INFO2000 project background and current status

This proposed infoDev project is an independent extension of a project begun under the aegis of the INFO2000 programme of the European Commission (Directorate General XIII)

Extension of currently funded project

The INFO2000 project coordinator, the Union of International Associations (UIA), seeks infoDev funds to match the contribution of staff, facilities and financial support to be provided by itself, Development Alternatives (DA), the other INFO2000 partners and other cooperation partners (to be identified) to the INTERCEPT project.

The UIA, in partnership with DA, will use the additional funds to considerably broaden the scope of its work under INFO2000 to achieve the following outcomes:

1. a highly cross-referenced information package with global and contextual (field / market / sector / cross-disciplinary) content coverage of issues relating to biological conservation, including scientific data, international environmental agreements, international standards and using examples based upon current European concerns, operating procedures and best practice (the remit of INFO2000)

2. content coverage of development-related issues in government, non-government and commercial sectors relating to:

   • environmental conservation and management
   • environmental services development (commercial)
   • project and programme planning (INGO and NGO)
   • national environmental management strategies (government planning)
   • environmental education and awareness strategies
   • community-based and other alternative and local / global development strategies

3. exposure of sustainable development professionals in developing countries to emerging international information protocols (legal and commercial), operating procedures, management systems, hyperlinked tools, and new practices in the emerging global environmental services sector;

4. engagement of the widest range of users (government, non-government organisations, private and commercial sector, community and educational) and information providers (infoDev project partners (to be identified), international environmental agencies and bodies, NGOs and INGOs, and other development partners) in the process of product development;

5. over the project three year term (see Activities Table, page *), the development of a three-tier financial (sustainability) operation for INTERCEPT, targeting the three distinct sectors identified for the activity:

   • national government (sponsoring partners)
   • commercial environmental services sector (sponsorship and franchise)
   • NGO and INGO (non-monetary and exchange schemes)