This document proposes a pilot learning exchange project between the University of Ghana and African Security Dialogue and Research to connect knowledge production and policy development for poverty eradication and security. The project would test connecting communities of practice and learning in Ghana through policy briefings, a current affairs digest, online resources, and meetings. It would focus on issues like the NEPAD process and regional integration in ECOWAS. The project aims to demonstrate how increasing a developing country's knowledge absorption capacity can help policymaking. It argues this aligns with Canada's support for linking knowledge and development through initiatives like the 1997 Global Knowledge Conference. The proposal seeks funding from CIDA given its focus on poverty reduction and knowledge management in partner organizations.

1. Knowledge and Continuing Education for Poverty Eradication and Security: A
Proposal for a Pilot Learning Exchange
Amos Anyimadu (amos@cti.dtu.dk, 233 24 379 024, 233 21 502255 ext. 3301)
University of Ghana and African Security Dialogue and Research
Introduction
The following paragraphs set out, in a summary concept paper form, the possible
parameters of the pilot project for linking the production and consumption of knowledge
for policy development with special emphasis on poverty eradication in a secure
environment. It takes as its fundamental charge the need to design a quick, concept-
proving project which can be quickly decided on by the Policy Division of CIDA itself.
Based on our discussions in Montreal, the concept is presented in an easily scalable form
so that the pilot can take on further support from other windows in CIDA as well as
outside agencies such as IDRC.
Rationale
As the fundamental framework for international cooperation for African development
changes deeply, especially with the broadening of the development agenda such as
through the invocation of Human Security and Individual Sovereignty arguments, and
the increasing power of ideas, as exhibited in the NePAD process, the need for
knowledge-led change grows. The challenge of more fully connecting knowledge to
practical policies for change has become much more pressing. The pilot project would
undertake and document various operations in Ghana to test the opportunities for
connecting Communities of Practice, Communities of Learning and other attentive
publics within a congenial learning space of knowledge sharing and experience exchange.
The joining of communities would be crafted such that diverse identities are brought
together. In particular, we shall endeavour to conjoin national and international
development workers who work at similar geographical levels. We may focus our test
operations in two substantive areas: the NePAD process itself - especially the complex
system of meetings involved - and the implications of the outcome for National
Administration in African countries; and on the topical issue of the emerging, new
regional intergration in ECOWAS as it struggles to refocus on Poverty Eradication issues
after being hijacked by Security. These activities should generate useful insight for the
proactive reflection on Policy at CIDA.
Activities and Deliverables
The specific activities to be undertaken would be crafted in detail on the bases of an
assessment of best practices of leading organizations in the endeavour to increase the
knowledge absorption capacity of public policy making. The knowledge activities of the

2. World Bank have become a convenient broker for assessing significant, diverse
experiences. Activities would include:
• Policy Briefing Summaries of relevant, extant knowledge. The model for this can
be the Africa section of the World Bank’s Findings and Indigenous Knowledge
Newsletters which are distributed to thousands of policymakers in Africa and
have been shown to be very effective. This would involve the development of
skills for searching literature and interesting project experience and the art of
producing effective and arresting summary.
• Production of a Digest of policy relevant news and current affairs items. This
would involve the development of meta data and on line searching techniques.
This can become the basis of the equivalent of a publication like the Public
Affairs Information Service so that a developing country like Ghana can also
benefit from the advantages of indexing and processing of current news stories.
• Development of on line facilities such as Electronic Newsletters, Bulletin Boards
and web applications for the conjoined communities. These resources would
benefit from the content generated by the two processes outlined above. A killer
application here can be the development of multi-media CD-ROMs. This would
address the bandwidth constraints of the bulk of our target audience. Many of
their computers would not be online but would have an optical disc reader.
• Careful face-to-face encounters based on good intelligence and database
management for putting together of good “people mixes”.
Relevance for CIDA
For the Policy Division the attempt to increase the knowledge intensity of field action for
secure poverty reduction may not need a hard sell. For CIDA as a whole, and beyond, it
may be necessary to underline that Canada has been at the forefront of championing the
significance of knowledge for development. It hosted and contributed greatly to the
Global Knowledge Conference in Toronto in 1997. Although an official review of
CIDA’s involvement in the Conference and follow up activities was quite critical in
places, it pointed up the need for CIDA to seek a firm connection between its forte in
poverty reduction and knowledge management operations for development:
“the real issue for CIDA is to understand the role knowledge plays in development and
how a development agency can “grow” knowledge within its partner organizations.”1
The Global Knowledge Partnership has become quite specifically focused on ICTs, as its
last annual meeting in Addis Ababa last April pointed up (www.globalknowledge.org)
The World Summit on Information Society billed for Geneva 2003 and Tunis 2005,
including its African preparatory meeting due to take off in a few days in Bamako, – I
have been asked to help the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs develop its Development
strategy for WSIS - has powerfully strengthened the argument for firmly connecting
1
CIDA, Canada's Role at the Global Knowledge 97 Conference & in the Global Knowledge
Partnership, Ottawa, 2001, p. 3 (Accessed at http://www.acdi-
cida.gc.ca/cida_ind.nsf/0/eb3f1ccafec5473e85256a540062ddaf/$FILE/Global_english.pdf. On May 22,
2002)

3. information processing and knowledge management and development processes on the
ground. In this climate of significant opinion, I think our small pilot can fly well.