Last Update: 08.10.2007

Announcement

Editorial Consultation Meeting: Second Version of the Smart Toolkit

Date: October 29-31, 2007

Location: Koenigswinter, Germany


Background note

Over the past nine years CTA, in collaboration with key development agencies, has been actively involved in developing and promoting the use of methodologies for monitoring and evaluating information products and services in an effort to improve project management both in-house and among its partners. In 2005, CTA along with KIT, IICD and a host of other institutions and individuals from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, EU, Canada, Sri Lanka and the United States produced the first version of the Smart Toolkit for Evaluating Information Products and Services.

The Toolkit is an innovative product and since its publication, has proved to be most popular among our ACP clientele. It focuses on the evaluation of information products and services and how to improve project management practices and develop a culture of evaluation. It also provides practical and cost-effective methods for planning, monitoring and evaluating information developed, promoted and disseminated.

Currently, the toolkit is being revised taking into account feedback from participants at the workshop to officially launch the Toolkit in Tanzania in 2005 and subsequent users.

Problems to be addressed

Although the Smart toolkit has been widely accepted as a groundbreaking resource for the evaluation of information products and services, there are identified weaknesses in the current edition. And based on the feedback received from launching of the toolkit and an online survey held this year, there is need to augment the information provided on issues related to monitoring, as well as the need to develop more fully the links between planning, monitoring and evaluation.

Objectives and expected outputs of the Technical Consultation

The overall aim of this initiative is to finalise the changes to the second edition of the Smart Toolkit so as to promote the development and use of practical and cost effective methods for evaluating agricultural information products and services. The Editorial Consultation in Bonn will serve as a key step towards the realisation of this goal. The Consultation is expected to produce the following outputs: 

 

Output

  • Output 1: Smart Toolkit updated Output
  • Output 2: Collaborative activities agreed to

Participants

About 25-30 participants (by invitation only) including:

  • Information practitioners;
  • Managers of information projects
  • Representatives of developing country partner institutions
  • Representatives of development agencies  

At the Consultation in Bonn, presentations during the plenary sessions and working groups will be set up in such a way so as to allow participants to arrive at clear decisions and concrete results. The Editorial Consultation will be conducted in English.

 
Sponsorship of participants

The selected participants will be sponsored by CTA, and IICD (to be confirmed).