Provide practical solutions to problems

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It is important for the proposed solutions to be understandable and do-able. While Web 2.0 tools can not fully address this issue – as it requires for the analysis of the problem and the development of the proposed solutions to be concise and logical – there are ways in which Web 2.0 tools can support the presentation of solutions.

The key strategies to achieve this are:


Contents

Strategy: Present the problems and solutions as simply as possible through visualisation tools

Tools and Usage Potentials Limitations Examples
Use animation application to present the problem and proposed solution. Animation is a good way to simplify how issues and solutions are presented. In dealing with sensitive issues, using inanimate objects to represent individuals can allow the community to have a more open mind in understanding and solving the issue. Using animation requires advanced skill levels.


Finding inanimate metaphors for an animated video requires creativity and literary skills.


Strategy: Promote proposed solutions in clear and concise ways

Tools and Usage Potentials Limitations Examples
Blogs

Use blogs to write about the issues and the solutions.

Blogging is a 'friendlier' way of presenting information.
Social networking tools

Use other social networking tools like twitter to promote your blog.

Strategy: Make research findings and further resources available online in formats that journalists will be able to turn into news articles

Tools and Usage Potentials Limitations Examples
Blogs * Blogs can be used to summarise and to publish full research findings.
  • One potential is to create a public blog for specific research findings and to post blog entries on each 'chapter' of the research paper. This will allow the researchers to make the research findings easier to digest for their community .


Having a blog is not enough. The blog must be augmented by other communication tools so that people will know that the space exists.



Strategy: Create a space where policy makers can get up-to-date and concise information based on research findings

Tools and Usage Potentials Limitations Examples
Website

Build a website on content management systems like Drupal, or 'free' web services like Google Sites.

Having a web-based repository of research findings (both summaries and full research reports) will make it easier for policy makers to refer to research.

Content management systems like Drupal or Joomla make it easy to set up sites that can handle various types of data.


Building a website does require some resources such as:
  • having a server to host the website
  • a planning process to determine what the website will have and how it will run
  • staff to maintain the website



Strategy: Make it easy for other stakeholders to take action. In online spaces, individuals need to be able to 'take action' within a few minutes. Therefore, the 'call to action' must be easy to understand and easy to do.

Tools and Usage Potentials Limitations Examples
Break research findings into key messages and present them in a simplified form on a blog or a page in a social networking space Simplification of the message means opening it to a wider community , both in term of numbers, as well as profile of message recipients.

Such accessibility is often the only possible way to involve the right people (or enough people) to turn research into action.

Power of internet-based or mobile-based campaigning lays in numbers and speed of action. If message is accessible, the Web2.0 tools are ideal tools for quick mobilization.

Simplification represents risk of changed meaning and over-simplification. On genderit.org, they summarise current editions (based on policy papers and articles) regularly to present information concisely: http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?apc=f--e--1&x=96162



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Table of Contents of the iGuide

1. Introduction

2. Basic Communication Strategy and use of Web 2.0 Tools for Evidence Based Policy

3. Section 1: Political Context

4. Section 2: Evidence

5. Section 3: Links

This iGuide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.

Impact 2.0 is a project of the Fundación Comunica with funding provided by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), IDRC.jpg Ottawa, Canada.


Consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.

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