La plate forme régionale des AIF / AIF regional platform

8 - 11 January 2013. Yaoundé, Cameroon. During four days this PAEPARD communication workshop brought together representatives of the four regional farmer organisations - ROPPA, EAFF, PROPAC and FANRPAN/SACAU and a private sector representative collaborating with ColeACP.
They were trained in the use of communication tools and especially to build five regional platforms whose objective is to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of User-Led-Process in the regions.

The analysis of the communications needs of regional Agricultural Innovation Facilitators from the Regional Farmer Organisations (AIFs of the RFOs) revealed four major communication functions:

1. Feed the regional and national actors with relative information to federated themes (web articles, publications, studies, websites, news) discussed by the group 
2. Inform the progress of steps performed within the User-led process by the group 
3. Having a set of tools and a space for group works, prepares and performs the steps of User-Led Process. 
4. Having the possibility to re-use the approach, tools and IT structures in place for the group after the end of the project

The goal of the workshop was therefore:

• to define together what might be the future shape of the regional platform. 
• Why and how this platform can help User-Led-Process players to work better together and display the results? 

Once the platform was described in a consensusal way, Work Package 3 of the PAEPARD project (led by CIRAD) translated those needs into functional tools.

• The use of these tools was tried out by the participants of the workshop
• They used those new skill to build their regional platform as described in the previous step. 

IT platform
The "platform" of the users led process for the respective sub regional farmer organisations takes the form of a website including three parts (three menus):

1. A section devoted to the presentation of the regional group and to display news 
2. A section gathering some progress on the steps of user-led process and offering the consultation of information or documents produced during these stages 
3. An intranet dedicated to collaborative work for the user-led process’ actors using for the preparation and the implementation stages of this process.

A platform for what audience?

Four categories of users that may come on the flat platform:

1. Family n° 1: All those involved in collaborative work (intranet) and will produce information: regional AIF, AIF national and regional referral FO 
2. Family n°. 2: User-Led-Process players who do not have access to the collaborative workspace (WP2, WP1, project members involved PAEARD deans ULP, invited experts, comanagers) 
3. Family n° 3: PAEPARD's project members 
4. Family n° 4: PAEPARD's Community (Dgroups) 
5. Family n° 5: Everyone involved in the User-Led-Process (donors, regional organizations research, OP ...) 
6. Family n° 6: The global public

The “User-Led Process progress

The first part of the website gives general information on the User-Led-Process. The second part is dedicated to visitors who wish to learn more about the User-Led-Process and its progession in the region. These pages are visible to all Internet users, their goal is to provide access to the results produced by the regional group and national groups in steps of User-Led-Process. According to the outputs, the User-Led-process can be summarized by the following 5 chronological stages:

1. Desk review 
2. National workshops 
3. Regional Workshop 
4. The concept note 
5. The Research project

"Intranet" or "Collaborative work space" part

These pages are only accessible by authorized persons who must have a password to access this space, it is not public. There is a workspace where User-Led-Process players will be able to prepare the different stages of this process.

Each country that organizes a workshop has an entry point and its own workspace. This space is used in the preparation of the workshop. The workshop and the results will be published in the "User-Led Process progress stage follow up"

A - The preparation phase of the workshop: 

• The development of the list of participants and its validation 
• The development of the workshop program and its validation 
• The implementation of the workshop logistics (location, dates, recipients, trips ....) 

B - The facilitation of the workshop with: 

• Access to communication and animation tools available and to their user guide The development and validation of the presentation materials and animation 
• A library of useful documents to prepare the presentation materials Sample letters of invitation, cover pages, logos 

C - The conclusions of the workshop: 

• The development and validation of synthesis, 
• summaries and records of decisions

Research project Each step of this process has a dedicated workspace: 

A - Identification of Reasearch centers involved 

B - The establishment of the research team 

C - Identification of donor 

D - Project formulation

PARTICIPANTS

André Tioro (ROPPA)

Bernard Likalimba (SACAU)

Edit Kabre (ColeACP)

Gustave Ewole (PROPAC)

Kenneth Katungisa (EAFF)

Lamine COULIBALY (ROPPA)

Macaire NGWASI (PROPAC)

Sylvie Mbog (PROPAC)

Thierry Helmer (CIRAD)

Francois Labastie (Outils Reseaux)

Agnes Carbon (CIRAD)

Michel Tchoungui (PROPAC)

Francois Stepman (Agrinatura)

 

Daphne MUCHAI  (KENFAP/EAFF)  

Serge Fegue (PROPAC) 

Josephine Atangana (PROPAC)