CIARD Open Agricultural Knowledge for Development

CIARD Manifesto

Towards a Knowledge Commons on Agricultural Research for Development

Our Vision

Agricultural knowledge is freely accessible and contributes to reducing hunger and poverty.

Open knowledge makes it easier to provide better solutions for agricultural problems. The CIARD Movement is contributing to reducing poverty and hunger because agriculture is such an important driver of economic growth in poorer countries.

Our Objective

to collaborate constructively in order to develop common standards, share knowledge and contribute to coherent, effective and open institutional approaches to agricultural knowledge

Recognizing that

  • Agricultural knowledge is vital for rural development and food security driven by farmers, farmer organizations, civil society, private sector, academics and researchers, policy-makers, governments, and other stakeholders;
  • Public agricultural institutions and systems are based on the principle of openness and the free exchange of knowledge, information and data; and open knowledge provides greater returns and increases the potential spillover benefits from global investments in agricultural development;
  • Enhanced openness of this knowledge by all actors is essential both to enable effective decision-making and to empower those concerned with agricultural production and food security;
  • The lack of institutional, national, and international policies regarding the openness of knowledge limits the effectiveness of agricultural development;
  • Lack of skills, finance and technology directly restrict access to these outputs, with adverse impacts on rural development and food security;
  • International and national efforts to promote effective broad access to agricultural knowledge are often held back by under-investment and a diversity of incompatible approaches to knowledge systems;

we, the participant institutions/individuals, have determined that a global partnership within the agricultural development community is required to open agricultural knowledge effectively. This Manifesto will be adopted in accordance with our specific institutional needs. Through this Manifesto, we endorse the CIARD Actions and we aim to follow the CIARD Checklist and Pathways so that our knowledge is open.

Actions

Advocate effective investments
  • We will promote the reform of policies and processes to foster investment in systems, services, people and partnerships that open agricultural knowledge.
  • We will work together to change the attitudes of key decision makers by developing clear messages supported by evidence of benefits that will influence policies and lead to the reform of institutions.
  • We will work jointly to position, at both the technical and political levels, the benefits of open knowledge to impact local and global policy-making.
Establish coherent systems and services
  • We recognize that development in agriculture is undertaken by various organizations and institutions with their own audiences, products, and services.
  • We will seek to build complementary activities that reinforce the efforts of others, at national, regional and global levels.
  • We will ensure that our knowledge initiatives have goals and aims that are complementary, consistent and mutually supportive; and that they are well-coordinated based on dialogue, negotiation and active collaboration.
  • We will work together and adopt common principles and standards to ensure that our knowledge systems add value to others in the global agricultural community.
Share Knowledge
  • We will collect and share knowledge in accordance with appropriate international and sector standards, and with due attention to proper quality assurance.
  • We will share knowledge through repositories and other services, encouraging its use and re-use.
  • We will support researchers in communicating their knowledge in ways that acknowledge and safeguard their intellectual rights.
  • We will build open systems, use open applications, and use participatory methodologies to ensure accessibility and use of the knowledge we provide.
  • We will customize our knowledge products to the needs of specific audiences, increasing the ways in which they can be used and their potential applications.
  • We will ensure that our knowledge of long-term value is conserved and remains accessible for present and future generations..
Develop and strengthen capacities
  • We will adopt approaches and strategies that promote self-sufficiency and autonomy in sharing knowledge, building local ownership.
  • We will address development of institutional and individual capacities needed to design, deliver and manage knowledge policies, processes, skills, and technologies.
  • We will integrate interventions at policy, institutional and individual levels to develop awareness, understanding, and skills.