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Monthly Archives: July 2015
Weekly highlights – 31 July 2015
Quotes “Without INASP we wouldn’t have met like this. Now I have many friends and contacts which will be useful for learning and sharing when I get back home. This has been a very rewarding experience.” – Participant in this week’s African Regional Meeting for library consortia Updates 175 researchers (43% female) from 28 countries have completed the latest AuthorAID online course and received their certificates. 60% of the course completers came from Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenya and Cameroon. This week, representatives of library consortia from across Africa have been meeting together in Ethiopia for the African Regional Meeting. Meanwhile in Ghana the VakaYiko consortium held its annual meeting at GINKS’ headquarters. Read discussions from the two meetings using the hashtags #inaspAfrica and #VY2015 respectively. Upcoming events From 10th to 11th August managers of the Journals Online platforms and INASP staff will meet in Vancouver, Canada. Anne Powell will … Continue reading
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Generating and using research knowledge in Malawi
Sue Corbett shares some of INASP’s experience and observations about Malawi’s research system based on a recent visit and many years of working in the country. Think of Malawi, and you might think of vivid green tea plantations or a sparkling freshwater lake. You probably wouldn’t think about its research and knowledge system – strained, but still alive with new ideas and energy to ensure research is at the service of Malawi’s development. In March a colleague and I made a five-day visit to Malawi, jointly with a couple of our Malawian partners. It was one of a series of visits that INASP staff members are doing to assess the conditions in our partner countries, discuss progress in current projects and understand readiness for further support in strengthening various elements of the research and knowledge “ecosystem”. Malawi is a small, poor country. 60% of its population relies on subsistence … Continue reading
Library consortia sharing expertise: A small meeting tackling important issues in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is used to hosting big and important meetings. The African Union and UNECA are both based here. A few weeks ago the UN Financing for Development conference brought several thousand visitors to Addis Ababa. And on Sunday evening President Obama flew in from Kenya. But this week Addis is also playing host to a smaller, quieter event – but an important one nevertheless. Seven library consortia have come together in Addis, hosted by the Consortium for Ethiopian Academic and Research Libraries (CEARL) and facilitated by INASP, to spend five days sharing ideas, learning, and collectively identifying solutions to some of the many challenges they share. But library consortia aren’t just clubs or networks of libraries: they play a key role in enabling a strong and effective research and knowledge system. By enabling their member institutions to collectively purchase online journals and books, consortia are making a critical contribution … Continue reading
Tagged Africa, capacity building, Consortium development, E-resources, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, library, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe
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Capacity development for evidence-informed policy making in the Philippines
Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines receives a grant for evidence-informed policy making (EIPM) activities within the INASP-led VakaYiko programme. Anne Lan K. Candelaria discusses why there is fertile ground for EIPM in the Philippines. There are many capacity-building programmes being offered to policy makers in the Philippines. Of late, the push to eradicate corruption in government by the Philippine president, Benigno Aquino III, has increased the demand for trainings that will enhance transparency among government agencies. Some of these policies are: The Open Government Partnership programme of the Philippines – of which projects include the Transparency Portal for national agencies and local government financial budgets and expenditures The Seal for Good Local Governance, which measures local performance in financial housekeeping, service delivery, disaster preparedness, business competitiveness and peace and order The recently launched Open Data Philippines, which is a centralized repository of government data that is accessible to … Continue reading
Tagged EIPM, evidence, Grant, Phillipines, Policy making, VakaYiko
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Why Obama’s visit wasn’t the only reason for excitement in Kenya this week
The big excitement in Nairobi this week has been President Obama’s impending visit – his first as president. Workers were busy hanging the Stars and Stripes from the lamposts on Thika Road, there were helicopters parked on the lawns of Nairobi and Kenyatta universities, and residents worried that road closures would leave them stranded across the city. As I write this on Friday evening, Air Force One has just landed and the three day visit is finally underway. But for me Nairobi held a different kind of excitement this week – seeing what some of our partners in Kenya have achieved. Dr @AumaObama hugs her brother, US President @BarackObama, on his arrival in Kenya on Friday. http://t.co/MM4r1uFG9H pic.twitter.com/9ZluxXJomu — Daily Nation (@dailynation) July 25, 2015 Enabling research for development in Kenya I spent much of Thursday with members of Kenya’s national library consortium – KLISC. INASP has been working with … Continue reading
Weekly highlights – 23 July 2015
Staff quote “The Journals Online (JOL) handovers are now gaining momentum. In particular, the Bangladesh Journals Online (BanglaJOL) manager and the editors have loaded 100% of the content since the beginning of the year. In Nepal, despite the tragic consequences of the recent earthquakes, 70% of the content has been loaded locally, showing their commitment to their journals and Nepal Journals Online (NepJOL). The new Sri Lanka Journals Online (SLJOL) website has been officially launched in conjunction with Ubiquity Press and the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka and the local team have also developed an ambitious promotion strategy for SLJOL. Finally, preparations are at an advanced stage for the First JOL Managers Meeting being held in Vancouver in August where the management teams will discuss archiving issues, publication ethics, business plans, communications strategies and the proposed journal classification scheme.” Sioux Cumming, Programme Manager, Journals Online Updates Jon Harle is … Continue reading
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