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Table of contents

Executive Summary …………………………………………………………… 4

Background and Main Objective…………………………………………… 4

Specific Objectives…………………………………………………………… 4

Project Deliverables …………..………………………………………………… 5

Methodology ………………………………………………………………………5

Deliverable I: Project Charter Document ………………….. ………………6 Phase 1- Inception ……………………………………………………... 6-8

Deliverable II: Development of CaFAN Portal………………….. … ………9

Activity 1- Stakeholder Consultation ………………………………... 9

Activity 2- Development of Web Portal Prototype…………………... 11

Activity 3- Registration of Domain and Hosting ……………………... 12

Activity 4- Development of Web portal ……………………………... 13

Activity 5- Implementation & Testing………………………………... 14

Activity 6- Web Monitoring …………………………………………... 15

Project Opportunities ………………………………………..……………… 16

Challenges Ahead …………………………………………………………… 16

Appendices:

Appendix 1: Web Content Plan ……………………………………… 18

Appendix 2: Joomla! Content Management System (CMS)………...25

Appendix 3: Recommendations from the Consultation……………….27

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Executive Summary

The objective of this report is to give an outline of the CaFAN Web Portal Development Project from its inception to its completion based on the requirements outlined by the CaFAN Secretariat. The outcome of the Project is a Web Portal which is a fully functional, flexible and scaleable working application

Background & MAIN Objective

The Caribbean Farmers Support project is an initiative of the Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN) through the support of the Technical Centre of Agriculture and Rural Development Organization (CTA). The project is being implemented by the CaFAN secretariat , Housed in ECTAD which is based in St. Vincent & the Grenadines to utilize Information and Communication Technologies in information dissemination and to facilitate networking. CaFAN requires a dynamic website designed, developed, implemented and, managed to support its programme and associated activities. The major objectives of the CaFAN Web Portal are to provide Information and agricultural resources for the Caribbean Farmers Network, (CaFAN). • This site will also provide access to basic information for; • General public & Small Farm Families • Farmers Organizations • Donor Agencies • Other Stakeholders CaFAN contracted Topnotch Solutions to Prepare, implement and manage the Design and Development a Web Portal to facilitate the above.

Specific Project Objectives

The major objectives of the consultancy are detailed below: • To serve as a virtual education resource for farmers, farmers organizations and other stakeholders. • To educate the general public, and end users about the farming in the Caribbean and provide technical resources. • To provide an online forum for networking of farmers organizations in the Caribbean and farmers. • To provide a resource to link producers with suppliers.

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Project Deliverables

To achieve the Specific Project objectives in the short term the implementation will consist of the following deliverables: Deliverable I: Project Charter Document

i. Team Selection ii. Inception Meetings iii. Work plan preparation iv. Finalization of the Web Content Plan & Project Schedule (Project

Charter Document) Deliverable II: Development of CaFan Portal

i. Stakeholder Consultation ii. Finalization of the Content Plan and Site Plan iii. Development CaFan Web Portal Prototype Template iv. Registration of Domain and Webhosting v. Development of Web Portal vi. CaFan Web Portal Testing

Methodology

The approach to this assignment will include the following key components:

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The development of an interactive website will provide an opportunity for CaFAN to show tangible and immediate benefits in the short term. The website will allow CaFAN to Increase participation and to provide information and agricultural resources for the Caribbean Farmers Network.

Phase 1: INCEPTION

This involved the assembly of the team, holding inception meetings with the Secretariat Staff and Chief Coordinator of CAFAN and preparation of the Project Charter based on the TOR received. This phase commenced in November 2006 and ended on January 2007. There were several inception meetings held with the secretariat staff and Chief Coordinator to evaluate their needs with regards to the desired outcomes of the Webportal. These consultations involved qualitative and quantitative interviews/discussions with CaFAN and its stakeholders. The process was highly collaborative. The outcome of this consultation helped in the preparation of the work plan and delivering the Project Charter document in the form of a Content Plan, a Project Plan and Schedule. (See Annex 1 and 2 for detailed breakdown of the Content Plan and Joomla! Content Management System.) Below were some of the features highlighted in the Project and Content Plan. Web Content and Features Overview The website will be built on a web browser based Open Source Content Management System (CMS), Joomla! which will allow for the management of the content via any PC with a browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Firefox) which is connected to the Internet. The Joomla! CMS will allow a non-technical user to maintain a complex database-driven website.

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The website will benefit from the inclusion of the following dynamic functionality:

• All content as described in the Content Inventory section of the Content Plan.

• User Comments – User comments on articles/pages found on the website will be possible. These comments will be vetted by a moderator before they are made public, deleted or simply used by CAFAN for internal purposes. When activated a user will see the option to submit a comment at the end of the article. The user will also be able to see comments made by past users.

• Calendar of Events: An events calendar with the ability to display events in a number of views (e.g. day, week, category etc). Registered users of the website will be able to submit events for approval by CaFAN admin.

• Resource Library – This is a searchable document/file repository which can be used to provide access to a categorised assortment of downloadable files (in various formats, e.g. PDF, DOC, XLS, PPT etc.). It can be used for brochures, fact sheets, speeches, forms, presentations etc. Statistics on the number of hits for each file are also provided.

• HTML Newsletter Signup: This will allow CaFAN to send attractive html (email) newsletters to persons who opt to subscribe. Users will also have the option of reviewing past publications on the website. CaFAN will have the capacity to maintain multiple newsletters (e.g. newsletters targeted to various target groups) which each user can selective subscribe to. Among the many features that the newsletter will have is Statistics management (Number of Sent / Opened newsletters, HTML or text only)

• Moderated Public Forums

• Website Polls – This feature will allow CaFAN to post polls on the website to solicit feedback from site visitors.

• Informative Module Boxes to draw attention to various content items throughout the site.

• Examples are Upcoming events, Scrolling Latest News, Most popular pages, What’s new, Popular Downloads, Featured Organization, Random Organization

• Organization Online Directory with features which include customizable organizational profiles including provision for logos, full contact info, description, recommend to a friend, contact owner/member form, search directory, and the ability to highlight featured organizations and randomly selected organizations.

• Email Login For CaFAN Members • Full site search facility • Dynamic Site Map – This provides another means by which website

users can find what they want. The site map is generated automatically and would not require any updating by the website content manager.

• Email to a friend – To help drive site traffic by giving website users the ability to email a link to the current page to friends, family and associates.

• Printer friendly version of Pages

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• User rating of pages. This will help CAFAN to assess the effectiveness of the information from the users’ perspective.

• Related Pages – This is the ability to generate a list of links to related pages in the website at the bottom of any page. The links are generated based on similar keywords associated between pages.

• Scheduled content publishing which would allow the content manager to set dates for pages to automatically appear and disappear.

• Restricted Access Pages – All pages on the website can be set to public or registered users’ access. This means that CaFAN will have the option of restricting viewing of some pages to registered users of the site.

The Content and Web Plan obtained approval by the CaFAN Secretariat and suggestions for the stakeholder consultation were discussed for the next phase.

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Phase 2: DEVELOPMENT OF CAFAN PORTAL

Activity 1: Stakeholder Consultation This approach involves a consultative approach with CaFAN and its stakeholders aimed at establishing the “Brand Value” of CaFAN which is just as important as the technical requirements of the Website. Also buy in from all stakeholders would need to be achieved as they would have been an important part of the development process. The content plan was circulated to the CaFAN membership for input. A Training Workshop on Management for Farmer Associations was held in Barbados from the 22nd January – 1st February 2007 During the workshop there was a presentation made by the Director & Program Advisor, Mrs. Claudette De Freitas on Information & Communication Management to raise the awareness of the Stakeholders on the different elements of Communication and Information Management. She was able to give an overview of Websites highlighting the advantages and disadvantages as well as the sort of information that should be placed on the site according to the organizations priority themes. Another presentation was delivered by Professor Stewart Marshall of the University of West Indies, Distance Learning Centre on the “Use of ICT to strengthen farmer’s organizations and improve farmers’ productivity. This presentation covered the impact of ICT in society and the use of ICT in increasing access to communication and information, hence bridging the digital divide. Professor Marshall discussed the role of ICT in reducing costs for communication through the use of Voice over Internet Protocol from free softwares such as Skype. He also covered the new initiatives in the reduction of the cost of hardware, through Nicholas Negreponte’s One Laptop Per Child Project costing only US $100. Professor Marshall then touched on how the web is an instrument for collaboration due to the convergence of different technologies all on one open platform. Critical to his presentation was the use of open source Software, Software that is available for free and also built on an open code to allow others to modify it. Open Source software makes access to technologies affordable, especially in developing countries. He covered the open source software’s available for Programming such as Linux and PHP, Web tools, e.g., Firefox web browser which is safer than using Internet explorer, he also mentioned that for Web development, Social Content Management Systems such as Blogs and Wikis to facilitate collaborative and community strategic information systems.

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He was able to impart the idea of having a web portal and how it would link to the end user, which is central to the development of a strategic information system, linking multiple stakeholders, having both an internal and external focus. (See Diagram 1)

Professor Marshall discussed the various types of Open source content management systems that would be suitable for Farmer’s Organisations. Which were specifically the Joomla! and Drupal, Content Management Systems. These Information systems are designed for community environments and accommodate a democratic and decentralised approach to controlling information flow. They facilitate the ability of information owners to publish the information to the web by themselves. After the conclusion of these presentations, participants were encouraged from during the working group sessions to review the Web and Content Plan and make recommendations that would inform the process of developing the website. (See Annex 3 for Recommendations from the Stakeholder Consultative Web Development Process.)

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Activity 2: Development of Web Portal Prototype Based on the recommendations from the stakeholder consultation, a site-map/structure for the Portal and Database was finalized and work commenced on the Design of the Web Portal Prototype in February. This involved interaction with the CaFAN Secretariat with regards to graphics, colour schemes and pictures. There were some delays in this process due to external factors beyond the control of the consultant and the CaFAN secretariat. These factors were due to the delay in the completion of the CaFAN logo by the contracted design firm. Another major factor was in the delay of the disbursement for the project. On the receipt of the CaFAN logo,work commenced on the design of the web portal prototypes. Two prototypes were developed and submitted to the CaFAN Secretariat and Directorate for selection and approval. The layout of the textual and graphical content was design to be attractive but simple and the web pages aimed to strive for an uncluttered look. The design was constructed so that primary users will be able to grab the key elements at a few glances. The templates incorporate a flash animation which highlighted the different member countries and farming activities, with graphics provided by CaFAN. Prototype Layout Template 1:

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Prototype Layout Template 2:

The CaFAN Secretariat and Directorate selected the second Prototype Layout Template with some input given on slight adjustments. Activity 3: Registration of Domain and Web hosting The domain name Caribbeanfarmers.org and Caribbeanfarmers.com was registered for one (1) year. The domain name CaFAN.org was parked and reserved in the event that the domain would become available. Along with the domain name, 1000 email accounts using the domain could be set up to facilitate the exchange of date amongst CaFAN membership along with 5 Deluxe email accounts with 1GB each for Admin mail. A two (2) year hosting plan with 100gb Space hosted on a Linux server (An Open Source platform) was selected to facilitate the massive multiple content database driven system with 25 MySQL databases housing the content for the front end of the website. The plan also includes unlimited Email Forwards, Hosting for Forums, Blogging, Photo Galleries and Community hosting for Wikis, Online Stores. Considerations were given to allow for speed of access to information in the selection of the bandwidth available (1000GB Transfer) for the site. This process was completed by June 1st, 2007.

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Activity 4: Development of Web Portal This involves the actual programming on the back end of the website. The site navigation was designed from the viewpoint of the visitors. It was programmed to be clear and easy to follow, and make the most important information a maximum of two clicks away. The main navigation was programmed to be a horizontal navigation, featuring drop down menus to facilitate easy navigation. Additionally:

i.) a bread crumb path navigation was used on each page to indicate to the user, the path to their current location;

ii.) Each page was programmed to have a sub menu navigation which identifies the immediate sub pages/sections of the current page.

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Activity 5: Implementation & Testing On completion of the programming the following site was made visible on the http://caribbeanfarmers.org which is the front end.

Consultations were held with the CaFAN Secretariat to ensure that the basic functionality was in line with the requirements set out for the CaFAN portal. Changes were made with programming functionalities on the backend to facilitate content management.

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Implementation and Testing of the site was successful and was completed and approved by the CaFAN Secretariat by June the 25th 2007. Activity 6: Website Monitoring This involves website project management and monitoring which is an ongoing process. Content will be gathered by CaFAN and uploaded on to the website. As content is uploaded, further modifications could be requested and made by the CaFAN secretariat and Membership. This sets the tone for the second phase of the project which would involve the delivery of training to the CaFAN Secretariat on the use of the Content Management System (CMS) to facilitate upload of information at any time without restriction. It will also involve E-Marketing of the interactive CaFAN Portal. The maintenance schedule also includes the registering of the site with the main search engines and configuring the keywords for Search Engine Optimization and other online marketing.

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Project Opportunities

As the project deliverables have been met, CaFAN is now provided with exciting opportunities and meaningful challenges. These project opportunities include; i. An interactive website infrastructure and environment that can be a model for other agencies in civil society in a similar stage of development; ii. Identifying CaFAN as a leader in the provision of assistance in the farming & agriculture sector thus attracting the identified target audience; iii. Raising CaFAN profile in the local, regional and international community in dealing with the online delivery of farmer’s product and services; iv. Using e-Business/e-Governance as a mechanism to transform the delivery of Farmers services and to provide a catalyst for the growth; v. Improving operational efficiency and maximizing use of resources so that CaFAN can deliver traditional services at a reduced cost.

Challenges AHEAD

While it is understood that there are many opportunities for CaFAN, it must be taken into consideration that for sustainability, the project will have some challenges. Some of the challenges identified include;

i. Ensuring that content and is delivered to the CaFAN secretariat for editing to keep the content fresh and updated.

ii. Ensuring the continued alignment with other CaFAN initiatives, including maintaining policy integration where possible;

iii. Ensuring the continued involvement of relevant stakeholders and departments and preventing “consultation fatigue”;

iv. Ensuring that the solutions and recommendations presented at the next stages in the second phase of the project are understood and embraced by all stakeholders concerned.

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ANNEX 1.

Content Plan for

CAFAN (Caribbean Farmers Network) Purpose To provide Information and agricultural resources for the Caribbean Farmers Network,(CaFAN). This site will also provide access to basic information for End Users, Farmers, Farmers Organization. Goals

1. To serve as a virtual education resource for farmers, farmers organizations and other stakeholders.

2. To educate the general public, and end users about the farming in the

Caribbean and provide technical resources. 3. To provide an online forum for networking of farmers organizations in the

Caribbean and farmers.

4. To provide a resource to link producers with suppliers. Success Measures To determine whether the content is helping to achieve the website’s purpose, we’ll gather and evaluate the following data:

• Feedback received through “Contact Us” • Number of site hits per week • Number of users posting on the Forum • Number of individuals accessing various pages • Periodic surveys of users

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Audience 1. General public & Small Farm Families

2. Farmers Organizations

3. Donor Agencies

4. Other Stakeholders

• Primary audience: Caribbean (General Public)

Personal characteristics

Includes: • Farm Family Households • Farmers with persons with very little time to spare. • With relatives who are internet Savvy

Computer expertise Slim to Moderate PC and Internet skills

Top objectives

1. Obtain information on Farming and benefits 2. Find out specific information on Agriculture and Business

Aspects of Agriculture

Top assumptions 1. Limited computer knowledge and access. 2. Limited bandwidth

• Primary audience: Caribbean (Farmers Organizations)

Personal characteristics Includes:

• Farmers Organizations in the Caribbean • People who are internet Savvy

Computer expertise Slim to Moderate PC and Internet skills

Top objectives 1. Obtain information on Farming and benefits 2. Find out specific information on Agriculture. 3. Networking

Top assumptions 1. Adequate computer knowledge and access. 2. Access to adequate bandwidth

• Secondary audience: Donor Agencies

Personal characteristics Includes:

• All Donor Agencies that offer assistance to regional organizations

Computer expertise With Experts that have a high level of PC and Internet skills

Top objectives 1. Utilize the Website for Information about the organization, for

monitoring 2. Access to general information

Top assumptions 1. Lack of information on Caribbean NGO’s

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• Tertiary audience: Other Stakeholders

Personal characteristics Businesses (Suppliers), Financial Institutions, Supermarkets, Government Ministries, Regional Organizations and other stakeholders.

Computer expertise Moderate to advanced PC and Internet skills

Top objectives 1. To find out information about the organization and access to

other information.

Site theme and style Site would have a Flash Header showing the different members countries and farming activities Drop down Menu which would facilitate easy facilitation Site would also involve navigational backend programming.

The site would be visually pleasing, user-friendly easily navigational, and peek the user’s interest using, spotlighting, and a variety of information. Content Management Content would be provided by each member organization and submitted to the secretariat for uploading to the website server. Content Management would be done by the secretariat to streamline information on the site. Content Management is an on-going process. Content categories

Links About Us - CAFAN Secretariat Email Log In for CAFAN Members Site Map Search Organization Online Directory Marketing Opportunities:

• Regional • International

Financing for Agriculture Training Agriculture and Trade Investment and Agriculture New Technologies & Information of Agriculture Agriculture Inputs and

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Technological Package Market Preparation and Post Harvest Handling Career Opportunities Other Resources Contact Us Taking Action (Advocacy) Projects News Forum Terms and Conditions of Service Privacy Policy Tell a Friend Book MarkUs

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Content inventory Content Audienc

e Priority Update

Frequency Description

Home All H As needed This would contain General Information about the website and a welcome introduction Should have a line banner of al the Caribbean flags, this could be a demonstrated in a flash header - Would highlight articles and messages from various organizations and farmers (updated as needed)

About Us all H As needed Information about the Organization

Secretariat all H As needed Log In – Username/Password

2 H As needed Login access for members email addresses.

Site Map all L As needed List of all site links by categories

Search all H As needed Search engine for CAFAN site/Google

Online Directory all H As needed Would contain contact information on the various organizations as well as links to their web pages or a webpage created for the organization as well as local experts.

Marketing Opportunities all H As needed Would have a sub drop down list for Regional Marketing Opportunities and International marketing Opportunities

Financing for Agriculture all H As needed Would provide financial resources for agriculture as well as links for farmers in Financial Management

Training all H As needed Access to training information, training opportunities for farmers, farmers organizations and members

Agriculture and Trade all H As needed Would provide information on agriculture and the link to regional trade and

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international trade, statistics and links to trade organization information. Would also provide information on market access issues.

Investment and Agriculture all H As needed Would provide information on encouraging local and international investment in agriculture and to also provide information on investment promotion activities and resources that facilitate investment in agriculture.

New Technologies and Agriculture

all H As needed Would provide information on new technologies in agriculture as well as the use of information, communication and technology as a facilitator for development.

Agriculture Inputs and Technological Package

all H As needed Would provide information on input usage and other tech pack information for existing, and potential farmers

Good Agriculture Practices all H As needed Would provide information on GAP which would include, market preparation, post harvest handling practices

Career Opportunities all H As needed List of Jobs, with links and Submission Page (Form), which facilitates the upload of Documents. (pdf, Doc)

Other Resources all H As needed This would contain a link to suppliers and other stakeholders

Contact Us all H As needed List contact info for feedback and questions along with a contact form Would have a drop down list to select options for contacts.

Taking Action Projects News All H Monthly Links to current news items &

articles for CAFAN and its members and information (both internal and external

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links) - The site Newsletter would also be available online. A form would be available for subscription.

News Archives all M Monthly or as needed over a period of time

Searchable archives of news stories and tips & tidbits (Document Uploads) or html links

Forum all M As needed

Support Group message board Using PHP Script/ would have Different Topics to facilitate networking.

User/Password Login For Forum

all M As needed

User/Password login for support group message board.

Chat All H As needed

Page would have a link to skype and a directory of all organizations accounts on skype.

Terms and conditions of Interactive Use of Website

all L As needed Facilitated by a small link at the bottom of each page.

Privacy Policy all L As needed Facilitated by a small link at the bottom of each page.

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ANNEX 2.

Joomla! Content Management System

Joomla! is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on the planet. Joomla! is used all over the world to power everything from simple, personal homepages to complex corporate web applications. Here are just some of the ways people use our software: _ Corporate websites or portals _ Online commerce _ Small business websites _ Non-profit and organizational websites _ Government applications _ Corporate intranets and extranets _ School and church websites _ Personal or family homepages _ Community-based portals _ Magazines and newspapers _ the possibilities are limitless… Joomla! can be used to easily manage every aspect of your website, from adding content and images to updating a product catalog or taking online reservations.

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Joomla! does a great job of managing the content needed to make your website sing. But for many people, the true power of Joomla! lies in the application framework that makes it possible for thousands of developers around the world to create powerful addons and extensions. Here are just some examples of the hundreds of available extensions: _ Dynamic form builders _ Business or organizational directories _ Document management _ Image and multimedia galleries _ E-commerce and shopping cart engines _ Forums and chat software _ Calendars _ Blogging software _ Directory services _ Email newsletters

_ Data collection and reporting tools _ Banner advertising systems _ Subscription services _ and many, many more… (See screen shot below of Joomla! Extension directory)

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ANNEX 3

Recommendations from Stakeholder Consultation at the Training Workshop on Management for Farmer Associations held in Barbados from the 22nd January – 1st February 2007

Small group discussion and exerciseSmall group discussion and exerciseSmall group discussion and exerciseSmall group discussion and exercise

On Public Relations and Information Communication ManagementOn Public Relations and Information Communication ManagementOn Public Relations and Information Communication ManagementOn Public Relations and Information Communication Management

Participants were broken up into groups and they were given group exercises. One of the exercises given to the groups was to prepare a plan to advise the Website team what features they would like to be included in the CaFAN Website, and provide them with a list of some of the key buttons and links for the home page. The idea that participants gave for the website were as follows:

• Links to the different Farmers Organisation within CaFAN Membership on the side of the page

• Discussion boards • Photo gallery • General information on CaFAN and its programme activities

• Marketing information, etc