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Completed Project Activities
Assessment and establishment of a baseline
Assessment Methodology As a first step, the project aimed to identify and assess regional and country status and needs in information management systems for sustainable development. A planning mission to Barbados was conducted with the purpose of establishing an initial contact and scope of work with regional agencies that will be involved in the project. The planning mission took place in December 2002 and was a very useful and productive exercise in further defining the role of the project, identifying further activities for the project, and in initiating the baseline for the project.
A follow-up assessment mission took place in January-February 2003, and it focused on visiting institutions and agencies in three of countries that headquartered a significant number of institutes, specialized agencies, international development agencies and international donor organizations (Jamaica, Trinidad, and Saint Lucia). The follow-up assessment mission was developed based on the discussions with those organizations contacted during the initial planning mission, which were mostly located in the three countries visited. These organizations and entities were recommended based on past or existing work in these areas, expressed interest and involvement in discussions and activities related to this or to efforts to build databases or indicators for a particular sustainable development area, or because they may represent a best practice in using information for sustainable development or in developing innovative mechanisms for sharing and disseminating information.
This assessment is based on information gathered from the two assessment missions to the region, plus the review of several reports discussing the status of information management in the region, and the review of websites and informational publications pertaining to regional institutions engaged in sustainable development activities in the Caribbean.
Part of the assessment also served to determine if countries meet the criteria established by the project. The project targeted a few countries in the region, which would serve as "pilot countries". In accordance with the objectives of the project, criteria were developed to facilitate the selection of pilot sites during the initial planning mission. These criteria included:
Based on these criteria, four countries were selected as pilots for the project: Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia.
Overall Findings of the Assessment A key subject that emerged during the assessment mission was the need for the development of national strategies for development planning. In the absence of national development policies, development of social indicators and adequate use of information becomes very challenging.
Countries could also use assistance in producing reports for international agreements on such questions as what information they should have, what should be monitored, and how the agreements could inform their decision-making. The multiple types of reporting formats exceed the countries' ability to respond, and although standardization in reporting might be a future development, currently the best way to deal with the issue is by building capacity in obtaining and managing the information needs for reporting.
Although countries have published national communications for the climate change convention, and a few have published State of the Environment reports and environment statistics compendia, and biodiversity action plans, there is a general lack of national integrated development plans. Therefore, this is a priority area that urgently needs to be addressed.
However, in order to address this issue, adequate social and environmental information has to be available to the planners and decision-makers. Thus, a basic knowledge of the countries' needs is necessary for establishing an initial plan, which could then serve to guide further information gathering efforts.
Therefore, the sustainable development challenge needs to be tackled at both levels somewhat in parallel, with feedback from both efforts guiding and focusing each other. As such, the role of information in achieving sustainable development goals becomes pivotal. The following general issues were observed in terms of the status of information on sustainable development in the Caribbean:
The core of the IDSD's contribution to sustainable development efforts, and to independent efforts on environmental and socioeconomic issues in the region, will be focused on building capacity for information management. The project will focus on a few key themes under the sustainable development umbrella.
Selection of Thematic Priority Areas From the assessment missions, the four key areas that emerged as areas of focus for the project were:
These four areas were chosen because of their relevance to the Caribbean region, and because, by addressing them, inclusiveness is ensured in bridging environmental and socioeconomic data needs for sustainable development.
Although the challenges that the Caribbean faces for achieving sustainable development, as outlined above, are manifold, the project is expected to initiate a more fruitful flow of information across the region. This will include providing the technological means for compiling and exchanging information on sustainable development, but also the know-how on managing information flows, and the process of becoming more inclusive in the sharing of information and the taking of decisions.
One major aspect that will be covered through the project will be enhancing the capacity for reporting to multilateral agencies, key for obtaining funding for sustainable development projects. Through the training of personnel in the management of information, including how and where to search for information, how to selectively obtain information that is useful for a project, and how to decide the best way of processing information, the reporting process becomes much more accessible.
The website makes available all of the best practices and project experiences in environment and sustainable development issues in the selected pilot countries. The website is developed and linked through SIDSNET – the UN-based website for SIDS issues. Since this is managed through the UN system and is part of their permanent programming, the sustainability of the site is ensured.
The website includes existing databases, information on ongoing projects relevant to the project, and links to agency and institutional websites. The interlinking via the website of national and regional agencies throughout the Caribbean SIDS enables data managers to understand the capacities and the practices of the different institutions involved, information that is necessary for implementing decision making.
The website incorporates material directly related to the IDSD project, including outputs from the project's activities. At the same time, the website introduces the subject of information management for sustainable development, and discusses the process of information management, as well as providing guidance towards methodologies, concepts and themes.
The initial phases of website development necessarily parallel the efforts to develop informational tools and identify best practices, as well as the organization of the training courses. The website is designed to incorporate the training materials in a database. Since the website is the technological tool that enables immediate information-sharing, training in its use and potential are part of the core curriculum for the course.
One key challenge is the regular updating of the information. With the provision of equipment and with the capacity-development, it is anticipated that countries will have the capacity to maintain the use of this mechanism for their own needs and for information-sharing amongst themselves.
The resource person’s meeting is a forum for wide discussion of the challenges facing Caribbean SIDS on generating, accessing and using information for sustainable development, particularly given recent efforts to build capacity in this area. The meeting aims to:
Establishment of priority training needs A regional consultant was hired for the identification of priority training needs for the region in the generation and use information for sustainable development. In particular, training needs for promoting the use of information technology tools and the management of information technology. The outputs informed the development of training materials and the design of a training course that took place in Trinidad & Tobago in October 2003. The consultant’s tasks ultimately related to the project’s aim of developing methodology tools and approaches. The final report is available for download.
Identification of Best Practices and Development of Training Materials A team of consulting partners and collaborating institutions joined in an effort to identify best practices and the most appropriate information management tools available to the region. The tools provided are simple, within existing capacity for application in the region, not costly to maintain, and readily available. The team of consultants included departments from the three campuses of the University of the West Indies and the Development Observatory of the University of Costa Rica. Training materials incorporating this information were developed by the consultants based upon the practices and tools thus identified.
Based on the materials developed, a training course was developed and implemented where the participants learned the use of various information management tools.
The collective experiences, best management practices, and informational management tools identified during the earlier phases of the project were reflected in the contents of the course. The necessary equipment needs were identified and addressed, and trainers and participants were identified and contacted to arrange the timing of the training. The training took place at the regional level, with representatives from the planning and environmental agencies invited to participate.
A regional agency, the Caribbean Centre for Administration and Development (CARICAD), coordinated the development of training materials. The course organization and implementation was overseen by the OAS. This effort sought to empower the region to shape and actively involve itself in the execution of the project, and serves as a starter for what is hoped to be an ongoing training and development of regional environmental information managers. It is hoped that countries would participate in the training course armed with some specific information on a project they need to complete, as to have an immediate practical impact. Design and Establishment of Pilot Network (Ongoing)*One of the critical outputs for the project was the creation of a pilot network on Information for Decision-making. To assist the OAS and the UN in determining the best framework and approach to such a development, the OAS contracted a consultant from the region with wide experience in this area and who had been involved in the field of information management as well as in the development of networks. Clearly, there are many networks available worldwide and several at the regional level. Amongst the concerns which shaped the development of the network was to build on existing activities as well as to ensure its sustainability. The review covered SIDSNET, the Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP) (in particular pilots in Jamaica and Guyana), and the UNEP CEPNET project. The consultant developed a draft report, which provided clear and important guidance related to the development of the networks and provided recommendations for the creation of a network for IDSD. As a step towards this, during the Resource Persons’ Meeting held in Saint Lucia, the issue of the development of an IDSD network was discussed and it was recommended that it be created within an existing network or added to such a network. Consideration is being given to linking the proposed IDSD network with the CCA’s Regional Environmental Information Network. Already, OAS and CCA joined forces in building a network of partnership and ideas in the creation of an e-group, facilitated by the CCA, on IDSD matters. The proposed network would build on this relationship. Further details on the pilot network can be found in the report "Proposal for a Pilot Network for Decision-Making for Sustainable Development." As of June 12th, 2003, a temporary e-group had been established on the issue of "Information for Decision-making for Sustainable Development" accessible through CCAOASIDSD@yahoogroups.com. *Note: The emphasis of the project in the last months of execution turned towards training and procurement and installation of equipment, which were seen as essential by the participating countries. Therefore, this activity had to be relegated as a lesser priority. It is expected that it will be pursued in a follow-up activity. Procurement of equipment and trainingOnce the initial training course was completed, the project sought to coordinate the purchasing and delivery of hardware and software, based on the findings of the workshop and the priority training needs assessment, as well as the needs to further key information management systems already in place. The equipment was provided to the participating countries, with the purpose of supporting the continuation of the informational link and enabling the training of personnel at the national level across the region. This training was conducted at the national level and accompanied the installation of the equipment provided. The exercise was facilitated by personnel trained in the initial course, supported by a consultant with the aim of widening the impact and improving the availability of the tools whose accessibility would have been facilitated by the project. Procurement of equipmentIn the final quarter of the IDSD project, US$7,000 was made available per pilot country for the procurement of equipment to support capacity building and the use of the methodologies and best practices identified in IDSD trainings. The countries determined their equipment needs as initially identified during the IDSD Training Workshop in Trinidad, and the purchase was made by the IDSD Project, following OAS procurement procedures. The following equipment was purchased and distributed to the pilot countries:
Barbados: Laptop computer, Camera, Desktop computer Training at the National LevelIn the final quarter of the project, national level training was conducted in three of the pilot countries, in concordance with the delivery of the equipment pertinent to the subject areas of the training efforts. The countries identified their training needs and organized the training, with assistance from the IDSD Project. The training topics were (click on the links for materials related to the training exercises):
Belize –
Disasters and Climate Change Monitoring and evaluationTo effectively evaluate the impact of the activity, a project evaluation was conducted at the end of the training course to ascertain its usefulness, clarity and impacts. This also served to guide the finalization of the training materials for placement on the website. The evaluation exercise offered an opportunity to review the project and its execution and ascertain the project’s success in meeting its goals and objectives and to attempt to evaluate any level of impact of the project on the beneficiaries, particularly in terms of capacity building. The IDSD Project Evaluation was conducted by Dr. Carol James, after all of the major activities had been initiated and/or completed. The evaluation was conducted in all four pilot countries, with in-depth studies in Barbados and Saint Lucia. The report included an introduction to the assignment; an outline of the methodology utilized; findings of the interviews and contact with respondents; identification of both successes and constraints; lessons learnt; and recommendations for the way forward on this issue generally. The methodology for the evaluation consisted of a review of project documentation, design of question sets and electronic questionnaires. You may access here the Evaluation Report and the Final Report for the IDSD project.
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