Magdi LatifRegional Knowledge and Information Management Officer

FAO Partnership, Advocacy and Capacity Development DivisionFAORNE

Lebanon Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Network

Lebanon Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Network

• Capacity Development for institutes in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and Other Stakeholders.

• Development and management of relevant and effective national plant genetic resources knowledge management system in support of food and agriculture.

Achievements:• Networked all plant genetic institutions through a National

gatewayUsing Web-Based Platform and Mobile Technology.

Multilingual (Arabic and English) knowledge management system for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

Lebanon PGR Knowledge Network Interfaces

1. Frontend InterfaceThe frontend components provide the information retrieval/browsing functionalities, and are available to any site user.

2. Backend InterfaceThe backend components provide the data management functionalities that enable system administrators to Add/update/delete data items into the PGRK Network database.

Regional Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Platform

Near East and North Africa

http://plantgenetic.com/

http://Lebanon.plantgenetic.com/

Lebanon Plant Genetic Knowledge Resources Network

Backend of Lebanon Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Network

• Share (one-many) • Store / Retrieve• Collaborate / Interact• Decide• Learn• Notify• Support• Monitor

Lebanon Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Network

• Definitions– Problem/Purpose/Benefits

• Guidelines– Categories– Functions– Resources: NAIS Support

Group• Workplan

– Tools and methodologies– Pilot network selection– Training– Implementation and analysis– Upscaling

FunctionsDevelopment Process

• AGMES – Agricultural Metadata Element Set• AGRIS Application Profile • AGROVOC Arabic/English• Real Simple Syndicate - RSS• Open Archives Initiative Compliance• Online Web services• Software – MySQL Open Source• CIARD Manifesto and a common set of

Principles

Information Standards and Toolsfor Content Management

www.fao.org/aims

To develop and promote interoperability standards to facilitate the efficient dissemination of content.

interoperability is connecting people, data and diverse systems.

Mobilizing and Providing Access to Agricultural Information

• AGRIS – Providing agricultural research and development institutions with an avenue to publish and disseminate the outputs of their work

• AGORA - Providing access to the world’s scientific literature in agriculture in peer-reviewed learned journals.

• CIARD – Providing commitment to promote the sharing of data, information, and knowledge in a global network of truly public collections of information, based on a Manifesto and a common set of Principles.

Coherence in Information for AgriculturalResearch for Development (CIARD)

Availability:  Information is stored in digital formats, with clearly defined copyright, managed in one or more institutionally-owned, thematic or other repositories, built and structured according to accepted international standards. 

Accessibility:  Information is openly accessible for all users, and easily located via the Internet from outside the institution using tools and services adopted by the international community.

Applicability: Research planning, implementation and communication are an inclusive process bringing together all perspectives and knowledge. Research outputs and messages are adapted for easy access, use and re-use by different stakeholders, increasing the public benefits derived from the research.

Partners in the CIARD initiative have made a collective commitmentto promote the sharing of data, information, and knowledge in aglobal network of truly public collections of information, based on aManifesto and a common set of Principles.

Benefits of Lebanon PGR Knowledge Network

Connect people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to interact, either as frequently or at all.

Provide a shared context for people to communicate and share information, stories, and personal experiences in a way that builds understanding and insight.

Stimulate learning by serving as a vehicle for authentic communication, mentoring, coaching, and self-reflection.

Capture and diffuse existing knowledge to help people improve their practice by providing a forum to identify solutions to common problems and a process to collect and evaluate best practices.

Introduce collaborative processes to groups and organizations as well as between organizations to encourage the free flow of ideas and exchange of information.

Help people organize around purposeful actions that deliver tangible results.

Generate new knowledge to help people transform their practice to accommodate changes in needs and technologies.

Benefits of Lebanon PGR Knowledge Network

• Address stakeholders’ needs more effectively,

• Coherence and Synergies in information management,

• Use of agreed standards, methodologies and tools.

• Sharing and Exchange of information and knowledge,

• A collaborative system and effective communication,

• Enhanced technical cooperation and collaboration,

• Reduced cost of operation, Reduced time/cost/effort of

developing national information systems/networks,

National Agricultural Information and Knowledge Exchange Systems/Networks - NAIS

Regional Thematic Knowledge Networks

Agricultural Information and Knowledge Exchange Systems/Networks

National Agricultural Information and Knowledge Exchange Systems/Networks

Agricultural Information and Knowledge Exchange Systems/Networks

http://plantgenetic.com/Statistics/

Statistics of Regional Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Network

http://lebanon.plantgenetic.com/Statistics/

Statistics of Lebanon Plant Genetic Resources Knowledge Network

Success Factors for National PGR Knowledge Network

1. Commitment for contribution/collaboration at national level;

2. Focus on capacity building at national level;

3. Existence of a national information strategy;

4. Development of a Secretariat role for national activities;

5. Focus on community of practice amongst the info specialists;

6. Raising awareness of ICM issues at Manager./political levels;

7. Formation of strategic partnerships amongst the major

stakeholder organizations.

Thank You for your Attention