The media [is] one of the most powerful —
yet least trusted and least accountable —
institutions in the world. Open Forum as a Technology
Operation and Content Services provider do not
view access to information as an end in itself
but as a contributor to development processes
and social change. Individual stories from users
of the Open Forum Knowledge Services have helped
to develop a framework to guide our work and
improve planning, evaluation, analysis and targeting
of services. The resulting theory of change
sets out our assumptions about how we think
we make a contribution to information use in
development. The model will evolve as it is
tested, debated and used in planning, evaluation
and research.
A service facilitating knowledge sharing and
networking to enable the practical implementation
of sustainable livelihoods approaches as a tool
for poverty reduction. Open Forum Technology
Operation and Content Services also includes
the Strategic Learning Initiative (SLI) Team
whose purpose is to build understanding about
the role information, especially research-based
information, plays in stimulating positive social
change and to help to apply that understanding
in practical ways to strengthen knowledge, information
and communication programmes, at Open Forum
and across the sector.
Open Forum Web Services (OFWS)
Developed by Open Forum, this service is an
affordable, easy-to-use website management solution
used by intermediate civil society, community-based
organisations and collectives to register a
quality web presence in local languages, and
for effective e-communication and advocacy.
Developed by Open Forum on Apache server, OFWS
is a customized open-source Content Management
System (CMS) aimed to exploit fully the democratic
potential of the internet, overcoming effectively
the bandwidth constraints and other technological
bottlenecks that characterise the use of ICTs
in rural India.
OFWS can be used by partner organisations with
very little technical expertise. The model incorporates
training on content management, graphics design,
e-communication strategy and hosting and site
management, along with hand-holding support
to resolve any difficulty in partners’
work on the web. The DLP automatically gives
all necessary content support to the partners
websites created on OFWS servers.
The initiative has enabled Indian civil society
organisations to:1) Leverage the use of ICTs
as a strategic communication tool to strengthen
ongoing efforts for sustainable development,
poverty reduction and social justice and 2)
Create and nurture online communities in South
Asia towards proactive state and civil society
action; advocate for better transparency in
governance; and facilitate pro-poor policy discourse.
Open Forum has just initiated this service and
very soon we will provide these services to
all our network partners in India and will continue
to extend to the wider civil society fraternity.
Digital Library Project
DLP is a customizable, multilingual, intuitive
and user friendly software solution on Open
Source Software platform, developed jointly
by Open Forum & K4D to enable rural communities
to manage and share relevant local content.
DLP is tailored to operate in both online and/or
off-line contexts. It facilitates exchange of
content with other systems and networks –
for example, on SMS messages of mobile phone
networks. It has been successfully implemented
to create local content in Hindi languages in
India.
