Networks and networking
Key networking activities in this service area that Supras is managing or involved in are listed here. This service area is to a large extent focused around Community-Based Natural Resource Management Network (CBNRM Net). Organized by the World Bank in 1998, CBNRM Net later moved to civil society. It provides powerful and applied tools for communities, NGOs and institutions, aimed at networking and knowledge management of the field of CBNRM globally. Other networks and networking activities are also addressed.
This service area is developing in an interesting dialectic with and feedback between: (1) activities in the core services areas of “Projects and operations” and “Research”, (2) practical work and experiences with managing and running CBNRM Net (as well as other networks), and (3) theoretical and analytical work in the form of participation in conferences and workshops, and writing papers and publishing. It is constituted by concerns with communities of practice, ICTs and development, language, communication, knowledge management and strategic communication. At the same time, as viewed from the position of the global users, networks is to a large extent about capacity building and training, and networking, and this service area is accordingly connected to all the other service areas.
Documents produced in connection with these networks are available as follows: newsletters and papers series (see Publishing), guides and evaluations, etc. (see Projects). Specific activities in this service area are available here. Relevant knowledge from other sources – in the form of references, documents for downloading, websites, etc. – is also available. See also Supras’ Briefing Notes.
Documents and images produced in connection with these activities are available in section Library. Secondary knowledge, in the form of references, documents and websites, etc., are available in section Knowledge. Links to many of the implementing agencies, partners and projects that are involved in these activities are available in section Links.
- World Bank Group’s Common Property Resource Management Network (CPRNet).
- Focus: An international network open to practitioners, policy makers/managers, researchers and others interested in property rights and sustainable natural resource management. It was established in 1995 by Lars T. Soeftestad with the support of Narpat S. Jodha. It was concerned with property rights, sustainable natural resource management, partnerships, and with tenurial and institutional aspects of managing natural resources. A fundamental premise for CPRNet’s work was to build local capacity. Activities included: (1) a regular series of internal World Bank lunch seminars were organized over several years, (2) a newsletter was published, (3) an intranet website was established and maintained, and (4) local chapters were established, including in Bangladesh and Burkina Faso. CPRNet was an organizer of the World Bank’s International workshop on Community-Based Natural Resource Management workshop (May 1998, Washington D.C., United States). An early version of “Guide to CPRNet” is still available on the World Bank’ website. As it turned out, CPRNet was not given priority by the Bank, partly because it was deemed a task in which the Bank had no comparative advantage, and partly because its inter-disciplinary focus did not fit well with the priorities of managers. When CBNRM Net moved from the Bank to civil society in 2001, CPRNet opted to become part of CBNRM Net. Status: estbl. 1995, closed 2001 (it merged with CBNRM Net). Comments: The CPRNet Newsletter series continued as the CBNRM Net Newsletter series. [access: access
Link: Guide to CPRNet (early version, available on the Bank’ website) | Guide to CPRNet - World Bank Group’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Network (FishNet).
- Focus: Aimed partly to support and consolidate fisheries and aquaculture as an important sub-sector in the World Bank’s work, and partly to connect Bank staff that worked on fisheries and aquaculture with outside experts. A FishNet website on the Bank’s intranet was established in early 1998, and an external site was created later that year. A newsletter was published. Continued interest in and support for the initiative turned out to be difficult, and FishNet eventually closed and has been partly replaced by other initiatives and modes of working and collaborating. Status: estbl. 1996 by Lars Soeftestad, closed 1998. Comments: The only visible remains today is the URL “www.worldbank.org/fishnet” (see link below).
Link: access - Community-Based Natural Resource Management Network (CBNRM Net)
- Focus: Set up in response to recommendations by participants at the International CBNRM workshop organized by the World Bank in May 1998. Global focus, with an emphasis on Africa. Consists of more than 500 individuals, NGOs and organizations worldwide. Involves the operation of a network for the global CBNRM community of practice, emphasizing knowledge management/sharing, training and capacity building through use of ICTs. A newsletter is published regularly. CBNRM Net later moved to civil society, and is now managed by “CBNRM Networking,” a Norwegian non-profit. Lars T. Soeftestad is the Founder and current Coordinator. Partner: CBNRM Networking. Status: estbl. in 1998, active. [access]
Links: website | output | knowledge | research - Environmental Trends Analysis (ETA)
- Focus: Tools for spatial and temporal monitoring and assessment of natural resources. Organized as a community of practice within the USAID project FRAME, managed by International Resources Group (IRG). An ETA Core Group was set up following the workshop on ETA organized at the GSDI-9 conference in November 2006, Santiago, Chile. Lars Soeftestad is a founding member. Partners: USAID and IRG. Status: estbl. November 2006, closed 2007. [access]
Links: research | images - Forum South
- Focus: Networking on development cooperation. Comments: A regional network in Agder in southern Norway for organizations and institutions working on north-south relations and development cooperation. [access]
Links: output