huridocs-tech Update on International Development Markup Language (IDML)

[***Originally posted on the idml-l@lyris.bellanet.org listserv, Mod.***]

Hi everyone,

Last month I sent a message to this list re. the GDG/IDML proof-of-concept
demo (see http:www.idmlinitiative.org/gdg).

The World Bank's GDG team wishes to elaborate on the potential use of IDML
in a pilot project to be carried out this summer (to be presented at the
meeting of the Finance Ministers in Prague, end-September). The following
text contains background information on the pilot project. A consultation
on the IDML DTD will begin shortly on this list and regular reports will be
posted as the pilot evolves.

Best, Lucie
********************************************************************
*GDG/IDML Pilot Project Vision*

During the GDG Business Plan development phase, a Proof-of-Concept GDG
XML/IDML (http:www.idmlinitiative.org/gdg) demo was carried out for the Aid
Effectiveness Exchange Module. This demonstrated that donor activity
information could be presented on a variety of web sites around the world
and marked up in such a fashion that this information could be collected
via a specially designed XML-based search engine and combined by any user
into one database or into specific subsets according to user-specified
criteria. If donors regularly present their information on their web site
marked up appropriately, using such an XML/IDML approach allows this
information to be dynamically and automatically extracted into a local site
(or sites) thus precluding problems routinely associated with obtaining
current data from a number of different providers.

This GDG/IDML Pilot Project will expand the proof-of-concept in both scale
and operational. It will demonstrate further functionality with a broader
set of contributing organisations, deeper content, and expanded coverage.
It will demonstrate a mechanism for donors to cost effectively and easily
disseminate and exchange their information. The end result will be a more
comprehensive foundation of data/information which the various views of the
GDG can draw upon for informing their respective communities, especially as
they relate to the Aid Effectiveness Exchange. At the same time others
within the development community can also create their own customizable
data sets.

This will be a Pre-Operational Pilot building on the Proof-of-Concept but
moving towards operational solutions with dynamically generated outputs.
There will be ongoing consultations with the IDML community, the
INDIX/CEFDA community, and more DTD work/experimentation.

This option will require buy-in by the data contributing organisations to
participate in the pilot in a pre-operational fashion. The focus will be on
expanding the pilot, marketing and learning. If successful in Prague, more
work would be necessary on the standards front, but the pilot could
continue to grow into an operational delivery system.

Participation by the broader development community in this IDML GDG pilot
is essential so as to be as inclusive as possible within communities such
as IDML and INDIX which already exist. One of the goals of the pilot for
its longer term sustainability and buy-in would be to demonstrate to the
broader development community how any development organisation or
partnership can share and harvest development information.The primary
target audiences of the pilot (in order) are: the Finance Ministers in
Prague in September; the GDG Team; participating organisations in the
Pilot; and ultimately, the broader development community, including
partners in and users of the GDG.

*The Pilot will NOT do the following:*

1) Cover all data/information
2) Cover all types of data (for example, evaluation, best practices,
activities by results or strategic objectives, documents, bibliographic)
but may experiment and point/link to them

3) Cover all contributing types of organisations (but will explore civil
society contributions)
4) Harmonize key fields (eg. sectors, geographic scope, etc), but will move
work forward in this area
5) Finalize "standards" (or recommendations, specifications, CEFDA, IDML
DTD) but will propose expansions/reductions of these

Principal Implementing Organisations include WB GDG Team, OECD DAC and
Bellanet.

*Information/Data Contributing Organisations*

1) Broad Project Activity Data - INDIX DAI high quality subsets, covering
key sectors, countries etc;
2) Country Focus - UNDP select 2 of best country coverage from DCAS;
3) Financial Statistical Data - OECD/DAC;
4) Broad Project Activity Data - World Bank;
5) Bilaterals - DFID, DGIS; (to be confirmed)
6) Sector - ICT/Knowledge for Development (GK-AIMS) includes pipeline
information, Education and Africa (ADEA - PRISME); (to be confirmed)
7) Other Donor Type - The Rockefeller Foundation; (to be confirmed)
8) Civil Society INDEV/One World; (to be confirmed)
9) Multilateral - IADB (to be confirmed)


_____________________________________
Join Bellanet's mailing list!
Send an email to: subscribe-Bellanet-L@lyris.bellanet.org
____________________________________________________________________
Lucie Lamoureux - Program Officer
Bellanet International Secretariat
250 Albert St., Ottawa, ON, K1G 3H9, Canada
tel: (613) 236-6163 # 2424	fax: (613) 238-7230
email: llamoureux@bellanet.org   www: http://www.bellanet.org
____________________________________________________________________




----------------------------------
Send mail for the 'huridocs-tech' list to <huridocs-tech@hrea.org>.
Mail administrative requests to <majordomo@hrea.org>.
For additional assistance, send mail to: <owner-huridocs-tech@hrea.org>.
Archives of previous messages posted to the list can be found at:
http://www.hrea.org/lists/huridocs-tech/markup/maillist.html