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What’s changed since Eldis was set up, and what does it mean for the future?Eldis 20th Anniversary Workshop: Learning from 20 years of digital knowledge sharing for global development
15 September 2016
Geoff Barnardwww.ids.ac.uk
Knowledge sharing for development
1
Where’s the bar?
The ascent of intermediary man
Thinking
Technology
User expectations
Donor appetites and priorities
Global development landscape
What’s changed since 1996?
1996 2016A Lot !
Phases
1996 201620102000 2005 2015
0 1 2 3 4 5
0. Pre-Eldis Phase (before 1996)
1. The Early Days (1996-2000)
First there was empty (cyber) space
Research comms in infancy
The Policy Briefing was quite a revolutionary concept
Nobody knew if the internet would catch on
An era of experimentation (launch of Eldis, id21, Euforic, Bellanet)
Conventional library role under scrutiny
2. Catching the wave (2001-2005)
First there was empty (cyber) space
Web clearly taking off
Research comms gathering steam (RAPID)
KM hits the development sector (World Bank Knowledge Bank)
A burst of new initiatives (GDNet, Development Gateway, SciDev, DFID Resource Centres, DGroups)
DFID budget expanding, other donors getting on board
3. Riding the wave (2006-2010)
First there was empty (cyber) space
Research comms more sophisticated & mainstream
Knowledge intermediary role being recognised and studied
Rise of mobile phones
Web 2.0 opening new avenues (wikis, online communities, crowd sourcing)
Lot’s of hype but no one very sure which way it’s all going
Funding easy to find (in UK)
4. High tide (2010-2015)
First there was empty (cyber) space
Social media taking off
Open knowledge gaining foothold (GOKH, MOOCs)
Knowledge hubs for big programmes
Demand side focus (BCURE)
Proving impact still elusive
Getting harder to fund collection and curation work
KM going out of vogue
5. Today (2016)
First there was empty (cyber) space
ICTs more powerful than ever
Big data
Mobile devices ubiquitous
We want it now, we want it free
Research comms embedded
Hard to fund free-standing intermediary work
Some big initiatives winding down
Renewed focus on learning
A detour into the climate worldBig new priority area
Massive need for reliable information at all levels
Portal proliferation syndrome
Silo tendency
If in doubt – hold a workshop!
Encouraging signs of progressGrowing community of practice
Strong collaborative ethos
Some clever data sharing tools the ‘knowledge grid’
An emerging vision
New focus on capacity building
The Achilles heel
Ouch, we’ve run out of
funding
It all hinges on people
Effective knowledge sharing does not happen by magic
It requires skills, dedication, ingenuity, support systems, a conducive setting, funding…
What’s not changed since 1996?
So where is this all going?Technology drivers:
Atomisation, AI, Big data
Dominance of big players (Google, Facebook, etc.)
Connectivity
Research drivers:
Ever more crowded marketplace
Northern dominance
Pressure to show impact
Development drivers:
World more complex & interconnected than ever
Knowledge at a premium
Funding drivers:
Aid under scrutiny
New donors emerging
Politics
Where does this leave the user?
Where to from here?
… let’s discuss!
Pack up our portals and head for the bar?
Regroup, reinvent, and radically improve our funding pitch?
