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Hari Srinivas |
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Concept Note Series E-112.
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 Developing the content of GDRC's 15 research programmes and the sub-themes within those programmes provide a unique opportunity in understanding and presenting information, particularly in presenting that information on GDRC's main medium of dissemination - its website and the social media channels.
These lessons are presented here, in short pithy paragraphs under an equally pithy title. The paragrahs are "collapsed". So to read them, please click the title to expand,and click it again to collapse.
As with doing any research, we always have to start with, and build on, whatever info is already there and the user already has ...
Based on queries received from visitors to GDRC's programme websites, it is clear that the information they found on the website helped them do their work (whether a report, a project, or a speech) better.
And so the metaphor, "Standing on the Shoulder of Gaints" - implying an inidividual who improves his/her intellectual pursuits by appreciating and using the work done by other people in the past.
Turning the metaphor around - what information can be provided to users who can then use it to build on and improve the work they are doing? This is an important question that has guided the desin of GDRC's web pages!
- Much of GDRC's 15 programmes and its projects deal with problems and issues that are essentially urban in context. A majority of humanity now live in cities and urbanized areas - these have huge consequences, both positive and negative. Cities are growing due to the centrality of goods and services that it offers. But mismanaged growth has caused a drastic decline in the quality of living both in the
residential and work fronts.
Such a scenario has had ripple effects on a variety of sectors such as education, health, labour/job markets, and economic activities. The growth and effect of an urban area should be seen not only in terms of its immediate boundaries, but also in terms of the resources necessary to sustain its
population.
Cities have, in effect, become a barometer of humankind's progress into the 21st century, whether this is an upward or downward trend. Focussing on urban areas helps us understand the cause-effect relationships, but also the beginings of viable solutions.
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Developing GDRC's content has brought up an interesting lesson - When we look at problems we tend to look at only the facile or visible aspects and label them as 'problems'. Slums or squatter settlements are a classic 'problem' that is always mentioned in improving urban environments.
But is it a 'problem'? What is the real problem with respect to slums? What problems lie behind this visible, tangible 'problem' - lack of political will? Vested private interests? Land management policies? Or a combination of these?
There will always be problems behind the visible problems and to find a lasting sustainable solution, we need to find out what these are to attack the root causes and reasons of the end problem.
And similarly we need to find solutions that can generate more solutions - one action that fosters, supports and enables more action to be taken, by a wider range of stakeholders.
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With more and more emphasis on producing information and 'pushing' it out for consumption, a clearer understanding of what is needed by the user is becoming increasingly important.
Presenting information in a way that the user can understand becomes very critical. An
excellent example is that of a kid. In fact a kind, a young child, can be considered as an
ultimate ennd-user of the information:
Using a kid as an end-user of your information has two meanings - firstly, it means that there is a need to explain what you are disseminating easily so that even a kid can understand; secondly, kids are our future anyway!
It may not be directly relevant to a kid - but the message should be easy enough so that even a kid can understand. And if we change the behaviour of a kid towards ssutainability, we are on our way to change the family's behavior too!
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With the Olympics just around the corner, terminology related to the games is on everyone's lips, and GDRC is no exception!
Hop, skip and side step is a term usually used to illustrate dodging - for example, of a company using a PR drive to obscure key issues and not take action on a critical environmental impact of its production process.
For GDRC it has a completely opposite meaning! It is to provide critical information for decision-making that will enable entities at the local level, whether companies or communities, to hop, skip and side step over problems or obvious pitfalls, thereby avoiding or mitigating negative impacts of their activities.
In a modern world where online information access and transfer is extremely fast, coming up with appropriate and consensus solutions is just a hop and skip away, and
you can also manage to side-step the problems as well!
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Overhead as a joke during a public meeting, the term "1+1=11" illustrates a number of trends that we are looking in our current interconnected society. The causes and effects of a particular action - say drinking a cup of coffee - have implications that goes beyond perceptions limited by space and time.
1+1=11 highlights this issue, but also that simple single actions, taken by an individual on an everyday basis, can cumulatively have impacts that are felt globally. 1+1=11 has become a guiding term for GDRC in the way it presents information in its various features, and the interconnectedness of the issues involved. And emphasize the need for us to have the skills to see such linkages.
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A microwave oven is a ubiquitous addition to the modern kitchen enabling us to cook meals healthily and quickly. A microwave oven uses radio waves of 2.5 gigahertz to cook the food all around and evenly - targeting foods such as water, fats and sugar, but leaving aside materials such as plastic, glass or ceramics.
And that is the information management lesson provided by an oven - that when we look at an issue we need to look at it from different perspectives, and in a balanced,
even manner. Like an oven zapping radio waves at the food from all angles, we need to penetrate the issue to assess and evaluate it from different points of view. Bon appetite !!
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The value of knowledge can be realized only when
it is disseminated and shared - and used. What
different design formats can be used to present
and package information?
Over the years, GDRC has collected more than 160
such formats. Some focus on the format of presentation,
and some on the content of the message. Some use
graphics to deliver the message, some use text.
Some present the message in listed points or in
summary/abstract format, some in descriptive/verbose
format. Some formats are temporal, short-term or long-
term, others atemporal. Some formats are specificaly
developed for online dissemination environments,
others offline - still others are appropriate for
both environments.
Depending on the message that is to be delivered, the
medium used, the target audience, the dissemination
process etc. the actual format used will vary.
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The UN Secretary General, in a speech, highlighted
that what we need are more "hand-ups and not
hand-downs" This is a critical message that calls
for more information and knowledge that enables
proper and relevant decision-making to be done.
Local decisions need to be taken at the local
level, by local people - not 'handed-down' from
top.
How can awareness be built so that the right
decision is taken at the right time, at the
right level, by the right people? This question
is constantly asked when different webpages and
online features are developed.
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'Designing' information is a recurring theme in
many past Mosaic newsletters - as it is a key
lesson learnt in the development of GDRC's
programmes, and particularly its web pages.
The programme on Information Design was
itself inspired by lessons learnt when developing
GDRC's programmes in the late 1990s.
What is the main message we want to share?
Which medium we want to use? What resource
are we to use? Who are the main end-users?
How can information be presented for this
purpose? And how can good information
design facilitate this?
Good information design calls for the collation,
packaging and display of information in such
a way as to communicate and meet the
needs of the user, for intended purposes.
It uses effective design principles to
understand the essence and meaning of
the information. Information design, in
fact, takes graphic design principles and
applies and integrates it with text.
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Information Literacy is defined as the ability to
know when there is a need for information, to be
able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively
use that information for the issue or problem at hand.
This is an important skill that each and everyone of
us have to possess - something that has become apparent
as GDRC developed over the years.
The information explosion has meant that the information
you want is out there - someone already has it. What we
need is a way to search for it, a way to understand,
package and use it for our needs.
How important is it compared to other skills and
knowledge, particularly in this information age?
How do we develop information literacy? What formal
and informal skills can we use for this?
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How can we provide information that is useful
to our end-users - those that have to grapple with
everyday decisions on the environment and
sustainability?
A set of three keywords guide GDRC's programme
development: Localization, Contextualization, and
Customization. Information (and the context within
which that information is being provided) should
enable the user to -
(a) localize it - i.e. scale it down to the level
that it will be used.
(b) contextualize it - i.e. link it to the situation
that in which it will be used
(c) customize it - i.e. manage it to satisfy the
need for such information.
By doing so, the ownership of information is ensured,
and will better cater to the needs of the end-user
at the level that he/she functions, and the decisions
taken at that level.
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Homogeneity and heterogeneity are key concepts in
information management too! We need to keep the
forest AND the trees in view - trees for heteroge-
neity and forests for homogeneity.
GDRC learnt early on that in providing information
to its users, it is necessary to help individuals
contextualize their professional boundaries (and
for organizations, their programme and project
boundaries) within a larger, global perspective.
It is this ability to contextualize and actively
use the info provided, whether at the individual
or organizational level, that will enable good
decision-making.
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This is the starting line of a short 3-line
Japanese hyku that says: "Don't be afraid /
Of what you know / The unknown can
be learnt."
The meaning is clear - we should take into
account what we already know, what we
already have - and not on what we don't
have or don't know. We can always learn
what we don't know!
This is a very important lesson for GDRC -
to respect what its visitors already know.
And to build on it, layer by layer, with
new information, new linkages, new
connections to other topics!
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A recent jazz concert provided an interesting opportunity to think
of the lessons we can learn for information design!
Listen carefully to jazz - a wide range of seemlingly random and
different music streams, sounds and instruments come together
to make 'music'. AND so it should be for designing information
products - where different peices of information should be used
in different ways to present an idea or create knowledge.
The apparent randomness of jazz facilitates improvization and
on-the-fly music. The musicians sometimes invent new pieces
as they go along, but creating seamless music. AND so it
should be for information design as well - a mixture of
information provided should enable different impressions and
inspirations in the user.
Jazz uses different music beats in the same piece of music,
but creating a composite whole that is pleasing and continuous.
AND in information design, this is an important skill to be able
to pay attention to different and sometimes out-of-sync streams
of information to be able to build patterns of useful knowledge
And so the beat goes on!!
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Asking different types of questions will help
build the 'big' picture ...
In order to better understand any issue we are
studying, it is necessary to look at it from all
angles - so that a thorough assessment can be made.
So it is useful to keep the 'question starters'
what, when, where, which, why, who, how, whether -
in mind when gathering information on an issue.
There are many ways to make sure that comprehensive
information is collected - and this is one fun way
to ask questions (and maybe confuse the issue
even more!).
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Much has been said about the need to make programmes
and projects relevant to the needs of the target
community.
In developing the contents of GDRC's programme pages,
a constant mantra used is "Observe!" This may seem too
simplistic, but when expanded, we realize that good
observation skills help us in a number of ways - to be
able to listen, to formulate a good discussion, to think
systematically, and to take concrete action.
Understanding how a person or an organization at the
local level takes decisions and acts on those decisions
is a critical starting point for GDRC's work. We then
need to work backwards and see what information is
needed for that decision to be taken, and how and
when it should be delivered.
An underlying prerequisite for this is the ability
to observe ....
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In all its research and action, GDRC constantly keeps an
image of the man-on-the-street ('MOTS') in developing its
programems and projects. This has been a useful way to
make the work relevant and interesting!
How will the activity or topic we are working on affect the
MOTS? How will he perceive it? Is it in fact relevant to him
at all?? How can we scale down the message we are
disseminating to his level, so that he understands its
importance? What will we have to do make him take action?
These questions drive the way in which information is
presented within the pages of GDRC's programmes and
its outputs. As frequently mentioned in earlier issues of
GDRC Mosaic, it will small decisions and actions, taken
on a daily basis by individuals and communities, that will
cummulatively help to solve global problems.
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Information has to be 'formatted' properly if it
is to be trusted and used for the purposes it was
intended. The Learning Lab of GDRC calls this
the "INFORMAT" approach. It essentially looks
at the following six components:
- Legitimacy: Delivering appropriate and timely
information that reflects the mandate and
objectives for which it was collected.
- Complementarity: Complementing existing global
and international efforts in knowledge
dissemination, and intrapolating its relevance
at the micro level.
- Subsidiarity: Adopting a decentralized system
of information collation. Ensuring, as a result,
that users understand its use and limitation.
- Transparency: Key for INFORMAT to work is
ensuring that information is available freely
for all purposes and users.
- Continuity: Commiting to ensure currency and
accuracy of information made available, in a
sustained manner.
- Economy: Collating, packaging and disseminating
information that is, to the extent possible, in
scale to the need, use and analyses of the
problems being faced.
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In attempting to develop the contents of many of GDRC's
programme pages, its usefulness to the user with respect
to education, research and practice is usually used as
defining parameters.
Building greater awareness (education), analyzing impact
assessments (research) and facilitating continual action
(practice) is key to ensure that the intended target
audience benefit from the programme.
It is difficult indeed to make such categorizations,
particularly with the overlap of needs and uses -
practitioners can easily draw lessons from the research
being done, educationists can tailor their courses with
the work that practitioners are doing etc. Yet, it is a
useful 'triad' that can help fill the gaps and mismatches
in a programme.
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In order to present an issue or a problem, or when
evaluating a programme or project, GDRC developed
a tool called the 'Lack, Gap and Mismatch Analysis'.
'Lack' (that which is not there) refers to a situation
where the existing provisions made do not meet
perceived needs of the target. Thus, the desired
scenario does not exist or is not complete due to
the 'lack' of certain necessities.
'Gap' (that which is insufficient) refers to a situation
where the provisions made are those perceived
by the target population, but are essentially
insufficient or inadequate.
'Mismatch' (that which is not compatible) refers
to a situation where the provisions made are
incongruous to, and do not match the perceived
desires/wants/needs of the target population.
The key to usefulness of the L-G-M tool lies in its
simplicity, and adaptability for diagnosis and
perception of a problem, and guiding corrective
action.
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Much of GDRC's programmatic work has been shaped by
adopting the well known saying, "Missing the forests
for the trees" - which highlights the common mistake
of looking too much into the details (the 'trees'),
but ignoring the context and the big picture to which
it is linked (the 'forest').
A key lesson learnt at GDRC is to keep the balance
between the 'trees' and the 'forest'. It is important
to help individuals contextualize their professional
boundaries (and for organizations, their programme
and project boundaries) - i.e. the trees - within
a larger developmental perspective - i.e. the forests.
This apporach is based on the belief that a bridge
has to be built between those who have the information
and the knowledge, and those that need it to solve
the problems they face locally. Adopting this forest
of knowledge to suit different trees is the key
strategy used by GDRC - and hence its operating
slogan - "Keeping the Forests and the Trees in
View"!
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Information designers all over face the same
dilemma - that of the "200-page Manual" How can
you distill a fat 200-page document into different
product types so that different stakeholders
can adopt and use it?
You cannot, for example, take a 200-page manual
on environmental management to a city mayor and
ask him to improve the city environment. He
actually needs only a single sheet of paper
with bullet points - enough to take a decision.
A bureaucrat, on the other hand, needs just a
little bit more - enough to make sure it is
relevant, and confirms to city laws and
policies/strategies. And a city engineer,
of course, needs the full document and maybe
more - to fully implement it.
So the basic 200-page document, in different
forms, has to help different people for different
purposes.
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One of the reasons that make GDRC popular among its
users (based on feedback and queries received) is the
format of the information it provides that facilitate and
inspire local action. It does not provide prescriptive
solutions (i.e. cook-books that provide step-by-step
instructions to prepare a dish), but rather lays out a
contextualizing big picture framework, within which
different concepts and approaches can be tried (i.e.
nutrition guides that provide indicators to what needs
to be consumed).
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Packaging information properly so as to facilitate
its contextualizing and customizing by the user
to create tacit knowledge is an iterative cycle
Where is information available? Who has it?
How can we match user needs with information
available? What are the interlinakages between
the different pieces of information? What
enhancements can be envisaged to the info
patterns? How can the products developed
be improved further? How can the info products
be delivered to the user? These are some of
the questions that are covered in the cycle.
Ultimately, good information management is
an aid to decision-making, of understanding
what and how information is used, and
developing a channel to deliver it to the user.
Based on a user-needs assessment, information
is collated and analyzed to build patterns.
The iterative process is repeated by
incorporating feedback and review it until
it matches the needs of the user. This is
the 'Information Desgin Cycle' See GDRC's
programme pages on Information Design for
more information!
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This is a old saying to illustrate a
lack of coordination and information sharing.
Sometimes, it is modified to say, "The left hand
does not WANT to know what the right hand is
doing ... "
A rather negative lesson, but one worth keeping
in mind so that coodination can happen. In some
cases, for example in disaster management, good
coodination can mean life or death.
Coordination can be institutional, financial,
operational or capacities - but is especially
true for information needed to take action, on
who is doing what and where, for how long and
with whom.
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Information becomes knowledge only when it is linked
to something the user already knows …
Packaging information properly so as to facilitate
its contextualizing and customizing by the user to
create tacit knowledge is an iterative cycle.
In the information cycle, based on a user-needs
assessment, information is collated and analyzed
to build patterns. The iterative process is
repeated by incorporating feedback and review
it until it matches the needs of the user.
The information cycle is an aid to decision-making,
of understanding what and how information is used
by the target users, and developing a channel to
deliver it to the user.
It should make the 'a-ha' - a spark of insight
and inspiration - happen for the user so that
the right decision can be taken at the right
level at the right time.
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Developing GDRC's content has always been an
exercise of understanding how different types of
users use the same set of data/information, for
different purposes and objectives.
This has called for, as the saying goes, 'putting
yourself in another person's shoes'. It may smell,
but doing so is an important part of responding
to users informational needs.
Being in another person's shoes is about having,
or being able, to use information to build
alternative scenarios - so that it takes into
account different aspects of the situation or
problem. And so that viable solutions can be
found.
It also means looking at different
viewpoints/priorities of different stakeholders,
and matching information to their goals and
objectives using the same dataset. A 200-page
manual to an engineer becomes a 10-page set of
instructions to a bureaucrat and a one page
decision-making criteria for a politician.
Ultimately, it means taking advantage of the
strengths and reducing the weaknesses of the
involved stakeholders using targeted information.
A businessman will look at the market and technology
aspects of a problem, a community group may look
at the lifestyle implications of the same problem,
and a city mayor may look at its governance and
management aspects - focusing on their relative
strengths.
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With a lot of information being made available on the
internet, it is increasingly becoming a critical source of
information for a range of issues, themes and ideas. The
pressure to 'push' information online, and the 'pull' of
information by users, has lead to an unprecedented volume
of information being made available online.
But making information available online alone is not
sufficient. Proper content management, including a
logical sequence of knowledge discovery and
understanding, is critical in making sure that users
get the information they are seeking, and the way they
want it. This is the thinking that went into the setting
up of GDRC's programme on Information Design.
One key lesson learnt in the process of developing and
maintaining GDRC has been "Info in three clicks" - the
information that the user is seeking should be available
within three clicks of the mouse. If not, then it is
buried too deep within the website, and the user may
leave the site out of frustration!
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In compiling the research output of its various
programmes, GDRC has used the analogy of a telescope
to present the various issues. In solving problems at
the local level there is a clear need to provide a
balanced picture of all the issues involved.
Looking through the eyepiece of a telescope, we can
see minute details of the view we are seeing - information
presentation has to therefore zoom in by providing
complete and balanced details.
While we look through the opposite end of a telescope,
we see a picture in long perspective - that is information
presentation has to zoom out, and so provide the 'big
picture' both in space and in time.
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Meta-information is information about information,
i.e. who has produced it, when, what format is the
information in, and so on.
In the web language, meta-information is presented
in the form of HTML tags that provide information
on the document itself, such as author,
descripotion, keywords, date created etc.
This concept is something we can use in the wider
world of information design too! Information
overload is a reality that we face on a daily basis,
requiuring us to reskill ourselves with new ideas
and skills that will help us be more efficient
and effective.
And one skill that can be adopted from this very
phenomenon is to develop a meta-information system
for our daily lives so that we can access, process
and use information efficiently!
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With more and more information being made available
on the internet, and with its increased access by
users, it has become a priority to rethink
information delivery processes.
How does the user use information and for what
purposes? How do we deliver information to better
suit the needs of the user? How do we facilitate
the construction of knowledge in the user's mind?
For this to happen, we need a Jack-of-all-Trades
(i.e. a person who can understand and appreciate
all the problems and issues involved - the big
picture - with which he or she performs), but
also someone who is Master-of-Quite-a-Few (i.e.
a person who is well versed in his/her speciality
and is also able to articulate it vis-a-vis the
big picture), in order to address the myriad
challenges of sustainability.
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Asking questions the right way is an art in itself. The
ability to ask the right question properly is probably as
difficult as finding the right answer. It is a skill that will
help us learn new things and obtain new insights.
Good questioning skills may be the world's most unsung
talent. Ask the right questions in the right way, and
you'll engage people; do it differently, and you'll put
them off.
As an ancient Japanese saying goes, everyone is a teacher
and has something new to teach us, if only we ask them!
And asking them starts with a question!
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And another mathematical formula to illustrate the
information design practices of GDRC. To a large
extent the content and format of information provided
by the GDRC facilitates the user's thinking and
decision-making processes.
A wide variety of information is available for
different purposes and audiences. It is very
critical, therefore, that the info provided should
enable the user to localize and customize it to
fit the purpose for which it is sought.
And hence the title of this piece. We need less
of [1+2=3], i.e. whee info is fixed, specific/focused
and linear, and more of [a+b=c]. i.e. where the
user can put his/her own value to a and b and
get as unique c. In other words, the user uses
the info provided by localizing and customiszing
it to the scale and situation where it is to be used.
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Nobody wants a thick fat book anymore. Because such "books" are made by the end-user, using bits and pieces of info online and offline, and value-adding to it by contextualizing and customizing it to their needs.
The Big Fat Book, in fact, is created in the mind of the user! The implications of this is to provide information - in different formats and media, in different contexts, to enable the user to create their "big fat books" of knowledge in their minds.
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Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org