Provision of information and knowledge services are recognised as essential components of the development process to empower poor communities, enhance skills, inform development agencies and policy makers, and for linking and informing decision-making processes at every level. Recent advances in information and communication technologies have created new opportunities to accelerate this process. However, information and communication systems are rarely well integrated into development strategies and programmes. More...

The Collaborative Programme for Knowledge Systems in Support of Rural Livelihoods will address these issues for rural areas at two levels – one, the policy environment and two at the operational level. The programme builds on a recent DFID/FAO/ODI collaboration that explored livelihoods approaches to information and communication, and made recommendations on practical issues to address policy and institutional constraints in this area. More..

The proposed work will further the existing work and partnership, and will draw upon World Bank and FAO work on Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems (AKIS) and on all three partners’ experience with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP). It will enable the three organizations to develop a common framework and approaches for rural information and communications at the policy and operational levels.

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