Asia-Pacific Agricultural Research Information System (APARIS)
EIGHTH MEETING OF THE APARIS STEERING COMMITTEE
29 October 2009, 14:00 -17:00
Room No. 207, FAO RAP, Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200
AGENDA NOTES
1. Welcome Address
Dr. Raj Paroda, Executive Secretary, APAARI will welcome the members of the APARIS Steering Committee and the special invitees as observers.
2. Address by the Chairman
Dr. Simon Hearn, Chairman, APARIS Steering Committee will deliver his Opening Address and provide his vision and the future role of APARIS in strengthening Agricultural Research for Development in the Asia-Pacific Region.
3. Approval of the Minutes
The minutes of the Meeting of the Steering Committee held on 20 April 2008 at Bangkok were circulated to all members. Comments were received from Dr Simon Hearn, Chairman, APARIS Steering Committee and the same were incorporated. The revised proceedings enclosed at Annex-I may now be considered for approval.
4. Action Taken Report
Actions on the recommendation of the Seventh Steering Committee have not been attended fully as the post of APARIS Coordinator through open competition was filled up in July 2009. Some of the programmes are now proposed to be taken up in the work plan for 2010. Action taken report on the decisions taken in the meeting of the Steering Committee held in April 2008 is as under:
|
S.No |
Recommendation |
Action Taken |
|
1 |
Decentralised updating of APARIS with new tools ( RSS feeds, AgriORg, SST etc) |
APAARI website has been redesigned and it is being updated on regular basis. Efforts are being made to add agricultural RSS news feed and other important information. |
|
2 |
Regional Agricultural Expert Locator (REAL) and Regional Agricultural Information Gateway (RAIG) |
Suggested to be taken up under work plan 2010 |
|
3 |
Updating of Directory of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Asia-Pacific ( NARS on CD) |
-do- |
|
4 |
Publication of Status Report on ICT/ ICM in ARD in the Asia-Pacific |
-do- |
|
5 |
Publication of Success Stories on ICT / ICM in ARD in the Asia-Pacific |
-do- |
|
6 |
Development of new APAARI Communication Strategy Paper |
-do- |
|
7 |
Collaborations with DFID, SAC, ILRI, SEARCA for greater visibility of APARIS |
-do- |
|
8 |
IT support to APAARI Secretariat and APAARI publications |
APAARI on CD 2009 has been published, besides publication of APAARI Newsletter. |
5. Review of APARIS Activities
APARIS Coordinator will brief the Steering Committee about the progress of APARIS activities.
- Publication of APAARI Newsletter (June, 2009 issue).
- APAARI new website – the website is now more dynamic and being updated timely.
- APAARI on CD-2009: Same has recently been released.
- New APAARI Poster has been designed and printed.
- Facilitation and active involvement in GCARD e-Consultation process for the Asia-Pacific region.
6. APARIS Work Plan and Budget for 2010
APARIS Coordinator will propose the following APARIS work plan for 2010 along with estimated budget for kind consideration and approval of the members of the Steering Committee.
|
S.No
|
Item |
In US $ |
| A. |
Advocacy and Strategies for promoting ICM in ARD |
|
|
1 |
Development of Communication Strategy for ARD in the Asia-Pacific Region |
4,000.00 |
|
2 |
Status Report on ICT/ ICM in ARD in the Asia-Pacific |
3,000.00 |
|
3 |
Success Stories on ICT / ICM in ARD in the Asia-Pacific |
2,000.00 |
| B. |
Capacity building programmes |
|
|
4 |
Workshop for National Agricultural Information Systems (NAIS) (for 10-15 participants). To be co-organized with GFAR |
20,000.00 |
| C. | Information services, products and publications | |
|
5 |
Website domain name renewal, server hosting charges and maintenance |
1,000.00 |
|
6 |
Strengthening APARIS through Regional Agricultural Expert Locator (REAL) and Regional Agricultural Information Gateway (RAIG) and Web 2.0 Technologies. Use of RSS Feeds, Electronic Forum, Access to Scientific Publications, e-Journals, digital libraries / institutional repositories, gateway / portal services |
2,000.00 |
|
7 |
Updating of Directory of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Asia-Pacific ( NARS on CD) |
2,000.00 |
|
8 |
APAARI on CD-2010 |
1,000.00 |
|
9 |
APAARI Newsletter: bi-annual (2 issues) |
2,000.00 |
|
10 |
Success Story on some New Innovations in ARD |
2,000.00 |
|
11 |
Developing digital archive of APAARI documents |
1,000.00 |
| D. | Collaborating and Networking with other Regional Fora and Global Agricultural Information Initiatives | |
|
12 |
Collaboration with SPC, SAARC Agriculture Centre, Asian Institute of Technonolgy (AIT Extension), SEARCA, FARA, AARINENA, CACAARI and Foragro by networking and integrating their information resources |
|
|
13 |
Work as Asia-Pacific Nodal point for GFAR’s Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD) |
|
| E. |
Salary and other establishment charges |
|
|
14 |
Salary and other expenses (APARIS Coordinator) |
40,000.00 |
|
Total |
80,000.00 |
A detailed work plan with background, proposal and budget break-up is provided at Annexure-II.
Members are requested to advise on work plan and consider it for kind approval.
7. Any Other Item
Any additional item shall be taken up, as required, with the permission of the Chair.
8. Chairman’s Closing Remarks
The Chairman will give his closing remarks and the APARIS Coordinator will propose a vote of thanks.
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