Dgroups: simple
solutions for building
online communities
Webinar – 22 March 2018
The webinar will start at 16:00 CET
(Rome, Amsterdam, Brussels – check time in your time zone)

Webinar process overview
Welcome &
Dgroups Intro
• 10 mins
Dgroups Cases (3)
• 20 mins
Q&A / Open
Discussion
• 30 mins

Webinar housekeeping rules
Keep the allocated time for
presentations and
discussions
Be brief in comments and
questions
Use the chat to comment or
ask questions during
presentations

Facilitation team
Alice Van der
Elstraeten
FAO
Pier Andrea Pirani
Euforic
Services/Dgroups
Foundation

Speakers
Saskia
Harmsen
C4C Alliance
& Dgroups
Board
Suzanne
Phillips
FAO
Giacomo
Rambaldi
CTA
Neil
Pakenham-
Walsh
HIFA

Guiding questions for case studies
What issue are you trying to
solve with Dgroups?
How have you used Dgroups?
Why would you
recommend Dgroups to others?

An introduction to
Dgroups
Dgroups-FAO Webinar
22 March 2018
Saskia Harmsen
Dgroups Board

Dgroups is…
Dgroups

Dgroups is…
Dgroups
A Partnership &
Foundation

Full Partners (15)
• 5000 Euro / year
Associate Partners (9)
• 500/1000 Euro / year
Project Partners (3)
• 500/1000 Euro / year

Dgroups vision: “A world where every person is able
to contribute to dialogue and decision-making for
international development and social justice”

Dgroups is…
Dgroups
A Partnership &
Foundation
A web based
platform –
Community-
Cloud

Dgroups platform – Key data
• Public/private; open/closed; moderated/unmoderated
700+
communities

Dgroups platform – Key data
• Public/private; open/closed; moderated/unmoderated
700+ communities
• International organizations, Government agencies,
National/international NGOs, Interested individual,
Professional groups
290,000+
registered users

Dgroups platform – Key data
• Public/private; open/closed; moderated/unmoderated
700+ communities
• Int’l orgs; Gov’t agencies; Nat’l/Int’l NGOs; individuals;
professional groups
290,000+ registered
users
• over 50% exchanged with & within African countries
400,000+ email
messages delivered daily

Dgroups platform – Key features
Simple

Dgroups platform – Key features
Simple
Multilingual

Dgroups platform – Key features
Simple
Multilingual
Flexible and scalable

Dgroups platform – Key features
Simple
Multilingual
Flexible and scalable
Non commercial &
respectful of privacy

Dgroups platform – Key features
Simple
Multilingual
Flexible and scalable
Non commercial &
respectful of privacy
Target to low bandwidth
users

Dgroups is…
Dgroups
A
Partnership
&
Foundation
A web based
platform –
Community-
Cloud
A global public
good

Making the case for Dgroups
Appropriate technology

Making the case for Dgroups
Appropriate technology Effective, flexible tool

Making the case for Dgroups
Appropriate technology Effective, flexible tool
Shared ownership

Making the case for Dgroups
Appropriate technology Effective, flexible tool
Shared ownership
Reduce duplication and
fragmentation of online
communities

Some examples
Suzanne
Phillips
FAO
Giacomo
Rambaldi
CTA
Neil
Pakenham-
Walsh
HIFA

THE GLOBAL FARMER FIELD SCHOOL
PLATFORM DGROUP
Supporting quality
FFS globally
Suzanne Phillips
FFS team
FAO

Context: The Farmer Field School (FFS)
approach
• 15-25 farmers/pastoralists meet together over crop or animal cycle
• Setup study and experimental fields – ‘the field is the book’
• Learn and experiment about ecology and field management
• Uses non-formal adult education approaches, learning by doing
Since its development by FAO
in 1989 in Indonesia,
the approach was adapted to
different production systems,
regions and organisations.
About 10-20 million
smallholders had been trained
through FFS up till 2012, with
FFS initiatives in at least 90
countries

Context: The Global FFS Platform
A global FFS platform to:
• Facilitate exchange of knowledge,
expertise and information
• Document and improve visibility of
achievements globally
• Promote quality of FFS through
harmonization, collaboration among
teams, develop key tools and studies
Suzanne Phillips
FAO
Rome
22 March 2018
❖ How to facilitate the implementation of good quality
innovative FFS?
❖ How to support the growing global FFS community?

The global FFS platform
A collaborative multi-stakeholder effort
The FFS platform website was developed and is facilitated by:
 FAO’s crop production and protection division,
▪ Many FAO divisions, regional and national offices
▪ A network of FFS partners
▪ FFS practitioners worldwide
Suzanne Phillips
FAO
Rome
22 March 2018

Issue at stake: How to connect the FFS community
of practice?
Suzanne Phillips
FAO
• FFS website makes
documentation, news and expertise
available
• BUT practitioners need a space to
discuss issues and share
questions, innovations and
successes
• Inclusiveness: everyone should be
able to contribute
• no matter how far, where they
work, independently of quality of
internet connection and IT skills…
Rome
22 March 2018

How we used Dgroups: the global FFS email-
discussion group https://dgroups.org/fao/fieldschools
Topics discussed: climate change
adaptation, institutionalization, IPM,
livestock, post disaster risk reduction;
exchange of training material ..
FFS Dgroup = Parallel platform for discussions amongst FFS
practitioners
Over the past 14 months…
1000 members
106 countries
174+ discussions
790+ contributions
Upcoming webinars
• Livestock FS
• Gender and FS
• Fisheries FS
Rome
22 March 2018
Suzanne Phillips
FAO

Using Dgroups: we would recommend it!
The Dgroup has allowed us to connect
a global community of FFS
practitioners.
We would recommend as it is:
✓ free of charge for end users
✓ easy to use even if have low IT-
literacy
✓ email-based, to overcome poor
internet connection and reduce the
time needed for exchanges (no
passwords, navigating to website…).
✓ easy to moderate (admins’
viewpoint)
Suzanne Phillips
FAO

http://www.fao.org/farmer-field-schools/en/
THANK YOU !
Suzanne.phillips@fao.org

Some examples
Suzanne
Phillips
FAO
Giacomo
Rambaldi
CTA
Neil
Pakenham-
Walsh
HIFA

Webinar
22 March, 2018
Giacomo Rambaldi
Senior Programme Coordinator ICTs
CTA, Netherlands
@iapad on Twitter

Issue at stake
Status of national
regulations governing
the use of drones

www.uav4ag.org

www.droneregulations.info

www.uav4ag.org

0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Dgroups (en)
~1K
contributions
107
countries
943
members
UAV4Ag community
Born in
June 2015

Why ?
• Email based
• Easily accessible to users affected by poor connectivity
• Offline consultable (email client)
• Privacy ensured
• No parsing of content to profile you or serve you customized adverts
• No profiling of members
• Ease of use
• By admins
• By members
• Customizable backend
• Moderation
• Visibility
• Contributions
• Language
• Sub-communities and more …

Best use of
• Project Working Groups
• Private and invisible on the net
• Time bound
• Non moderated
• By invitation only
• Communities of Practice
• Public
• Moderated
• Accepts unsolicited applications after review

Want to know more on
Dgroups?
Visit:
www.dgroups.info

Some examples
Suzanne
Phillips
FAO
Giacomo
Rambaldi
CTA
Neil
Pakenham-
Walsh
HIFA

Healthcare Information for All
A global community of purpose
www.hifa.org

1. What issue are you trying to
solve with Dgroups?
Problem: People are dying for lack of
knowledge
HIFA goal: Every person will have access to the
healthcare information they need to protect their
own health and the health of others
WHO letter of support: “Healthcare Information
For All is an ambitious goal but it can be achieved
if all stakeholders work together” 48

2. How have you used Dgroups?
Launch: 2006 Mombassa ($3k from BMJ)
Method: Reader-Focused Moderation
Approach:
1. Agree/define HIFA goal (2006)
2. Explore how to improve availability and use of healthcare
information (2007-)
3. Build critical mass / advocacy (2007-)
49

2. How have you used Dgroups? (contd)
Result: >18,000 members, 5 Dgroups, 3
languages, 300 supporting organisations, 40
funders, 12 projects.
• Main strategic partner:
• Main funding partner: 50

HIFA Financial Supporters 2018 ($50k)
51

3.Why would you
recommend Dgroups to others?
1. Dgroups works (Community Cloud)
2. Dgroups is a partnership of UN agencies,
bilateral agencies and NGOs
3. Dgroups is committed to international
development, human rights and social justice
52

Thank you
www.hifa.org
neil@hifa.org
53

Dgroups: simple
solutions for building
online communities
Webinar – 22 March 2018

How to ask questions?

How to ask questions?

Time for discussion

Dgroups: simple
solutions for building
online communities
Webinar
22 March 2018
Contact: dg-coordination@dgroups.org
www.dgroups.info