Annual Report of Activities 2006: EADI Information Management Working Group October 2006

The Information Management Working Group serves as a platform for reflection, discussion and action on development information across Europe. It is the only European meeting place for information professionals with a strong interest in international co-operation and development research. For the past 30 years, the working group has organised annual meetings in close collaboration with its members. New members are always welcome!

1. Members

The members of the Working Group are mainly drawn from the EADI members. In recent years, the nature of expertise has evolved with more communication expertise joining with the information and knowledge expertise, to form a solid and interwoven group. As a result of informal networking and interaction over the years, the members comprise a core group (30-40 people) who attend the annual conference regularly, have invested in the ELAND project and other technical initiatives and are part of an informal community of information and communication expertise. Another larger group (89) that comprise the Working Group participate in events (such as the annual conference) and may also be a member of the online discussion group. A mailing list from past conferences is also used to ensure even wider networking amongst information and communication professionals.

2. Activities

During the year we have been engaged in the following activities:


2.1 Conference

The conference marked 30 years of activities by the working group, constituted under EADI. The 2006 conference was hosted by the Institute of Development Studies, and well attended with over 50 participants from 9 countries.

An article on the workshop will be appearing in the forthcoming EADI newsletter. Most of the presentations, reports from some the sessions, and results two background surveys on research communication and e-libraries will shortly be available on the workshop website: www.ids.ac.uk/eadi-imwg

The business meeting ended the conference on a positive note with the following actions for the group:

  • Organise a plenary session at the next EADI General Conference (2008).
  • Ensure write up of meeting outputs and publicise the material via the EADI website, in own institutions and within networks.
  • Maintain the Working Group as a space for sharing challenges and solving problems.
  • Maintain the informal, friendly nature of the Working Group that welcomes and involves new members.
  • Greater promotion of the Working Group on the EADI website.
  • Publicise the annual meeting of the working group more widely.
  • Engage with other EADI working groups ( poverty and governance in particular).
  • Increase efforts to engage Francophone groups.
  • Work towards common open access policy for all members publications (seen as a five year goal).

The Institute for Social Studies in The Hague, The Netherlands has kindly offered to host the 2007 conference.

The next EADI General Conference will have the overall title "Global governance and sustainability". It will take place from 8-12 September 2008 in Geneva. The IMWG aims to have a plenary at this conference.


2.2 Discussion group

The discussion group consists of 89 participants. It is an informal space used by members to share knowledge. The main purposes of the discussion groups are for:

  • Creating an interactive space for professional support.
  • Discussing the upcoming conferences.
  • Projects (Technical developments (ELAND, RSS, Focuss, DevExpertise) and Information and Knowledge Management (IKM Emgerent).

The Working Group also built alliance with Euforic through contributions from Peter Ballantyne. More resources are becoming available on the D-group website.


2.3 Convenor meetings:

The Working Group Co-Convenors met in December 2005 (in Oslo) and April 2006 (in Brighton), and also held conference calls in July 2006 and September 2006 to help plan the workshop.


2.4 Project Work

2.4.1 Technical Initiatives as a whole

The ELAND project has been a stalwart of the IMWG for many years. In recent years, other initiatives have been developed such as the DevExpertise and Focuss. At the conference in Brighton, an evaluation of the ELAND project was submitted and it was agreed that the initiative is worthwhile but requires additional focus and possible investment. As a result, a meeting in Bonn in the first quarter of 2007 will be held to discuss the various technical initiatives: Eland, Focuss, and DevExpertise. This will be done in collaboration with the EADI secretariat, the convenors and the technical developers.


2.4.2 RSS and news feeds

As a result of the bonn meeting, the RSS activity was followed up by Euforic holding a number of training sessions through the year. Also, ELDIS developed a guidance note on RSS and newsfeeds and extended this section on their site with input from the IMWG discussion.


2.4.3. Multisearch for ELAND

In relation to ELAND online search, a prototype multisearch was developed the beginning of the year. It is still being tested.


2.4.4 Information and Knowledge Management Framework Study

The project under Mike Powell has received a good response from the Dutch DGIS for financial support and a more detailed proposal is being developed.

IKM Emergent activities will be organised within a framework consisting of a programme and network development strategy, a communications strategy and the work of three working groups:

  • Exploring discourses
  • Making the most of information
  • Knowledge sharing and management

A review body will provide overall guidance and ultimate control of IKM Emergent. It will consist of between six and eight invited members and a representative from each of the EADI secretariat, the EADI information management working group and, should they wish to accept invitations to attend, EADI's main international counterpart organisations. Members of the review body may participate fully in the activities of IKM Emergent or they may choose to limit their involvement to the work of the review body. The review body will, in consultation with the programme co-ordinator and the EADI secretariat, be responsible for inviting new members to join in the event of original members leaving.

The review body will normally meet annually but may meet more often if the occasion requires. The programme co-ordinator, the communications co-ordinator and the workgroup co-ordinators will normally attend review body meetings.

The review body will

  • Offer overall intellectual guidance and challenge to IKM Emergent.
  • Assist in peer review and quality control.
  • Contribute to the impact of the programme through the value of their association with it and the dissemination of relevant material through their own personal and professional networks.

3. Conveners

At the annual conference, Ilse Ishaug and Chris Addison stepped down as convenors. In their places, Michel Wesseling (ISS) and Anja Moller Rasmussen (NIAS) were welcomed.

[Report prepared by Bridget McBean, Geoff Barnard, Michel Wesseling and Anja Moller Rasmussen for the Information Management Working Group, October 2006.]