1. People who work on the land, or anyone who makes decisions on how the land can be used in a sustainable way, need a sound basis for their actions
2. Scientific research built up over the last 20 years can add to traditional knowledge- to provide a wealth of practical experience to guide such decisions But what are the best ways of sharing practical, sustainable and new ideas?
3. Stakeholders are more confident to promote or try new ideas if they see evidence of success demonstrated in scientific experiments
4. Stakeholders cannot all visit the study sites for themselves- but the evidence can be presented to them on a website, or in attractive factsheets, booklets, policy briefs, posters, video clips all in non-scientific language, and preferably in their native language
5. Find out all about DESIRE in the Harmonised Information System http://www.desire-his.eu/
6. The main menus and sub-menus of the Harmonised Information System provide access to all DESIRE results, products and recommendations as they become available
7. Themes can be accessed through the Study Site menu as well as the main menu
8. Find a useful overview of the DESIRE field experiments to test strategies to combat desertification
9. This useful summary tool shows the technologies implemented at each site, or where any particular strategy is being tested
12. An 8 page booklet on Salinization, was the first in a series of Info-briefs. Written in non-scientific language it will inform a wide range of audiences about the problems of salinization and how DESIRE research can help
14. video clips to summarise key points… and documents that can be read on-line or downloaded
15. Training and practical instructions to disseminate recommendations further are accessible in various formats
16. This is the DESIRE Harmonised Information System http://www.desire-his.eu/
Editor's Notes
The DESIRE Project Harmonised Information System (HIS) can be accessed directly, or through the DESIRE Project website
The HIS has the main menus at the top (Home, Overview, Policy, Themes, Study sites, Archive) and sub-menus at the side.The Overview, open in the illustration, has sub-menus listed in red on the left hand side. The Overview menu includes background on Desertification, the DESIRE project and related projects on desertification. DESIRE publicity includes brochures, newsletter and press releases, and information from conference and events. Then there is International Collaboration, Relevant European projects, and also a section on Facilitating dissemination. As well as the Manual of Communication and Dissemination, practical guides to involving stakeholders and using dissemination media are to be found here.
The HIS menus and sub-menus can be accessed through different linked pathways. For example, the work of WB3, Prevention and mitigation, both in general terms and relating to individual study sites, can be accessed either through the Theme menu or the Study Site menu.
The main substance of the HIS is to be found within the Theme and/or Study site menus. This example shows an Overview of field experiment design for all study sites. As this is quite detailed it is accessed as an Article below a more general introduction on Field experiments, which is a submenu of the Theme [WB4] Implementation and monitoring
The Overview of field experiment design for all study sites is accessed as an Article below a more general introduction on Field experiments, which is a submenu of the Theme [WB4] Implementation and monitoring. Scrolling down this Article reveals a tool that answers the question: “What technologies were implemented in which study sites?” For each Study site (in a list) the Technologies implemented will appear in a pop-up box. Alternatively, for each selected technology (in a list) the Study sites implementing that technology will be shown.
The Harmonised information system is now multi-lingual. An on-line translation facility has been added, making it easier for study site leaders to translate all the material relating to their study site into their local language. Already there are pages in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Russian and Chinese. Once the English version of each page is finalised, the study sites can work on the translations at their own pace.
Newsletters and press releases can be viewed or downloaded from the DESIRE publicity menu, within the main Overview menu
This example of a DESIRE booklet looks atsalinization, based on results from the DESIRE Greek and Russian study sites. This can be downloaded from ** and is written in non-scientific language to provide information for a wide range of audiences, from decision makers to schoolchildren.
The HIS uses a range of presentation methods to capture the interest of a wide range of readers. Power Point presentations are accessible through the HIS and are a good way of summarising information pictorially
The HIS uses video clips as an effective summary of key points, with further detail available in documents either made downloadable or formatted for easy reading on-line.
Training for stakeholder involvement and dissemination is very important, so that optimum use can be made of DESIRE results and products. This includes the theory of good participatory methods as well as practical advice on, for example, how to make a video or how to write a press release. These examples can be accessed through the Facilitating Dissemination menu within the main Overview menu.
The DESIRE Project Harmonised Information System (HIS) can be accessed directly, or through the DESIRE Project website