CIARD website a new platform to promote access to agricultural science

At the XIIIth World Congress of IAALD held in Montpellier, the new website of the global initiative on Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD)was launched by the principal partners. CIARD is a movement for coherence and collaboration in agricultural research information and communication that brings together institutions and people who want to make agricultural research outputs in the public domain truly accessible to all.

The CIARD Manifesto www.ciard.net/ciard-manifesto and other tools provide a framework of policy and practices for those holding and creating information and knowledge to share their outputs globally and more efficiently.

The web site provides a virtual platform for institutions to participate in CIARD activities, evaluate their information management practices against a Checklist of good practices, share and follow Pathways towards better accessibility of information, and contribute case studies. It also registers their information services in the CIARD RING.

The CIARD initiative provided a major attraction at the IAALD Congress, also acting as the central anchor for the "Information Access Marketplace" aimed at engaging participants interested in making their institutions' research outputs truly accessible, based on a common set of values. The new CIARD website is in three languages and is coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR).

For more information on CIARD, please visit: www.ciard.net.

For the Congress visit: http://iaald2010.agropolis.fr.