What information users need

Users want to know what kind of information is being presented to them and, importantly what the information will enable them to do. An engineer working in Kenya said that he wanted to know whether the document he was about to read was going to tell him ‘how to build a road, or how Nepalese engineers managed to build a road in the Himalayas, or how the road that you build can be maintained at low cost’. Only if the document contained reliable information on the last topic would he bother to read it.

Users across all categories also want an overview of what other information is available and where from, so that they can select and pursue what information they need at that particular time, having filtered it using their own criteria (e.g. judgement of source organisation; place of origination; date of generation etc.). Researchers want to see what has been done elsewhere so that they can incorporate existing knowledge, into their own research and thereby build on knowledge and join the international debate (Zimbabwe researchers), as well as not ‘reinvent the wheel’ (UK engineers).

All users want information that reflects local realities and is practically useful.

 

Information that reflects local realities

People from all continents want information that describes their local environment, e.g. the state of the rural road infrastructure in Colombia; access to local markets for women in Tanzania; availability of manufacturing capacity in Zimbabwe to construct IMTs etc. For example, the Colombian case study written for the Literature Search concluded that ‘at the national level there is lack of reliable information about the conditions and needs of rural transport infrastructure. Policy decisions are therefore taken on ‘best estimates’. Engineers in Peru complained that, even where primary census data exists, no statistical projections based on this data exist.

Users also want information that ‘reflects their reality’ (Zimbabwe workshop).  This could include research that tackles problems that have been identified by the transport community on the ground (vs. by researchers in the funding agency’s country); that uses analytical tools familiar to people who are experiencing the problems; that uses local consultants – either on their own or in conjunction with ‘northern’ consultants; and that acknowledges and integrates previous research work carried out in the south.

Recent research conducted by FAO (Information for Sustainable Livelihoods) [i] confirmed that people do not find information useful that has not been localised (a process which they call ‘acculturation’), in both the way that it has been re-purposed and packaged, and the content developed to be relevant to their local circumstances. Technical practitioners, researchers, and some policymakers at the workshops – particularly in Peru and Zimbabwe – also said that they were reluctant to apply information and analysis conducted in one country outside of their region, to their own circumstances. The Peruvians said that there was too much information produced about Africa and not enough about Latin America. The Colombian case study also confirmed that professionals working in the Ministry were unable to secure data about their own country, and were unable to use statistics from outside

An evaluation of IFRTD’s newsletter, Forum News, carried out in 2000/2001 shows that the most useful issues were the one on Sustainable Rural Livelihoods and on Gender and Transport.  This could be because Forum News readers use the newsletter mainly for getting fresh ideas, understanding particular issues or as a source of information for research.

 

Information that is practically useful

Different people want to ‘dip into’ these subjects with different nets.  Examples of specific information needs which came up during the study included: transport systems meeting the needs of children in South East Asia vs. sub-Saharan Africa; animal traction figures in central America now vs. ten years ago; inclusion of transport in PRSPs; transport improvement processes is specific areas; and detailed rural infrastructure statistics.

Institutions providing technical information report that the highest expressed demand is for practical information “that enables people to go away and do something as a result”. Overseas Road Notes, written for practising engineers, and students who are training to become engineers, accounted for half all demand for information products from the Transport Research Laboratory between April 1995 and March 1998. (but this could be because TRL has established itself as a centre of technical excellence for roads over many years, and people therefore do not request any other kinds of information from them.)

As well as looking for information on different subjects, users also often want to find different ‘takes’ on the same subject (e.g. educational impact of children being employed in road construction; participative processes used to engage children’s views on transport options; appropriate transport designs for children etc.)  At the three workshops, participants gave examples of looking for information on processes that can be employed to influence the World Bank; of evaluations of performance and impact that can inform future work; of guidelines for project implementation; and technical procedures.

 

Current Frustrations