"This publication recommends ways to improve connectivity between the various actors working in conflict-prone settings. The ultimate goal of enhanced connectivity is to enable local populations to prevent and mitigate conflict and help rebuild their country. This report is intended for civilians as
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well as the military, the public and private sectors, and Americans as well as international and national actors. Four principles, proven true in a variety of settings and industries, form the basis of this report. If embraced, they have the potential to improve operations in conflict-prone settings: 1. Connectivity increases effectiveness. Connectivity is the capacity for individuals and organizations to interface. Connectivity allows for, but does not guarantee, frequent and meaningful interactions, which can help diverse actors develop a common operating language, plan and conduct joint exercises, and integrate operations during crises; 2. Free revealing. Openly sharing new ideas, innovations, and information is better suited to fast-paced, chaotic environments than is the traditional practice of closely managing information flows through established hierarchies; 3. Community generates content. Relying on the community to generate, share, and interpret content makes the best use of resources and minimizes constraints in conflict settings. These settings demand flexibility and adaptability on many levels. User-driven content, in which all individuals contribute information, share concepts, and evaluate resources, is the practical choice for environments with conflicting and unreliable data; 4. Lead users drive the market. By identifying and promoting the practices of lead users (those at the top end of the bell curve), the effectiveness of the entire international community can be enhanced." (Executive summary)
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"This toolkit provides a selection of 100 participatory learning and action (PLA) tools which you can use for HIV/AIDS programmes. PLA tools are interactive activities which enable communities and organisations to learn together about a HIV/AIDS in their community, develop a plan, act on it and eval
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uate and reflect on how it went. The philosophy of this set of publications is that organisations and communities have to work as closely together as possible if they are to address HIV/AIDS successfully." (Page 6)
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"Communities of practice (CoPs) provide people with a desire to address, discuss, and share their knowledge on a particular topic or issue with the means to do so. The USAID Knowledge for Development Strategy identifies such communities as vital to allowing USAID to reach its full knowledge-sharing
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capacity and improve its business process. We recognize that creating and maintaining a community requires dedication and direction. USAID’s 'Communities@USAID Technical Guidance' was developed to assist in this process. Designed to be an easy “how to” manual for those launching and sustaining a community, the guidance steps you through the process from beginning to end." (Preface)
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"The idea of capturing, storing and sharing knowledge so as to learn lessons from the past and from elsewhere – overcoming the boundaries posed by time and space – is far from being a new one. In recent years, a growing movement has emphasised the improved application of knowledge and learning a
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s a means to improve development and humanitarian work. The movement has led to the widespread adoption of learning and knowledge-based strategies among the range of agencies involved in such work, including donor agencies, multilaterals, NGOs, research institutes, and the plethora of institutions based in the South, including national governments, regional organisations, and indigenous NGOs. This guide is aimed at staff working in all such organisations. There are 30 tools and techniques contained here, divided into five categories: i) Strategy Development; ii) Management Techniques; iii) Collaboration Mechanisms; iv) Knowledge Sharing and Learning Processes; and v) Knowledge Capture and Storage. Many of these tools are simple and trying them out requires nothing more than the desire to try something new, and the drive to ‘get on and do it’. Undertaking them effectively requires effective – sometimes advanced – facilitation and communication skills. Here, we have aimed to provide comprehensive accounts of how to apply such techniques, with a focus on the requirements of potential facilitators." (Introduction, page 2)
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"The concept of multi-stakeholder partnership (MSP) as an instrument for achieving development goals is sound, particularly when stakeholders with unique complementary strengths or core competencies add value to development efforts and pool their resources and assets in solving problems. But while m
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any laud the virtues of MSPs, most are struggling to make them work. The central challenge seems to revolve around the nurturing of a working relationship based on trust, mutual respect, open communication, and understanding among stakeholders about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Stakeholders from each sector bring their own organisational mandates, interests, competencies and weaknesses to partnerships. Without open acknowledgement of these factors, and without processes in place to facilitate negotiations among stakeholders for optimal outcomes, effective MSPs will not emerge [...] Knowledge about MSPs as reflected in the contents of this publication is not perfect. It is meant to trigger debate and to serve as an open invitation for all stakeholders with MSP experiences in the area of ICT4D to share their perspectives and knowledge on the subject. What the GKP would like to obtain is a thorough and comprehensive understanding of how MSPs work and can be made to work effectively – knowledge which we ultimately intend to share with the rest of the world. The GKP is the world’s first MSP operating at the global level in the area of ICT for Development. It precedes the G8 Digital Opportunities Task Force (DOT Force) and the Digital Opportunities Initiative (DOI)." (Pages iii-iv)
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"To date, no evaluation frameworks are specifically targeted at evaluating partnership relationships, as opposed to partnership programmatic outcomes. Following a discussion and definition of partnership, its defining features, and value-added, the paper proposes a framework for assessing partnershi
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p relationships in order to: (1) improve partnership practice in progress, (2) refine and test hypotheses regarding partnership’s contribution to performance and outcomes, and (3) suggest lessons for future partnership work. The proposed assessment approach is continuous, process-oriented and participatory, and developmental. Targets of assessment include compliance with prerequisites and success factors, degree of partnership practice, the outcomes of the partnership relationships, partners’ performance, and efficiency. Indicators and associated methods are proposed for each of these. The framework addresses the evaluation challenges of integrating process and institutional arrangements into performance measurement systems, thus contributing to relationship performance as well as program outcomes. It can also be used to enhance the theory and practice of partnership." (Abstract)
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"Instead of telling you what to do at your station, this handbook will give you guidelines about the things you should be thinking of and at what stage of the setting up or operation of the station." (Introduction)
"The information in this guide is organized according to the stages a facilitator goes through in preparing to use a mailing list to work productively with a group of people. We've divided it into three parts: Getting Set Up (Provides an overview of mailing lists and how to prepare your group to use
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them; Finishes with a checklist to be used as a quick reference guide to keep you on track throughout); Working Together (Introduces the concepts of online facilitation and how to apply them to your group's work; Outlines how lists can be used for specific group activities); Resources (Answers typical real-life questions that arise when facilitating mailing lists; Provides references to further reading and online resources)." (Pages vii-viii)
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