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GDRC
The Global Development
Research Center is a virtual
organization that carries out
initiatives in education,
research and practices, in the
spheres of environment, urban, community
and information, and
at scales that are effective.
It was set up with the triple objective of broadening perspectives, deepening awareness, and inspiring action.
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The GDRC is an attempt to consolidate disparate issues, themes and topics into one umbrella to highlight their interconnectedness and interdisciplinary nature. With the focus being on knowledge transfer and information dissemination, GDRC focuses on the micro scale - at the level of the man-on-the-street, where most of the everyday decisions are taken. GDRC aims at bringing together the disparate resources on a three pronged approach:
- Research and development at the global level
- Education and Training at the regional level
- Policy and programme development at the local level
It functions as an information repository (in terms of gathering, collating, packaging and disseminating information); as a research and training center (in terms of organizing training sessions, and seminars and conferences) and as a educational center (knowledge developed from the activities of the center will be fed back into academic programmes and capacity building exercises. In attempting to develop the programmes of GDRC, its usefulness to the user with respect to education, research and practice are used as defining parameters. The interlinkages of needs and uses are highlighted, where practitioners can draw lessons from the research being done or educationists can tailor their courses with the work that practitioners carry out. |
GDRC is a different type of organization - and something we are only now increasingly seeing: It is a virtual one. GDRC 'staff members' are all over the world, having regular jobs that pay them regular salaries. They usually have a burning desire to work on a particular issue or theme, but their work does not cover such themes, or the confines/boundaries of their jobs prevent them from doing so.
This is where GDRC comes in - it provides them with an opportunity to display their interests, works, outputs and ultimately, their knowledge, on a wide variety of issues - related to and falling within the 15 themes of GDRC.
GDRC is therefore a knowledge organization - it is a place where 'surplus' knowledge and experiences can find a dissemination route along with more mainstream issues and sources. More than 60 percent of the info in GDRC is hosted locally, within the server, besides links to other websites. And it is non-technical in nature - which is key in addressing decision makers and community groups. But there are academic papers too - to pursue a more in-depth approach.
So what is unique of GDRC, besides the fact that it is essentially virtual? Rather than implement programmes and projects of its own, it helps other organizations activities, adding value and providing strategic input. It also participates in their events and assists in training programmes. It publishes its outputs only online, including its newsletter.
It does not provide any funding, but provides non-financial inputs in a disaggregated manner.
GDRC has not sought or received any external funds to date. The primary source has been personal/private funds used for such purposes as internet services, publicity material, travel etc. totaling less than USD 500 per year. In the field itself, instead of directly working on a project or community, GDRC and its virtual staff help out local organizations doing so, aiming to offer strategic help, rather than directly implement programmes/projects on its own.
GDRC has worked with UN organizations (UNCHS, UNCTAD, UNDP etc.) and with bilateral donors. But mostly, it works with NGOs, providing advice, strategies, and solutions - through networking, planning, contacts and email. Input into training sessions of other organizations is also common. Resources in GDRC are frequently repackaged into training modules, or university faculty use it's programe pages as references for their courses. For example, on a more practical level, an NGO in Venezuela used the info available on GDRC to write a funding proposal, sent it to the local Rotary Club, and then obtained funding to start off a microfinance programme in the slums of Caracas. Another NGO in East Timor was provided with comprehensive help in developing a community-centered waste management plan.
| GDRC: Keeping the forest and the trees in view
GDRC helps individuals contextualize their professional boundaries (and for organizations, their programme and project boundaries) within a larger developmental perspective.
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About 50 percent of GDRC's activities are focused on developing the various themes and subthemes in GDRC, while about 35 percent is focused on networking and helping out organizations as illustrated above. The remaining 15 percent is for administration and non-internet activities (such as a presentation or lecture, or preparing a paper/report). Building the knowledgebase of GDRC takes up much of the time - which is what attracts local community groups and NGOs to GDRC in the first place, especially in developing countries.
How many 'staff' members does GDRC have? It is very fluid - by its very nature and definition. Some have stayed with GDRC since the beginning in 1994-95 - a core group of 15 people in Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, India, UK, USA, Yugoslavia, and Thailand. Some have been with a specific GDRC theme for a long time. Some interact only for a short period - just for a month or so. Others provide help in editing, updating broken links etc. All of this is voluntary!
It is exciting to coordinate and be part of GDRC's network of 'virtual fellows'. If you are interested in helping out, or being a Virtual Fellow/Collaborating Organization, GDRC is looking to fulfilling the following pertinant needs:
- THEMATIC PRIORITIZATION: What themes are hot? What is really needed on the ground? How to channel global processes into tangible feet-on-the-ground policies and strategies?
- INFORMATION DESIGN: How can the info and knowledge held by GDRC be repackaged and redisseminated to end-users as e-learning products, training modules etc.
- NETWORKING AND PARTNERSHIP: How can GDRC find and partner with local institutions - NGOs, community groups, local governments et al - so that it can better serve needs at the local level
- CHANNEL LOCAL VOICES TO GLOBAL PROCESS: How can GDRC find opportunities for local organizations and knowledge to be globalized?
There is a clear emphasis on the local level in GDRC's activities and resources. Global processes are easy, provides high publicity and does not require getting your hands dirty. But it will be the translation of these global processes, and its implementation at the local level that is the REAL challenge, which is where GDRC focuses on …
Hari Srinivas
Coordinator, GDRC
Email: hsrinivas@gdrc.org
