What is DGroups? • A joint initiative sponsored by 8 different development organizations, Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, ICA, IICD, OneWorld UNAIDS, OneWorld, UNAIDS and World Bank. Bank • An aggregation of online groups working in the development sector on various issues • The DGroups server is maintained by Bellanet, a small NGO connected to CIDA, located in Ottawa. E discussions, Virtual Communities of E-discussions, Practice, and Online Consultations E-discussions: Consultations: a limited time activity, a limited time activity, multi-way discussions/dialog g on a specific topic, comments and critique q invited on prepared material. contributors interact with one another and the moderators moderators. Communities of Practice: an ongoing virtual community of interest informally bound together by shared expertise, contributors interact with one another and the moderators. How does it work? • • • • • Email & web-based discussions p to the p public and moderated Mostlyy open Focused on a particular subject Limited in duration Archived on the web for future reference Features • • • • • • • Share different types of resource files p Access subscriber activityy reports Access to convenient member profile forms Access membership & email statistics Add list members easily Use a built-in group calendar Etc How can RAILS and DONATA use Dgroups? g p • Organizing g g group g p discussions/exchanges g • Disseminating information, announcements, news • Building consensus • Sharing files • Sharing a calendar of events • Building and sustaining a community of practices • Sharing lessons learnt • Mobilizing M bili i g stakeholders t k h ld • Promoting wide use of IPTA technologies • Etc.