Call for Papers Knowledge Management for Development Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1 Publication date: April 2006 Theme issue: Effective knowledge sharing for development in Africa The Knowledge Management for Development (KM4Dev) community of practice (www.km4dev.org) publishes a peer-reviewed, open access e-journal in the field of knowledge sharing for development, the ‘Knowledge Management for Development Journal’ (KM4D Journal) at www.km4dev.org/journal The first issue of the second volume (2006) will deal with ‘Effective knowledge sharing for development in Africa.’ Guest editors comprise Dina El Halaby, Reine Djuidje Kouam, Kingo Mchombu and Alice Mungwa, working with Chief Editor, Julie Ferguson. Rationale It is widely felt that policies informed by a local understanding of development problems and solutions are more likely to have positive outcomes for poor people in developing and transition countries. However, national producers of knowledge may face problems in communicating this understanding and knowledge to national, regional and international audiences due to limiting factors, such as lack of access to the Internet, closed institutional cultures, lack of resources and capacity to share knowledge. At the same time, potential end-users of knowledge may have problems accessing locally generated knowledge due to factors such as atomised availability, lack of time, variable quality and the wider availability of Northern knowledge. There are a number of strong and effective African institutes whose work is successfully shared but there are equally many if not more that are constrained by traditional academic values, political sensitivities, lack of resources, language or insufficient networking. This issue of the KM4D Journal will deal with the challenges that these African institutes face with knowledge sharing (KS) and how to overcome them. Case studies of KS initiatives in Africa – both successes and failures – will be presented. Purpose The purpose of this issue is to present the challenges that African institutes face in KS, how to overcome these challenges, who will play a role and the potential for partnerships and capacity building efforts to share knowledge more effectively across the continent. This will facilitate achieving the goals of poverty reduction, improved health and education, food security and gender equity. We invite KS practitioners and champions in research institutes, think tanks, donor agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and other development organisations to propose papers relating to the theme of ‘Effective knowledge sharing for development in Africa’. Within this broad theme, papers should address the following, or related, topics: • What are the (specific) challenges that African organisations face in KS? • What are the most effective approaches or tools for KS in Africa? • What is the role of different players (communities of practice, knowledge networks, NGOs, international organisations, etc.) in promoting KS strategies? • What is the potential for partnerships and capacity building efforts in Africa? • How will KS assist in poverty reduction, improvement in health and education, achieving food security and gender equity? We particularly (but not exclusively) invite African contributions. Both experienced and first-time authors are welcome. Submissions can include articles, case studies or stories. Submissions in French are accepted, however, an English abstract must be provided. For full overview and Guidelines for Authors, please see http://www.km4dev.org/journal/index.php/km4dj/about/submissions#authorGuidelines. About the team of Guest editors Dina El Halaby is Regional Programme Manager with the Global Development Network Dr Reine Djuidje Kouam is Founding President of the NGO Young Entrepreneurs for the NEPAD in Cameroon (YENEPADCAM) Dr Kingo Mchombu is Professor at the Department of Information and Communication Studies, University of Namibia Dr Alice Mungwa is Senior Policy Analyst at the African Union Commission Proposed Deadlines Submission deadline for the title and abstract: 24 November 2005 Acceptance of paper proposal 8 December 2005 Submission of paper 20 January 2006 Peer-review completed 17 February 2006 Author revision completed and final version of paper submitted 10 March 2006 (e)-Publication date 15 April 2006 If you would like to submit a paper, or be actively involved in this initiative is some other way, or if you have ideas or questions, kindly contact Dina El Halaby at km4dj-editors@dgroups.org