Building the CIARD Framework for Data and Information Sharing: e-consultation
In 2011, CIARD is addressing the topic of sharing and interoperability of data and information for agricultural research for development.

There will be an international Expert Consultation in Beijing from 20 to 23 June 2011 with the title "Building the CIARD Framework for Data and Information Sharing".

An electronic consultation will be held from 4 to 15 April on the e-Agriculture platform (www.e-agriculture.org) with the same title, in preparation for the Beijing workshop. Both events will be conducted in English. The e-Consultation will address the following questions:

- What are we sharing and what needs to be shared?
- What are the prospects for interoperability in the future?
- What are the emerging tools, standards and infrastructures?
- What actions should now be facilitated by the CIARD Task Forces?

This background document (in English) explains some of the issues behind the questions and provides some material for discussion. Experts in various aspects of this field are acting as resource persons and contributing their observations to the discussions in the e-Consultation.

We encourage you to participate and contribute from your own experience and expertise. We also request that you give wide publicity to the e-Consultation among your colleagues and invite their participation.

- The e-Consultation will be held on the a-Agriculture platform from 4 to 15 April 2011 at http://www.e-agriculture.org (See more details at: http://www.e-agriculture.org/en/news/building-ciard-framework-data-and-information-sharing ) 

- The e-Consultation is hosted by CIARD. For more information on CIARD visit http://www.ciard.net

- For specific queries on the e-Consultation and the International Expert Consultation, please contact: Ms. Bi Jieying (jyingbi@yahoo.com)

Active participants in the e-Consultation will be invited by GFAR to present their views at the International Expert Consultation in Beijing in June 2011.