Download Workshop Report [PDF] - ICM strategy development - CTA

Executive Summary
The Planning and Strategic Services Department within the Technical Centre for Agricultural and
Rural Cooperation (CTA) has been conducting needs assessment studies, workshops and
priority-setting activities across the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific regions involving hundreds of
senior policy makers, planners and decision-makers from a wide cross-section of agricultural and
rural development institutions. These activities have revealed deficiencies in the area of
information sharing and dissemination at the planning level within institutions, which makes it
difficult for institutions to effectively monitor, evaluate and learn lessons for the future. The lack of
proper Information and Communication Management (ICM) policies and plans is a fundamental
concern and is viewed as one of the main reasons for the lack of appropriate human and other
resources, and the poor formulation and implementation of ICM activities.
The ICM workshop in Namibia built on these past experiences and drew upon lessons learned
from similar workshops held in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The main purpose of the workshop
was to explore ways to increase the level of collaboration and sharing of information among
organisations in southern Africa, as well as equipping them with the tools to develop an
information policy. The specific objectives were to: (1) sensitise decision-makers on the value
and importance of effective and efficient ICM (2) equip participants with the tools to develop ICM
policies and strategies in such a way that they are willing and able to develop policies and plans
within their respective institutions and in partnership with other organisations; and (3) broaden
the net of stakeholders, as well as increase awareness and collaboration among stakeholders of
opportunities for sharing and exchanging information and data. The participants comprised policy
and decision-makers from the agriculture and natural resources sector in the southern African
region, and were drawn from CTA’s national and regional partner institutions, those institutions
that participated in the needs assessments and priority-setting exercises, and institutions that
have subsequently been identified as playing a key role in agriculture and rural development in
the concerned regions.
The five day workshop was held at Hotel Safari in Windhoek, Namibia. The opening and
welcome addresses by CTA highlighted that this form of gathering should be seen as an
“executive development programme”, and that the ICM is often thought of as the “forgotten
budget line”. This was to highlight the importance, and yet the unrecognised role of ICM in
organisations. This set the tone for the workshop in which a number of issues were covered,
ranging from the planning tools used, information audits and information access, information
dissemination, organisation and management, monitoring and evaluation, the ICM development
process and presentation of draft ICM strategies. The workshop was hands on, combining
presentations from the main resource persons and participants tasks in which participants were
expected to discuss and report in plenary. Ten practical issues/exercises that contributed
towards the development of an ICM strategy were covered by the participants. These ranged
from the initial identification of stakeholders, information audits, organisation and management
options to alliances, bargains and compromises in the development of an ICM strategy. The
closure of the workshop saw participants leaving with a draft outline of an ICM strategy
development for their organisations. Further development of the ICM strategy and the political
buy-in to produce the strategy document is now the responsibility of the participants. It was,
however, noted that the CTA is willing and can facilitate help for those institutions that want to
develop their own ICM strategies.
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