Picking and choosing information

A daily concern for many agricultural researchers in ACP countries is how to keep abreast of the latest scientific and technical information in their field. For the last eleven years, CTA s Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) service has sought to provide selected researchers with access to up-to-date information. They regularly receive lists of new publications and research reports, on the basis of a profile of their interests. The lists are compiled for CTA by CAB International and CIRAD, who then process the researchers requests to receive selected documents. In 1998, about 1150 researchers in 780 institutions in 53 ACP countries received more than a quarter of a million references, and they requested almost nine hundred articles and three hundred books. In 1999, CTA studied the impact of the service, to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the ACP scientific community in the field of agriculture. The main impact has been to help researchers focus and write up their research proposals better. As well as improving their communication and priority setting, the service has reduced the time required for information searching. Perhaps most important, from the perspective of getting research results known in the field, is that researchers are now able to publish more. The conclusion of the study? The service should continue, with steps to further enhance the focus of information provided through better assessment of researchers needs, and to sharpen up its delivery including by electronic networks.A daily concern for many agricultural researchers in ACP countries is how to keep abreast of the latest scientific and technical information in their field. For the last eleven years, CTA s Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) service has..