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OSSREA’s Newly Launched Website
OSSREA used to disseminate information about its activities and programmes through a website (http://www.ossrea.org) that it subleased from a commercial firm based in Addis Ababa. The firm also used to provide other services to OSSREA such as regularly posting on the website the full text of new issues of the Newsletter, announcements and other information related to the activities of the Organization. However, this arrangement was found to be inadequate for OSSREA to embark on online publishing and often caused unnecessary delays even in the mounting of the limited information.
After having the design and content of its website reviewed by a professional from the University of Pennsylvania, namely, Dr. Ali. B. Ali-Dinar, OSSREA acquired a new website registered in its own name – http://www.ossrea.net – and employed its own ICT specialist to redesign the structure of the new website and look after the regular updating and expansion of its content.
http://www.ossrea.net now provides fuller information about the background, objectives, funding, governance organs and staff of OSSREA. Details of OSSREA National Chapters and their Liaison Officers are also available on the website. Furthermore, anyone interested in getting up-to-date information about OSSREA’s activities can now follow up recent developments in the Organization’s research grant awards, workshops and conferences, training and related research support activities, ongoing and newly launched research projects, network activities, backprints and newly released publications. Full details of the backgrounds of existing and phased out projects and programmes along with the names and addresses of contact persons responsible for the coordination of these activities are also available on the website. The newly added section on membership gives detailed information on membership criteria, rights and privileges, fees, and how to apply. Applications can now be made online.
The most significant changes in the contents of the website are related to OSSREA’s publications. http://www.ossrea.net now provides comprehensive information on OSSREA’s publications, including a brief description of each major type of publication, details on how to place orders and make submissions to the journal, the prices of backprints and newly released publications, and the table of contents (TOC) as well as abstracts of most of the publications issued during the last ten years. Most importantly, the website also provides full text documents of series publications such as the social science and gender issues research reports as well as DHP and environmental publications series, monographs, books, reference materials such as compilations of abstracts and bibliographies, official documents such as the OSSREA constitution and annual reports. However, while the TOCs, abstracts, bibliographies, summaries of workshop reports, the OSSREA Newsletter and the official documents are freely accessible, annual subscription fees have to be paid in advance to get access to and/or download full text documents of other publications such the series publications, books, and monographs.
Another feature of the new website is that the latest information related to current vacancy announcements, call for papers, forthcoming events such as conferences, and other new developments within the Organization is presented for easy access under a separate section titled ‘what is new’.
The design of the new website is user-friendly, being organised in such a way that menus can be easily browsed, navigation between one section and another, for instance, from the TOC of a document to its abstract or full-text document and vice versa, is simple, and downloading of texts less time consuming. In addition, there is a site map to make it easier for visitors to see at a glance what is available on the website. Also, the interactive Feedback Form now makes it easier for visitors to submit online their comments and suggestions for the improvement of the quality of information provided and even the design of the website itself so that everyone can derive the maximum benefit from: http://www.ossrea.net.
OSSREA, with the support of IDRC under its PLaW Programme, conducted a research methodology training workshop in Khartoum from 19 to 31 December 2001. Twenty-five young researchers, including 14 women, from various organizations and institutions in the Sudan participated in the training programme. The host in Khartoum was the Development Studies Research Centre of the University of Khartoum. Prof. Shibru Tedla, the PLaW Coordinator of OSSREA, managed the training programme.