The document discusses insights about improving the International Rice Research Institute's (IRRI) web system. It describes the current complex structure of IRRI with multiple units and sites. It analyzes traffic to the main IRRI website and discusses costs associated with hosting and staffing the website. The document advocates for a more user-centered approach to the web by focusing on user needs, organizing content in a way that communities can relate to and generate content, and obtaining applications that support user activities and decision making. It outlines next steps including continued user studies, content audits, prototyping applications with users, and partnering for content creation and technology innovation.

1. A Path to the Web Insights about an IRRI Web System Presented to the Information and Communication Advisory Panel International Rice Research Institute A Path to the Web

2. 5 Strategic goals 7 Research programs 3 Frontier projects 8 Research Divisions & Centers ~ 27 Data/Support units/Laboratories ~41 Research sub-units ~ 9 Consortia/Networks 1 Public Web Site (IRRI.ORG) complexities of a matrix organization

3. 5 Strategic goals 7 Research programs 3 Frontier projects 8 Research Divisions & Centers ~ 27 Data/Support units/Laboratories ~41 Research sub-units ~ 9 Consortia/Networks 1 Public Web Site (IRRI.ORG) complexities of a matrix organization

4. 5 Directors’ Offices 8 Research Divisions & Centers ~27 Data/Support units/Laboratories ~41 Research sub-units 14 Country Offices 27 Operations & Admin Units +27 support-critical data sets ~ 96 Intranet Sites Information runs through 96 organization units

5. 5 Directors’ Offices 8 Research Divisions & Centers ~27 Data/Support units/Laboratories ~41 Research sub-units 14 Country Offices 27 Operations & Admin Units +27 support-critical data sets ~ 96 OU/sub-units on the Intranet Information runs through 96 organization units

6. ~1000 IRRI staff members 40 NGO/Private/International Centers 50+ Donors 155 +Prospective donors 72 ARIS (14 countries) 159 NARES institutions (21 countries) 750m Beneficiaries Networks of people

7. ~1000 IRRI staff members 40 NGO/Private/International Centers 50+ Donors 155 +Prospective donors 72 ARIS (14 countries) 159 NARES institutions (21 countries) 750m Beneficiaries Networks of people

10. 2007 trends A Path to the Web 25k Feb 2007 Jan 2008 298k total Number of unique visitors 40k 482k total Number of visits

11. Countries (top ten) A Path to the Web 25k Feb 2007 Jan 2008 298k total Number of unique visitors China 16.7k U.S. 1.1 k Philippines 1.1k Others 1.8k Unknown 0.9k India 0.6k Australia 0.3k Japan 0.2k Great Britain 0.15k Germany 0.12k

12. a picture of our web Picture of our Web

15. people networks

16. IRRI Web today and where it is going Adapted from the World Wide Web Consortium

17. how do we harness the Web to execute strategies?

18. user-centered experience (UX): "too much instruction -- not enough human construction." -

19. offer content and its function; build on user-defined functions; cultivate user-generated content

20. “… explanation takes place in the ear (actually the mind) of the receiver of the explanation, not in the mouth of the provider of the explanation.” “Participatory Explanation,” Institute for Human and Machine Cognition

21. the sum of all work we do: useful, findable , and engaging information

22. what we want to offer: content organized the way our communities can relate to and create from

23. a first stab to take on: obtain web applications that are every day tools for our users to carry through their activities and as aids for decision & action

24. emergence and speed: … .it is the interactions and relationships that create the interesting behavior > action > desired result Getting Real: Lower your cost of change

25. starting questions who are our users? what do they need? how will we use the web to fulfill our users’ needs? what content do we have? where do we start, with whom, and how do we organize useful content? how can we meet goals, outputs, and targets through the web as medium? what are our motivations? what resources do we need? how can we have a right mix of resources?

26. next steps and deliverables continuing user studies content inventory and audit: organize, piece together, focus on content generation and its inter-relatedness finding different facets of content seeking applications: functionality and usability prototype and co-create version 1 with users

27. way to go: partner for content creation; partner for information and communication technologies innovation up-take; partner for speed of results