice, and allocation of working space, all available on the ENRAP website.  It is expected that in the future all IFAD projects in Asia and the Pacific will participate in ENRAP activities and contribute to the knowledge sharing system.

 

To fulfill the objective of sharing knowledge and experiences, ENRAP has been actively networking IFAD-supported projects. A database of IFAD projects participating in ENRAP was compiled and shared with all projects and a separate e-mail list was created for ENRAP II to facilitate discussion on issues of common interest.

 

Because of the breadth and number of projects supported under ENRAP, a full explanation of their development impact is unrealistic. Descriptions of each of the projects is available on the ENRAP website (www.enrap.org).

 

One notable example of an ENRAP-supported project involved a collaborative effort between IFAD, Government of India, State of Gujarat, and Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA). Women members and staff of SEWA were trained in digital video documentation. Digital video provides opportunity to document at the grassroots level, by those for whom making a movie may be considerably easier than writing an article. Women responded to the training enthusiastically, expressing how filmmaking could provide them with economic opportunities and help build capacity among village women. Click here to view glimpses from this training session.

 

* All terms are drawn from the OECD Macrothesaurus 1998.