Embedding information management into all operational areas of an agricultural organisation: lessons learned from the Pacific

In 2008, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) began a series of regional workshops in the ACP region to provide training on developing information and communication management (ICM) strategies. The fifth regional workshop in late 2011 confirmed the essential elements of an integrated training programme. Two manuals – a users’ manual and a facilitator’s guide – have been published by CTA and are now available for distribution. Several organisations have commenced the process of developing their own ICM strategies, with some support from CTA. Developing and implementing an ICM strategy is very likely to result in organisational changes and for there to be significant learning requirements both of information practitioners and ‘users’. So it’s not just about better management of information, communication and knowledge assets, products, services and activities. In the agricultural context, it’s about better research management, improved extension and outreach programmes, and support for policy and planning. In this paper, the development and implementation of an ICM strategy in a ministry of agriculture in the Pacific will be explored in order to highlight the impact that this process has had (and is having) on all aspects of its operations and activities. In particular, the paper will look at: • The roles of staff and how they may change/are changing; for example, redesignation of research and livestock staff as ‘information officers’; • The physical reorganisation of departments and the concomitant rise of cross-cutting, virtual teams that sail across traditional organisational boundaries to deliver specific outputs; • The impact on the internal policies and procedures as ICM practices become more deeply embedded in departmental work programmes; and • The extent of learning at the individual and organisational level necessary to implement the transition towards a more integrated way of managing information and knowledge.