The objective of the Consortium is to give NARS a suite of tools and standards, based on modern information and communication technologies (ICT), to manage agricultural development information effectively and efficiently. This objective will be pursued through the following activities: i) develop a toolbox of critical tools, integrated where appropriate, for information management in agricultural research and development; an important feature of the toolbox will be the development of standards that will greatly facilitate sharing of data and reduce the cost of individual information system development and information management, ii) develop and provide the different media for delivery and access to the toolbox by all categories of users of the National Agricultural Information System, iii) develop and deliver means of capacity building amongst all categories of NAIS users to enable them to make best use of the toolbox and its component parts, iv) develop one or more model structures or frameworks in which the toolbox can be managed and offered to all stakeholders, v) thoroughly test all components and their relationships in a pilot implementation and use of the toolbox in three selected countries, vi) offer the tools in all six languages, through collaboration with appropriate partners.