How do you begin a conversation on how web initiatives can collaborate more effectively?  Creating a map of who is doing what, how, and for whom, is good a first step.  This was how the Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop held in Germany in June 2011 kicked off.  The ‘knowledge map’ that was created – in the form of a six-part matrix showing priority subject areas, audiences, and approaches – is already a useful resource in charting potential collaboration options.

The Workshop started with the hypothesis that “surely we can do this job better if we are talking to each other.”  But it ended up going went well beyond that in turning good intentions on collaboration into a concrete action plan.  It agreed on four joint projects, three future discussion areas, a Climate Knowledge Brokers working group, and as many as 42 individual bilateral follow-up actions.

A full report of the Workshop is now available, which includes the detailed knowledge map of 21 initiatives taking part, including many of the leading global and regional initiatives.

This four-page summary version presents an Overview and Key Outcomes of the Workshop.

The Workshop was co-sponsored by CDKN, GIZ, and PIK-Potsdam.  For CDKN it was part of its wider objective of helping to improve the ‘knowledge infrastructure’ around climate and development, so developing country users can more easily access reliable and up-to-date information on climate and development issues.

To find out more about the Workshop and the Climate Knowledge Brokers Group that has emerged from it, visit the shared workspace hosted by OpenEI.

Related links:

CDKN funding call for collaboration between knowledge brokers

Geoff Barnard’s blog on “Seeking a Cure for Portal Proliferation Syndrome"

Return to the Climate Knowledge Brokers main page

Image: Knowledge Brokers workshop, CDKN