|
|
| Main
> Introduction
> Development and Design |
WEBSITE
DEVELOPMENT AND PROJECT DESIGN
|
| Development
of PROCIG website |
| The
website provides an exchange mechanism for the partners
in the 25 Central American government agencies and
also is a communication tool for external institutions.
This website has become a focal point for GIS and
national spatial data infrastructure (NSDI) information
in Central America. The site includes links to all
partner institutions – their web pages and other
contact information. It also includes links to GIS-related
projects and NSDI initiatives in other parts of the
world, as well as links to data and software resources.
During PROCIG's first workshop, the project partners
spoke of their technical and institutional limitations
resulting from the lack of NSDI in their countries.
In response, this website was developed to facilitate
information exchange on articles, documents, projects,
and links related to NSDI. We also provide survey
responses characterizing NSDI initiatives in Latin
America that including each country participating
in PROCIG. We use WEBTRENDS software to measure the
traffic on the website (number of visitors, where
they come from, what pages within the site they visit,
what information they download, etc). |
| Project
Design |
| Project
"model" in the face of changes in human
resources. |
| One
of CIAT's objectives in the PROCIG project was to
evaluate the effectiveness of the project design for
implementing GIS in Central America. We learned that
signed agreements with participating institutions
are essential, not just letters of support. These
agreements serve as formal commitments to achieve
project outputs. However, even with the best intentions,
other factors can limit a project's progress. For
instance, in the case of Honduras, the institution
with whom we had a letter of support was terminated,
and in Guatemala, the GIS technician who received
training through the project became employed elsewhere.
In Costa Rica, the partners assured us of their commitment
to the project, but they acknowledged that they lacked
the time necessary to complete the work. They recommended
that an intern be hired to assist them. Honduras also
indicated that an intern would be beneficial. |
| The
question ultimately is that of ‘GIS project design.’
Historically, GIS development projects sought a technological
solution. Many projects evolved around the purchasing
and installation of hardware and software to establish
a GIS. However, once the projects were over, the computers
fell into disuse. Donors realized that capacity building
was needed, and in time the emphasis of projects shifted
from technology to training. Yet, even after staff
was trained, the institutions themselves did not have
the ‘technology transfer’ capacity to make
use of the knowledge. So, the next phase of GIS development
projects provided training sessions and worked with
institutions in producing products based on their
training. This was the model under which PROCIG was
designed. However, we saw that that the institutions
lacked the time to devote to the project. The institutions
had the technical capacity and the vision for a product,
but they were under-staffed or occupied with administrative
matters. Ultimately, we found ourselves asking, "What
can we do to see that the planned products are produced?"
The use of an intern was an interesting adaptation
to the project design model. The first choice was
to incorporate a local university student into the
institution's work plan. In doing so, additional capacity
would have been built in the country. The other option
was for a foreign student to provide increase institutional
capacity. With a foreign student, possessing specialization
in GIS and based within the institution, the project
partners were able to work beside someone with advanced
training on a daily basis for several months. This
turned out to be a successful project model, more
effective that the week-long training session initially
provided through PROCIG. Although a 7 day training
session can provide considerable information, it is
still a limited time period for people to absorb technical
details. Even though this is the case, many GIS projects
continue to offer only several days of intense training.
We support the model of using interns. In addition
to the capacity building factor, an intern helps ensure
that a GIS product get produced, and ultimately the
institutions take ownership in the product. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
