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AfricaLink Reports
>> AfricaLink Home >> AfricaLink Reports >> 1999 Action Plan 1999 Action Plan
Revised January 8, 1999
AfricaLink Support Objectives for 1999
Remote Connectivity
Tangible Scientific Benefits
Professional Facilitation
Local Technical Support
1. Remote Connectivity
African scientists urged us last year not to forget about those among their colleagues at electronically remote sites with no connectivity. ASARECA was awarded a grant from the African Development Bank that will enable it to focus resources on at least some of those remote sites. Our experiment with wireless networking for remote sites in Uganda is still in progress, with fiscal operational hurdles still to be overcome, but emails are indeed flowing. Our experiment with a rural telecenter in Northeastern Ghana is also in its final stages, and conversations have begun with the US Peace Corps to determine if this low-cost model might be replicated in other electronically remote areas as an alternative to the very high cost models many donors are now considering.
Who will be Helped if We Facilitate Remote Connectivity?
We are particularly interested in those remaining members of regional networks who are not yet able to participate in their networks' electronic conferences. These might be particularly remote agricultural research stations or NGOs. At a recent meeting in Uganda of East African networks, the following particular sites were identified:
Mulungu in the DRC
Uyole in Tanzania
Ilonga in Tanzania
Mkwapa in Tanzania
SWRC in Sudan
FRC in Sudan
Areka in Ethiopia
Kifu in Uganda
Cala in MadagascarCoordinators of East Africa agricultural research networks identified these sites as priorities in their region. A similar process of prioritization will be required for networks in Southern and West Africa.
How will We Pay for Remote Connectivity?
Major AfricaLink grants for this purpose in the first round of assistance have largely been exhausted, though some funds remain. The African Development Bank recently awarded a substantial grant to ASARECA which will pay for substantial additional assistance in East Africa. We will work with our counterparts in other regions to secure necessary funding. Possible sources include USAID bilateral and regional missions, other donors, and the core budgets of the organizations requiring connectivity assistance. In some cases, the US Peace Corps may provide support in the form of onsite professional volunteer staff, as was the case in Northeastern Ghana. A small grant from AfricaLink core funds in Washington provided the volunteer in Ghana with sufficient resources to carry out telecenter development.
2. Tangible Scientific Benefits
We indicated last year that we might not be able to attract further funding unless we could show that investments in information technologies yield tangible benefits for science. We have entered into (and funded at least part of) a major experiment in West Africa with IITA to demonstrate just that. IITA is now working out the details. We hope to develop a "feature" article about this experiment for the AfricaLink Web site, and we trust that the experimenters themselves will include a Web site as one of their products.
Who will be Helped if We Demonstrate Tangible Scientific Benefits?
The objective is the development of several "templates" for successful integration of information technologies into the operations of research networks. These templates can then be used by any network for the enhancement of its program. Proof of success in these AfricaLink experiments should prove a useful guide for network financing.
How will We Pay for the Experiment to Demonstrate Tangible Scientific Benefits?
A grant from AfricaLink core Washington funds of roughly $60,000 was made to the IITA for its regional networking experiment. IITA will seek additional funds from other donors. If the experiment proves positive, then other networks would be encouraged to build support for this kind of networking into their core budgets.
3. Professional Facilitation
We found substantial evidence of scientists using email to communicate with donors and major universities in Europe and North America. We found little evidence of scientists using email to communicate among each other in a coordinated fashion to do the real business of their research networks. We are urging East and Southern African research network coordinators to consider professional facilitation services to help them as a regional network "do" better science over the Internet. We can make $20,000 available from resources in Washington for this purpose, sufficient to support perhaps 4 networks for 6 months each. Any network coordinators interested in taking advantage of this funding are urged to make their interests known. Mr. Hailu of ICRAF is making inquiries, and may be able to provide resources for additional networks if interest is strong.
Who will be Helped if We Provide Professional Facilitation?
It is not clear to all concerned that this sort of assistance is truly necessary or cost effective. The intent of this pilot project is to introduce professional facilitation in a number of different networks. The organization actually furnishing the facilitation services will be advised that success in the pilot will likely lead to future contracts, hopefully providing the appropriate incentives. Network coordinators who are presently hesitant about this activity, but who later see positive results from the pilot, will be encouraged to contract for facilitation services from their core budgets.
How will We Pay for Professional Facilitation?
AfricaLink core funds in Washington are already obligated to SANGONeT in Johannesburg for this purpose, sufficient to support perhaps four networks for six months each. If ASARECA sees merit in the pilot, it may choose to apply funds from its African Development Bank grant to facilitate additional networks. Funds reportedly remain in the WARDA AfricaLink grant, which may be applied for this purpose. If a large number of networks express an interest, other donors may be approached for assistance. If the pilot proves successful, networks would be encouraged to build this kind of support into their core budgets.
4. Local Technical Support
We found in many countries, simply making basic use of the Internet can be problematic. Email is in principle accessible at an organization, but for one reason or another, scientists find themselves unable to use it effectively. Technical support help desks are now available in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, and can be initiated anywhere that demand is sufficient. If network coordinators or their members need help, they should make their needs known and resources will be sought to provide help-desk support wherever they are.
Who will be Helped if We Provide Local Technical Support?
Network coordinators speak in general terms of problems in communications with many of their members. The true source of the problem in each case is not entirely clear to us, but we speculate that some network members in some countries simply need a bit more onsite attention. Given the large number of persons and sites involved, it seems more appropriate for network coordinators themselves to tell us where they perceive problems. We can then target technical support to those areas.
How will We Pay for Local Technical Support?
In a few cases it may be possible to use AfricaLink core funds. The ASARECA African Development Bank grant is another possible source. Generally, if the need is clear and is expressed by those that truly require it, i.e. if the provision of this type of support is truly driven by demand, attracting funds from donors should be straightforward -- we hope.
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Last Updated on: January 23, 2003 |
