icar_ckm

= ILRI-ICAR Workshop on Communication and Knowledge Management in Animal Science Research and Development = =//New Delhi, 4 March 2016//=

Background and objectives
In recent months, ILRI and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) staff in India have interacted on the need to exchange lessons and Insights on communication and knowledge management strategies, approaches and tools in animal science research.

On 4 March 2016 the two institutes organized a one-day workshop with the following objectives:

1 – Exchange experiences and insights on strategies, tools and approaches to research communication and knowledge management with a view to generate lessons and better practices for both institutions to apply.

2 – Explore opportunities for ICAR and ILRI to join forces to better communicate and share knowledge on livestock research and development, in India and potentially globally, with a view to identifying promising collaborative activities and projects in animal science research and development.

**Opening session agenda**
Welcome, Introduction of participants and overview of KM initiatives of ICAR - Dr Rameshwar Singh, Director, Directorate of Knowledge Management, ICAR Opening remarks - Alok Jha, Regional Representative-South Asia, ILRI Introduction of theme - Peter Ballantyne, Head, Communications and Knowledge Management, ILRI Animal science issues & themes in India - H Rahman, DDG (Animal Sciences), ICAR International livestock agenda - Jimmy Smith, Director General, ILRI NARS expectations from ILRI and areas for collaboration - Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, DARE & Director General, ICAR Vote of thanks - Aruna T Kumar, Editor, Directorate of Knowledge Management, ICAR

Products generated by the workshop

 * ON THE ILRI NEWS BLOG **

// A series of ILRI blog articles on //// ‘Curds and goats, lives and livelihoods— //// A dozen stories from northern and eastern India’ //

Part 1: Colourful convocation: Jimmy Smith addresses graduates of India’s prestigious National Dairy Research Institute, 30 Mar 2016 Part 2: Elite buffaloes and other exemplars of advanced Indian dairy science at the National Dairy Research Institute, 31 Mar 2016 Part 3: Culture of the cow: Curds in the city—Better living through smallholder dairying in northern India, 5 Apr 2016 Part 4: Building better brands and lives through peri-urban dairying and smart crop-dairy farming, 6 Apr 2016 Part 5: Part 6: Part 7: Part 8: Getting the (science) word out: ILRI and ICAR share livestock communications and knowledge management practices

ICAR news item: []
 * ON THE ICAR WEBSITE **

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 * ON ILRI SLIDESHARE **

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 * ON THE ILRI FLICKR SITE **

**Technical sessions**
The technical sessions were divided into three themes, with six 10-minute presentations for each. Afterwards, the participants were encouraged to form into small groups to ask the presenters for clarifications/further elaboration, raise questions, and give suggestions/offer recommendations. The discussions were documented in the form of flip chart papers, which were presented during the plenary sessions and posted at the workshop venue.


 * Theme 1: Translating science-based practices into impact by communicating research outputs into potential development outcomes, getting knowledge into use**


 * //Using e-applications for traceability of livestock// - B S Prakash, ICAR. A traceability system (e.g. radio frequency identification [RFID] tagging, geographic information system [GIS]) for livestock value chains to trace the source of infection in animals, determine the state of origin of animals, among others.
 * Makes data available for researchers and stakeholders (e.g. pashudhan cards which list details/information)
 * Kiosks placed in villages for accessibility.






 * //Scaling out research through innovation platforms// (MilkIT and imGoat projects, India) - V Padmakumar, ILRI
 * Emphasizes the importance of co-creation of research, interactions, engagement, contextualizing research agenda
 * Focuses on inclusiveness, discourages the tendency to work in silos
 * Encourages the participation of all actors in the value chain/s and all stakeholders from all levels (village, state, national)
 * MilkIT project in Uttarakhand - shows the application of innovation platforms
 * Emphasizes the importance of making evidence visible








 * //Websites and mobile apps to communicate research information// – Himanshu Varshney, ICAR
 * Web-based information sources
 * For users from all sectors who have varying and diverse information requirements
 * Goals: to generate, preserve and disseminate
 * ICAR - information for stakeholders; content management systems on the original website; e-publications of journals; institutional repositories (digital library, pre-print version of publications); learning management system for teachers and students; knowledge management repository for farmers and research extension workers
 * Benefits: visibility, reduced time for publication, availability of information, increased 'institutional memory'
 * An open-source platform
 * Knowledge maps
 * Helps facilitate dissemination of information to farmers, especially in the form of mobile phone voice messages, which has proved successful
 * Results: Improved visibility, both locally and globally, and improved impact factor of journals
 * Insights gained: The internet's very nature - global, interactive, multimedia, hyperlinks/hypertext, repurposed publications, long-term impact - is the best argument for making the case for putting publications online.


 * //mKisan (2012-2014): Delivering agriculture and livestock knowledge through mobile phones// - Sagarika Gandhi, ILRI
 * A two-year project (2012-14) focusing on dissemination livestock information to farmers through mobile phones. It was funded by USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and implemented by the GSMA Foundation, international mobile networking.
 * Challenge: How to deliver timely, relevant information to farmers
 * A low-cost mechanism for sending out livestock information
 * To bridge the gaps in ICT to benefit farmers
 * Approach: To form an alliance, come up with a revenue generation model
 * Livestock as one of the components
 * Interactive voice response (IVRS), SMS, voice messages, on-demand videos, call centre
 * A push and a pull
 * Fast facts: 800,000 users, one-third repeat users, 9% were women
 * Insight: There is a need for high-quality livestock content, which is difficult to source
 * Adapting and prioritizing the content was critical
 * With women, the outreach was low
 * Impacts on yields and income were hard to measure
 * Each consortium partner had their own research agenda
 * There is a need to focus on high-quality, localized info on vaccinations, feeds and fodder




 * //Popular magazine publishing in ICAR// - Jagdeep Saxena, ICAR
 * ICAR magazines to act as a clearing house
 * ICAR publishes four magazines
 * Priced at INR 30 (approximately USD 50 cents) with government support
 * Challenge: Low inflow of content on livestock; increase coverage of livestock as a possible alternative
 * Possible collaboration with ILRI to increase content on livestock news and information




 * //Textbooks and e-books to reach students and learners// - Rameshwar Singh, ICAR
 * Goal: Authentic, multi-author, peer-reviewed reference books; translating science into practice
 * Textbooks, popular books, manuals
 * Books have not been able to bridge the gap
 * Results: Monographs have had a good response; extension materials now left to local agencies; handbooks are sought after
 * Insights: More motivation to publish textbooks; monographs were successful; extension literature should be region specific
 * Future plan: e-commerce portals










 * Theme 2: Communicating evidence for wider Influence – by engaging with and influencing decision-makers**


 * //Livestock awareness and advocacy by working with media// - Susan MacMillan and Jules Mateo, ILRI
 * News media - traditional, has an institutional voice, heavily produced, vetted by institutes
 * The traditional form of news is changing fast, and with news already in both print and online form, the boundaries between new media and social media are blurring.
 * Principles: The public's right to know; you can do both PA and PR, but they must be kept distinct; visuals matter (infographics, videos, etc.); the voice of the south should be distinct from the voice of the north
 * Lessons: It is important to build relations with journalists; you can't manage the media, but you can manage your relationship with them; time intensive; tailor your vehicles to your target audience
 * The do's and don'ts. Don'ts: be boring, use talking heads, use equal air space, use group photos. Do's: write stories, make film interviews, show, don't tell, say what matters and why, write human-interest stories, tell the truth, speak in your own voice.
 * //Influencing agricultural policies through evidence// - V Padmakumar, ILRI
 * Control of classical swine fever in Nagaland in northeast India
 * High mortality of pigs - anecdotal evidence
 * Problem: Lack of animal health services in remote areas, only available in urban and peri-urban areas
 * Inadequate vaccine supply
 * ILRI and partners conducted a participatory epidemiological study and assessment of economic loss
 * Focuses on vaccine delivery, storage and use
 * A policy brief was distributed to raise awareness, and a stakeholder consultation and a policy round table were held.
 * The Government of India initiated a national swine fever control, licensing for CSF cell culture, vaccine production
 * The Tata-ILRI partnership trained village workers to offer animal health services.
 * Key goals: Evidence, involvement of various actors, results, stakeholder consultation, sustained interaction




 * //Animal health issues and case studies from India// - R K Singh, Director, IVRI, ICAR
 * Case studies from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) on rinderpest control, PPR, vaccines, equine diseases, bugs.
 * Created awareness through information dissemination to stakeholders, mass media, scientific journals, policy makers.
 * Goals: Create awareness among stakeholders, focus on content development
 * Lessons and insights: Communication for knowledge transfer, boosting sources of livelihoods, reaching out to policymakers.
 * It is a push-pull mechanism that requires a two-way communication between scientists and stakeholders.
 * Plans for ILRI-ICAR collaboration: Communication models, economic analysis, epidemiological studies, economic assessments, vaccines and other livestock inputs
 * //Operation flood case story// - Shah, NDDB
 * From 1970-76, the Indian government sponsored 'Operation Flood', a national initiative to not only address milk shortage in India in the 1950s-60s but also to increase milk production in the country by bringing milk from rural areas to satisfy urban demand.
 * Problems: Delivery problems, stagnated growth in milk production
 * 1964 White Revolution that followed the Anand model, a layered system of milk production and collection that went from the district level to state level then to inter-state level.
 * Results: Excess in milk supply, increased market share in four metro cities and increased funds for loans and grants
 * Through stories and networks to bridge the gaps.








 * //Using social media at ICAR// - Mitali Ghosh Roy, ICAR
 * ICAR currently uses Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
 * Used to promote events, education and opportunities and facts and figures, and engage audiences (e.g. competitions)
 * Focuses on content
 * A wide reach: Visitors from 45 countries, 17% are women
 * Challenges: Content mobilization, sensitization of stakeholders


 * //Using social media to engage and influence livestock stakeholders// - Susan Macmillan and Jules Mateo, ILRI
 * Individual voice and style
 * Journalists and their followers
 * The return of long-form journalism (as long as 6,000 words)
 * Self-correcting: Social media posts allow for a conversation among individuals and institutions
 * Do's: Be social, responsive, acknowledging, generous. Go where the action is. Limit your number of social media channels to 4 or 5.
 * Don'ts: Overwhelm.
 * Content is king.
 * Visuals matter.


 * Theme 3: Accessing, publishing and disseminating research knowledge, information and data, products and outputs for wide accessibility and use**
 * //Open access/open publishing at ILRI// - Peter Ballantyne, ILRI
 * Goals: Increase uptake of research products, make outputs widely available and accessible, produce international public goods with no borders, enhance communication and collaboration
 * ILRI open access policy - open projects, open platforms, open on social networking, open books (Google books), DSpace (CGSpace), open source (Github), open data (data portals and datasets), open news, open to re-use (Creative Commons), open for feedback
 * Working in the open
 * Web service views, workflows, impact factor


 * //Data Management at IASRI// - Dinesh Kumar, IASRI, ICAR
 * Genomic data management
 * http://webapp.cabgrid.res.in/biocomp/




 * //Research journals// - Aruna T. Kumar, ICAR
 * ICAR publishes 26 journals
 * Challenge: Wide accessibility and use
 * Benefits: Global visibility, international viewership, repackaging years of research, review for international authorities on topical issues
 * Goals: Increase impact factor, to be cited more




 * //Organizing and managing livestock content for mobile dissemination// - Sagarika Gandhi, ILRI
 * Livestock content on mobile phones
 * Good-quality content still lacking
 * Should be in the form of practical advice
 * Workflow: Identify farmers' knowledge needs, organize into knowledge domains, develop draft content, content generation
 * Translate scientific knowledge for farmers
 * Content must be accurate, correct and relevant










 * //ICAR information resources for reprocessing and further dissemination through mass media// - N B Nair
 * Covering science and technology agricultural stories
 * Science journalism using digital media
 * Problems: Science doesn't sell; science and tech least covered in India, with agriculture getting only 0.2% of media coverage; scientists are 'shy' about sharing their results with journalists
 * Science stories must be written in 'common man's language'
 * Scientists must provide info that can be 'consumed' by journalists and give the latest information.
 * All about salesmanship - sell your story to the public
 * English is understood by 20% of the public. Stories should be written in local languages to reach a wider audience.


 * //Measuring use of knowledge outputs - some work in progress// - Peter Ballantyne, ILRI
 * Who is using which over time
 * Staff and institute performance
 * Collate usage data
 * Digital reach
 * Altmetric Explorer for metrics