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Links to DIPECHO Project Partners and other Disaster-related Sites

COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS

AROW (Action Research On the Web). The site from the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney includes information on its distance-education (on-line) course on action research and the Action Research Electronic Reader. The latter is a collection of original full-text documents on Action Research, especially in health settings, brought together with the purpose of supporting and informing students, researchers and change agents in the field.

Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR) is a regional network of grassroots community organizations, NGO's and professionals actively involved with urban poor development processes in Asian cities.

Center for Livable Communities is a national initiative of the local government commission (LGC). It helps local governments and community leaders be proactive in their land use and transportation planning, and adopt programs and policies that lead to more livable and resource-efficient land use patterns. The programs help jurisdictions expand transportation alternatives, reduces infrastructure costs, create more affordable housing, improve air quality, preserve natural resources, conserve agricultural land and open space, and restore local economic and social vitality.

Community Development Foundation's mission is to strengthen communities by ensuring the effective participation of people in the decision -making processes, which affect their lives. Their website offers information on CDF's wide range of publications, activities and listings of conference and training activities.

Community Development Society
The international Community Development Society (CDS), founded in 1969, is a professional association for community development practitioners and citizen leaders around the world. CDS members represent a variety of fields: education, health care, social services, government, utilities, economic development practitioners, citizen groups, and more.

Inter Action Commission on the Advancement of Women (CAW) promotes gender equity in the policy and practice of InterAction members, national, and international development and humanitarian assistance organizations. The site hosts a monthly electronic newsletter, which has a free subscription, besides providing a forum for discussions and a number for articles on gender issues.

International Association for Public Participation was established in 1990 as a nonprofit corporation to advance the practice of public participation. IAP2 is an association of members who seek to promote public participation in relation to governments, institutions and other organizations that affect the public interest in nations throughout the world. The website mostly provides information about IAP2 projects and activities.

International Network on Participatory Irrigation Management (INPIM) is a non-profit organization, whose mission is to facilitate Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) through the exchange of people, ideas, and training materials. A wide range of country case studies and the INPIM Newsletter can be browsed on the site.

Nepal Participatory Action Networking (NEPAN) helps to facilitate, coordinate, compliment and support members in practice of participatory action and development by providing linkages with governmental and non-governmental institutions and network with common goals and interests groups both nationally and internationally to broaden the knowledge and skills required for participatory approaches, conducting research, organizing workshops and seminars and providing a common platform for sharing and participation of the people in development activities.

PAR (Participatory Action Research) PARnet is the Participative Action Research Network at Cornell University. One of the key action research sites in North America, it offers a number of valuable resources and links to other sites.

The Resource Centres for Participatory Learning and Action Network
For those who would like to gain more practical experience of participation, the RCPLA Network maintains a list of training courses, workshops and conferences related to participation worldwide.

Participatory Learning and Action Update (New Zealand)
If you would like to receive an email update of new resources and training opportunities related to PLA in New Zealand then please fill out the form at http://www.drc.org.nz/pla.html.

PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal)
Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is a label given to a growing family of participatory approaches and methods that emphasize local knowledge and enable local people to make their own appraisal, analysis, and plans.

Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC) It envisions to improve the livelihoods of local people in Asia through greater access and control over the forest resources. The site provides a number of publications online, information about training courses conducted by the center and the different activities of the center.

Sustainable Communities Network, this website discusses aspects of creating a community, smart growth, growing a sustainable economy, protecting natural resources, sustainable governing and sustainable living. It also contains case studies and links to sustainable communities.

UNDP LEAP Programme (Learning Group on Empowerment and Participation) The broad objective of this initiative is to enable people to initiate action for self-reliant and sustainable development by acquiring the ability to participate in the various levels of decision making (with community leaders, government officials, donor organizations, and private sector) that impact their lives. In essence the LEAP network will: a) consolidate existing resources on participatory development by clearly identifying such sources and linking them for active dialogue and exchange of lessons learned; and b) support several innovative initiatives in each region which will put into practice and test approaches to participatory development. A list of partners in this initiative is available on the site.

Women Acting Together for Change (WATCH) is a non-profit, apolitical and secular NGO HIV/AIDS Activities The areas of activities covered are Girls Trafficking, Community Based Development Activities, Community Forestry, Community Organizing, Bara Issue Update, Forestry Research, Lobbying and Advocacy. The site hosts a listserv, membership to the network, newsletter, publications and useful links.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS

Action Against Hunger (AAH)
Action Against Hunger is an international, non-governmental, non-religious, organization that is recognized worldwide as a leader in combating hunger. AAH directly delivers emergency aid and longer-term assistance to people suffering from the dire consequences of natural disaster or man-made crisis.
E-mail : info@aah-usa.org

Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)
ADRC is a regional information center with on-line access to bibliographic references; systemized data about experts, institutions, courses and websites; and full-text documents mainly from Latin America and the Caribbean region.
E-mail : rep@adrc.or.jp

Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics, Meteorological Department, Indonesia
BMG provides information on meteorology and geophysics for the Indonesia region. Its work covers weather, climate, geophysics, recent earthquakes, data product and service, environment.
E-mail :humas@bmg.go.id

Center for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance
CDMHA undertakes education, training and research in the areas of disaster management and humanitarian assistance with focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. It seeks to build partnerships with nations, NGOs and other key disaster management organizations, and to help increase operational readiness in order to meet the diverse humanitarian needs of the area.
E-mail : mock@tulane.edu

Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance
COE specializes in integrated training, education and research. Its mission is to support the prevention and mitigation of humanitarian emergencies through collaboration and civil-military cooperation.
E-mail : pdmin@coe-dmha.org

CESVI
CESVI, with 30 centres around the world, intervenes in every continent to deal with every type of emergency: from famine (in the Far East) to epidemics (malaria and dengue in the Far East and endemic diseases in Africa), from assistance to refugees (in Eritrea and Timor) to help for flood victims (in Venezuela, Mozambique, Bangladesh, Nicaragua and Honduras for Hurricane Mitch, and in Orissa, India for the "super-cyclone").

Community Preparedness Website Project
This project helps ensure that the needs and concerns of vulnerable populations are addressed in the area of emergency preparedness and response.

CONCERN
CONCERN engages in long-term development work, responds to emergency situations, and undertakes development education and advocacy on those aspects of world poverty, which require national or international action.
E-mail : info@concern.ie

Discussion lists allow you to communicate by e-mail (rather than using the world wide web) with other individuals on specific topics of interest. The discussion lists (sometimes called 'listservs') below are all based in 'northern' institutions so discussions and tend to be dominated by individuals based in the developed world

Arlist-L
Action research mailing list. Arlist-L is an electronic action research mailing list. To subscribe. send the email message
subscribe ARLIST-L Your Name (e.g. subscribe ARLIST-L Margaret Thatcher)
to listproc@scu.edu.au without signature or subject, from your usual email account (arlist-L accepts posts only from subscribers). Inquiries may be sent to Bob Dick.

Armnet-L
Armnet-L is an electronic mailing list specifically for the discussion of action research as a research methodology. To subscribe... send the email message
subscribe ARMNET-L Your Name (e.g. subscribe ARMNET-L Margaret Thatcher)
to listproc@scu.edu.au without signature or subject, from your usual email account (armnet-L accepts posts only from subscribers)

Devmedia
WWW site of information sources on media applications for development and democracy. Also runs discussion list, Devmedia. Participants include participatory radio, video and TV practitioners, and those working for the democratisation of communication. To subscribe to either the devmedia or the rural-ict-deve listserve, send an email to listserv@listserv.uoguelph.ca with the text message: subscribe devmedia yourfirstname yourlastname or subscribe rural-ict-dev yourfirstname yourlastname

Indknow
Discussion list carrying notices about publications, projects, ideas and questions of individuals and groups working to understand, validate and apply indigenous knowledge systems and traditional ecological knowledge. To subscribe, send an email to listproc@u.washington.edu, with message subscribe indknow in subject title.

PRA
Devoted to the topic of participatory community development. It is not limited to devotees of the PRA approach specifically, but embraces dialogue about any form of intentional change initiated and owned by community members. Initiated in the summer of 1993 (see old discussion logs), at the University of Guelph, by a group of graduate students interested in discussing the practice of participatory development techniques in their communities, at home and abroad. The list has continued to be maintained by Participatory Initiatives with technical support of the Dept. of Rural Extension Studies, University of Guelph. In true participatory fashion, our specific purposes vary with our members' changing interests and involvements, reflecting a multiplicity of perspectives and experiences. Dialogue can take the form of conference announcements, book and journal reviews, accounts of field experiences, considered opinion, or philosophizing, postulating and prophesizing. To subscribe to "pra" send the following message to listserv@listserv.uoguelph.ca sub pra yourfirstname yourlastname
For any further queries please contact the list owner: Susan Rimkus
Institute for Development Studies

Centre for Civic Networking (CCN) is a non-profit organization dedicated to applying information infrastructure to the broad public good - particularly by putting information infrastructure to work within local communities to improve delivery of local government services, improve access to information that people need in order to function as informed citizens, broaden citizen participation in governance, and stimulate economic and community development The website hosts an online journal on municipal telecommunication, a public webmarket to help small businesses and community-based economic development organizations experiment with electronic commerce and Internet marketing and a host of other network links

Centre for International Research and Advisory Networks (CIRAN). Relevant information on indigenous knowledge (IK), scattered along the Internet, is searched, indexed and made available on the Indigenous Knowledge Pages, focused on World Wide Web resources (including Gopher sites), mailing lists and Usenet news groups.

Community Development Society (CDS) by the Seattle Community Network (SCN), Habitat provides a wealth of community development training resources. Most of these are guidelines for making your own training material based upon your local conditions. Resources in this site include: Community Management Training: http://www.scn.org/ip/cds/cmp/hand.htm Three hand books for community field workers involved in reducing poverty and strengthening low income communities. (Handbook for Mobilizers, Handbook for Generating Wealth, Handbook of Monitoring.)

Community Self-management Empowerment and Development Here is a collection of training material intended to assist in helping low-income communities (and their people, of course) to overcome poverty.. They are directed mainly to community field workers, but should be of interest to planners, activists, academics, students, researchers, managers and administrators who are involved in the elimination of poverty and the development of low-income communities. Other training material is available on a variety of topics such as Community Projects Design and Funding, Income Generation, Monitoring and Reporting, Position Papers and Presentations.

Creating Online Communities
Developed by Partnerships Online, this site contains a wide range of information on community development and networking, both 'real world' and on-line. The 'Creating Online Communities' section focuses on how to use the Internet to change organizations build partnerships and benefit communities. The pages in the 'Partnerships and Participation' section are being developed to cover the processes of community participation, and building partnerships between different interests, both 'real world' and on-line. 'Understanding and building communities' covers the issues facing 'real world' communities of locality and interest, plus some links and discussion about 'virtual' communities. Other resources include news, publications, key policy reports in the field, national initiatives, and information on sites for voluntary organizations, mailing lists, and newsgroups.

ELDIS is a gateway to on-line information on development and the environment, focusing on countries of the South. Eldis makes a qualitative selection of materials and structures it for easy access. It also provides a number of descriptions and links to a variety of information sources, including WWW and gopher sites, databases, library catalogues, bibliographies, full-text documents, email discussion lists, research project information, map and newspaper collections. Where there is no Internet link available, other information on the availability of databases, CD-ROMS and other sources is given.

Eldis Directory of Participation Information Sources is one of the 80 subject guides available on the Eldis site, it offers a structured overview of the subject. Major sources (which include descriptions of organizations, databases and discussion lists) are arranged into useful groups. Searches have also been prepared using a set of appropriate search terms to find on-line materials (including sections of WWW sites) and bibliographical references to printed publications (books, journal articles, working papers, etc.) held in the British Library for Development Studies.
(http://nt1.ids.ac.uk/eldis/pra/pra_lele.htm)

Empowering People - A Guide to Participation (UNDP)
This guidebook has been prepared as a means to brief and inform UNDP staff promoting participation in UNDP programmes. It seeks to explain the various dimensions of participation in a way that UNDP staff can build on and develop according to the demands and context of their work. The content of the text moves from examining the concept of 'participation', to participatory methods and issues relating to monitoring and evaluation and institutionalization. It includes a bibliography and a list of useful contacts and websites.

Global Participation Network (GP-NET) is an electronic discussion board which provides an around the world to exchange information, share ideas, and discuss issues related to participatory development. Global Participation Networks. Provides a number of useful links to participatory development.

IDS Informal Global Network The IDS Participation Page gives details of networks and practitioners of participation in over 50 countries. These networks vary considerably in the scope of their activities, but they will provide useful contacts for anyone interested in meeting and sharing ideas with other practitioners or those seeking information on participatory activities, workshops and trainings taking place, as well as lists of trainers, resource centres and /or distribution of materials on participatory approaches around the world.

Institute of Development Studies Participation Group at the University of Sussex, is working in support of participatory approaches to development. The main focus is in supporting South-South sharing workshops, exchange visits and information exchange between practitioners, local people, government workers, NGO and donor staff. The Participation Group also convenes action research projects, disseminates writing, provides training and catalyses and supports participation networks around the world. A searchable bibliographic database is available at http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/particip/readrm.html

Based in London, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) resource centre provides a comprehensive service for those seeking practical information on all aspects of participatory methodologies, with a particular focus on their application and integration into institutional structures. The Resource Centre's PLA collection includes materials on all aspects of participatory approaches from around the world. The documentation consists mainly of unpublished literature, case studies and reports, and features material in more than ten languages. It hosts a searchable bibliographic database of over 2000. Services include document delivery service for the collection available.

MandE News is an Internet based news service focusing on innovations in monitoring and evaluation methods that are relevant to development projects with social development objectives. Updated monthly, it is a highly valuable source of information for participatory monitoring & evaluation resources (events, full-text documents). An archive of old issues is also available.

New Economics Foundation (NEF) website contains information about its activities and publications. Most recently published Participation Works! 21 Techniques of Community Participation for the 21st Century is also available on the web. This guide not only identifies and describes a variety of techniques, but also provides details on how they were used in UK settings and contact information on UK networks and organizations involved in community participation projects.

Centre for International Research and Advisory Networks (CIRAN) in co-operation with UNESCO to establish a database of best practices related to indigenous knowledge. This database will be included in UNESCO's MOST (Management of Social Transformations) database

PARchives
This page links to e-texts and a database of articles and unpublished reports, (with abstracts), papers presented at the World Congresses: the 4th on Action Research, Action Learning and Process Management, and the 8th on Participatory Action Research. Indexed documents are not limited to action research but cover a wide range of topics and participatory approaches. Most documents can be ordered on-line.

The Participation Forums allow USAID staff and other development practitioners to learn from each other's experience in implementing participatory approaches. Summaries of 23 forums on topics are available, along with summaries of major workshops.

Participatory Avenues aims at sharing significant progress in visualizing people's knowledge and in providing communities added stake in tailoring and owning conservation and development initiative. Along with online publications the site provides the "Participatory 3-D Modeling (P3-DM)" the community-based tool which merges Geographic Information System (GIS)-generated data and peoples' knowledge to produce a stand-alone relief model providing stakeholders with an efficient, user-friendly and relatively accurate spatial research, planning and management tool, which can be downloaded. Also available are a number of publications, links to participatory organizations, links to the ELDIS database, and bibliographies. Participatory Initiatives (http://www.oac.uoguelph.ca/~pi/index.html) is a not-for-profit organization based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They function as a network of support for people interested in participatory decision-making and change. Initially sprung from a collective interest in Participatory Rural Appraisal and participatory research, their focus has rapidly expanded to include group facilitation and participatory community development in general.

PRA/MARP Canada Network
The PRA/MARP Canada network is the response to a need for a PRA/MARP resource and contact network within Canada for Canadians and others. The purpose of the network is to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experiences concerning PRA/MARP and participatory development amongst Canadian practitioners and researchers. The PRA/MARP Network is part of the IDS informal global network. (MARP - Méthode Active de Recherche et Planification Participatives - is the francophone equivalent of PRA)

Recording and Using Indigenous Knowledge: A Manual (IIRR. 1996)
This manual provides government and non-government rural development workers with the information and tools they need to integrate IK in their development work. It draws on the varied experience of IIRR (International Institute of Rural Reconstruction) staff, representing decades of participatory development field work.

Resource Book on Participation (Inter-American Development Bank)
The Resource Book on Participation is intended for use by Bank personnel who seek to facilitate the involvement of non-traditional partners in the design and execution of Bank-financed projects. Intended to be used as a reference tool, it begins with an overview of participation in development, looks at how this concept has evolved within the Bank, provides concrete examples of the benefits of participatory approaches (especially with case studies from Latin America and the Caribbean), looks at the project cycle discussing opportunities and pitfalls of stakeholder participation, and finally presents an overview of participatory methodologies. Also available in Spanish.

RCPLA Network (Resource Centres for Participatory Learning and Action) initiative brings together 15 organizations (5 in Africa, 5 in Asia, 3 in South America, 2 in Europe) committed to information sharing and networking within the framework of participatory methodologies and approaches. For a full list of RCPLA partners and their addresses, see the IIED Resource Centre website at. The 15 partners operate at a regional and national level through their own networks. You are advised to seek specific regional information directly from the appropriate partner. Together with information related to practical participatory activities taking place in their respective countries, partner organizations also share information about trainings, workshops and events concerning participation. The RCPLA website, containing information about network partners and activities is hosted by the RCPLA partner in Bolivia (Universidad Nur) at http://www.rcpla.org

Risk Assessment Information System: RAIS provides environmental risk assessment expertise for the DOE Center for Risk Excellence and DOE Oak Ridge Operations Office.

Training Guidelines: "Training for Strength; A Community Management Training Methodology" is a plan of action (curriculum), which uses management training for strengthening low income communities, with CMP's special meaning of "training as mobilization."

Windisp Software is a public domain, easy to use software package for the display and analysis of satellite images, maps and associated databases, with an emphasis on early warning for food security. WinDisp was originally developed for the FAO Global Information and Early Warning System.

World Bank Indigenous Knowledge Initiative
This site, which is still being developed and includes a database of Indigenous Knowledge and Practices, was created to provide a gateway to IK sources in order to enhance the utilisation of indigenous knowledge in development programmes and projects.

World Bank Participation Sourcebook
Produced by the World Bank Environment Department and intended for readers who have decided to use participatory approaches in their professional work. The World Bank Participation Sourcebook covers key themes of participation. These includes examples on how Bank staff have used participatory approaches in a variety of countries, participatory planning and decision-making, and how to involve the poor in decision-making. It also describes a range of participatory methods with some of their applications.

Action Research International is a refereed on-line journal on action research consisting of two discussion lists. One list carries draft papers and comments on them, while another list carries the papers when they are accepted. Journal issues can be viewed at http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/sawd/ari/ari-papers.html

Development Journals
Another option for finding bibliographical references to articles on participatory development on the Eldis site is the Development Journals joint database. This service offers a search on holdings of journals and working papers in several major European development-related libraries, including details concerning where they are indexed and how to access their on-line versions if available. Currently this test version has complete holdings information and article indexing provided by the Overseas Development Institute Library and the British Library for Development Studies/IDS. Also included are holdings information from GTZ, CIDOB, the Ibiscus network and currently received serials from the British Library Document Supply Centre.

Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor is a serial publication aimed at all those with an interest in the role of indigenous knowledge - also known as local or traditional knowledge - in participatory approaches to sustainable development. The full-text of IKDM articles is available on-line.

Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation: Learning From Change
(IDS Policy Briefing Issue 12: Nov 1998) A useful brief introduction to the broad issue of PM&E.

The Power of Participation (IDS Policy Briefing Issue 7: August 1996). This paper focuses on examples of how PRA can prove of great value to policy makers, but stresses the dangers of bad practice and scaling up too quickly.

Mekong River Commission Secretariat
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) was established on 5 April 1995. The MRC member countries are Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam. MRC maintains regular dialogue with the two upper states of the Mekong River Basin, China and Myanmar. The MRC member countries agree to co-operate in all fields of sustainable development, utilization, management and conservation of water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin, such as navigation, flood control, fisheries, agriculture, hydropower and environmental protection.
E-mail :mrcs@mrcmekong.org

Private Agencies Collaborating Together (PACT)
PACT's mission is to help build strong communities globally that provide people with an opportunity to earn a dignified living, raise healthy families, and participate in democratic life. PACT achieves this by strengthening the capacity of grassroots organizations, coalitions and networks and by forging linkages among government, business and the citizen sectors to achieve social, economic and environmental justice.
E-mail : satwater@pacthq.org

 
UN AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
Red Cross Red Crescent promotes individual and community humanitarian values which encourage respect for other human beings and a willingness to work together to find solutions to problems.
E-mail : secretariat@ifrc.org

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
ISDR was set up by the UN to continue efforts initiated during the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). This website provides information about ISDR; a list of ISDR and ISDR-related events; online versions of ISDR's Highlights newsletter; descriptions of various ISDR initiatives; and numerous reports, tools, brochures and UN documents.
E-mail : isdr@un.org

Relief Web
ReliefWeb, a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), is a valuable electronic clearinghouse for those needing timely information on humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters. The website contains daily updates on humanitarian emergencies and a searchable database dating back to 1981.
E-mail : comments@reliefweb.int