Key accomplishments in 2006

The following are key accomplishments by the Chief Information Office (CIO) in 2006, some of which were planned and implemented in close collaboration with other System Office units.

Efficiencies Gained through Collaborative Efforts. The CIO managed to yield considerable financial savings through collaborate efforts with participating CGIAR Centers. These savings, which amounted to more than US$500,000 (double the savings of last year), have been made available for Systemwide or collective purchases of computer applications and software previously either purchased by Centers at high cost or done without. Through cooperation and collective purchasing, Centers not only saved considerable funds but were able to provide heretofore unavailable tools to staff.

In addition to information technology savings detailed below, collaborative action on behalf of the information management community of the CGIAR, working with the CIO, has brought access to numerous journals and one agricultural database that, if purchased separately, would have cost an additional US$1.4 million. Most of these publications can be accessed through CGVlibrary.

Strengthening Partnerships. Successful workshops, training sessions and involvement in international events are all manifestations of the Centers' continued desire to come together as one. From facilitating the Civil Society-CGIAR Forum and holding the Learning, Review and Planning Workshop for CGXchange, to facilitating a Global Forum on Agricultural Research 2006 conference session, conducting an interactive knowledge-sharing workshop during the first International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD) Africa Chapter Conference, and holding a meeting with the CGIAR training community and some of its partners, CGIAR staff from across the System have enthusiastically showed that they are on their way to achieving a CGIAR without boundaries. All of these events provide opportunities for sharing information on activities and consulting widely to be better informed on future developments.

Through coordinated efforts between the CIO and the Knowledge and Communication Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, collaboration between FAO and the CGIAR has become more routine. This strengthened partnership focuses on sharing information, opportunities and knowledge in addition to looking for opportunities for concrete collaboration and sharing resources. Areas of common interest and collaboration have included the Info Finder search engine, metadata work, translation undertakings, CGIAR's participation in the new AGRIS Alliance bibliographic information system, and organizing an e-agriculture week.

Online Dialogue with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The knowledge-sharing staff of the CIO assisted and supported the CSO-CGIAR virtual conversation held in November 2006, A diverse group of researchers and development professionals kept up a continuous stream of informative and constructive messages in the CGIAR's first facilitated online dialogue about its partnerships with CSOs. Nearly 160 people registered to participate in the virtual conversation, and about 65 posted more than 200 messages in English, French and Spanish. All messages received in French or Spanish were translated into English.

The virtual dialogue was the positive prelude to a day-long, face-to-face forum - involving CSOs, CGIAR Members, staff of research Centers and Challenge Programs, and others - at the CGIAR Annual General Meeting 2006 (AGM06) in early December.

2004 Investment Plan Project Achievements. Considerable achievements and successes by the various projects supported Systemwide by the 2004 Investment Plan include the following:

• Installation of improved connectivity was completed at 10 locations, and a further four sites achieved improved connectivity after receiving information technology (IT) advice from the CIO.
• Multi-way videoconferencing among Centers has become more commonplace.
• Pilot Centers in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East conducted detailed assessments of IT risk and security.
• Four hundred sixty-one live communications server licenses were distributed, with every Center receiving about 30 licenses.
• The Consortium on Spatial Information (CSI) has been accepted as the first non-United Nations member of the UN Geographic Information Working Group.
• MapAction, a UK-based international charity that uses maps and geographic information to support aid agencies' responses to natural disasters, now relies on CGIAR-CSI data to carry out its work
• Since its launch in 2004, the CSI website has had over 100,000 unique visitors.
• CGXchange of the CGIAR intranet has been launched at nine CGIAR Centers, with the International Water Management Institute being the first Center to set up its own wiki on CGXchange.
• Following its official launch, CGVlibrary recorded 30,000 searches per month, many from organizations in developing countries
• CGVlibrary was recognized at AGM06 with the CGIAR's Science Award for Outstanding Scientific Support.
• The Virtual Academy for the Semi-Arid Tropics Project was chosen as a finalist in the AGM06 Innovation Marketplace for CSO-CGIAR collaboration.
• The use of knowledge-sharing techniques has grown at CGIAR events, as with the CSO-CGIAR virtual discussion, and at AGM06 itself, where knowledge-sharing techniques have been used in face-to-face dialogue between the CGIAR and the CSO community.
• Recognition is growing of the CGIAR's achievements and skills in knowledge management, and the CIO is increasingly asked to participate in, and provide input for, other organizations and communities.