About us
SDC’s Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) network welcomes all SDC staff and partners interested in acquiring new insights and enhanced professional capacities in ARD in order to both contribute to more relevant, coherent and effective field operations and policy interventions, as well as to facilitate a smooth interaction and synergy between operational and policy levels.
The main purposes of the network are:
- exchange of knowledge and good practices in ARD-related topics among network members and partners in learning groups ,
- network-wide mutual support and learning,
- facilitating network members’ access to prepared information and expertise at all levels
The ARD network will center its discussions and knowledge sharing activities around two in-depth themes by means of the following two learning groups:
- Learning Group 1: Land governance
- Learning Group 2: Agricultural innovation and rural advisory services
All members are invited to contribute their specific ARD-related experience and knowledge to network discussions and to benefit from these discussions. Through its communication tools – an email group (dgroup) and the present website – the ARD network allows for an instant, demand-oriented exchange of information and knowledge, as well as for the seizing of short-term thematic opportunities and appropriate and timely reaction to network internal and external demand. Furthermore, the network aims at member-driven, in-depth and mid-term analysis of selected policy-, strategic or longer term operational issues. This will facilitate knowledge generation, capitalisation and dissemination. Thematic workshops and “face to face” meetings (f2f meetings) between engaged network members and resource persons are foreseen to support this process.
Key documents:
SDC Agriculture and Rural Development network concept paper
