The document discusses the creation of a digital repository by Practical Answers SL to store and share their knowledge assets from over 25 years of work. The repository will contain knowledge products, databases, and promotional materials developed by Practical Answers and their partners on various appropriate technology topics. It will provide open access to these resources and serve individuals, development workers, researchers, and organizations seeking knowledge on appropriate technologies. The repository aims to become a rich source of over 20,000 materials by 2017 and serve as a gateway to additional knowledge resources and network for knowledge sharing within and outside of Sri Lanka. It outlines challenges around content contribution, infrastructure needs, online sales, and building human capital and discusses strategies around financial sustainability, networking, knowledge enrichment

1. Practical Answers SL Digital Repository
Where the Knowledge blends with a difference

2. Hi
I ‘m Chandrika
Manager: Online Knowledge Services
Practical Answers SL

3. Content
• Why digital repository
• Positioning within practical answers
• What is it all about?
• Challenges & Opportunities
• Road map

4. Why digital repository
• We are practical answers
• Free & open access to the knowledge & experience of 25
years
• To store and preserve the Practical Actions SL’s
knowledge assets, including unpublished literature
• It creates global visibility for what we do and what we
have to offer
• It represent an historical and tangible embodiment of the
intellectual life and output of Practical action
Practical Action as a group, over 7 countries , which has more than 40 years
of development experience on appropriate technology. How much
knowledge we created, stored, shared and transferred so far ??

5. Positioning

6. It is not just a repository?

7. Content: Appropriate technology
• Knowledge products developed by Practical Action SL
over 25 years
• Knowledge products of partners
• Knowledge products of Outside organizations:
development sector, government, private sector
• Catalogues, union catalogues?
• Databases?
• Promotional materials: advertisements, posters, leaflets
• Different themes, different formats
Our content is our strength

8. Our Clients
• Anyone who seeks the knowledge
– Community: Poor & marginalized groups, Small
Medium & Micro enterprises community
– Development workers
– Researchers & Academics, students
– General Public
Clearly Identify who are the clients

9. Services
• Free download of full text knowledge materials on
appropriate technology
• Provide a platform to share the knowledge
materials
• Access to catalogues and databases?
• Advertising and promotions for
publishers/producers
• Online purchasing, selling and brokering of
materials (PayPal is the payment gateway)
Expand your services. It is essential to attract the users

10. Access
• Online & stand alone
• Full text & abstracts
• Open access
• Minimum restrictions: creative commons license (Creative
Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)
• Authors own their original copyright in their work & transfer
the right to post the work freely on web. However, author
retained control over the integrative of their work.
Open access but respect the rights of others

11. Partners & Networks
• Content partners: Janathakshan (Guarantee) Limited, Partners of Practical
Action SL, Other organizations: development sector, government, private
sector
• Collaboration with other knowledge service partners
• Business partners
• Donors , Embassies & investors
• Community & community networks
1 + 1 = 3

12. Marketing & Promotion
• Link & advertise in other libraries and knowledge networks
• Promotion through social media
• Offline target promotional campaigns parallel to practical
answers service
• Promotion through mass media
• Promotion in public forums
Our clients always know where to go

13. Monitoring & Evaluation
• Evaluate by the usage of the repository
• Generation of enquires and volume of sales
• Random surveys and feedback of the users
Right knowledge, to right users @ right time in right format

14. Our dream by 2017
• Rich content base with over 20 000 full text materials
on appropriate technology for open access
• Expanded client base
• An active platform to share the knowledge for
individuals, institutions & networks
• Popular place to buy and sell digital materials
• Best place for publisher and knowledge creators to
advertise their products and services
• Linked with all possible knowledge networks in &
outside in SL
• Act as gateway to outside knowledge resources

15. Challenges or opportunities
• Content
– Overcoming cultural hurdles to sharing
– Encouraging employees to use & share knowledge
– Intellectual property rights
• Infrastructure
– Initial capital is high
– Rapid developments and new products and services
– Access
– Information literacy literacy
• Online sales
– still not a popular in countries like SL
– Security threats
• Emerging knowledge initiatives
• Human capital: quality & quantity

16. The road map
Financial sustainability
Knowledge
enrichment
Networking and
collaboration
Improve the skills &
competencies of the
team
Brand Positioning
Team spirit
Innovative
strategies

17. Thank you
&
Open for Discussion