GFRAS - Annual Meeting Germany 2013

4th GFRAS Annual Meeting 2013 Germany

The Role of Private Sector and Producer Organisations in Rural Advisory Services

September 24-26 in Berlin, Germany

Online Registration (please be patient while opening the registration form, it can take some time)

Logistics and pre travel information (pdf 295KB)

The 4^th Annual Meeting of the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services will take place on 24-26 September at Hotel Park Inn, in Berlin, Germany. The meeting will contribute to thematic exchange on rural advisory services (RAS) and give participants the opportunity to discuss GFRAS strategic directions and functioning. Exchange and learning will take place in plenary and parallel sessions, group discussions, a share fair and a field trip (25 September). Side events will take place on 22-23 September. The 4th GFRAS Annual Meeting is hosted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the International Academy of Rural Advisors (IALB).

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Objectives of the meeting

The objectives of the 4th GFRAS Annual Meeting are:

Understand and agree on the role of private sector and producer organisations in RAS
Strengthen RAS networks in mobilising human and financial resources and planning and implementing networking
Update participants on progress in GFRAS

Expected participants

All interested participants from around the world are welcome to the 4^th GFRAS Annual Meeting. Participants are expected from producer organisations, private and public sector, civil society, and other fields.

Main agenda items

Thematic component: The Role of Private Sector and Producer Organisations in Rural Advisory Services

Producer organisations and the private sector are crucial both as RAS providers and as clients of advisory services. However, their role is not sufficiently analysed, and there is a lack of good practices on their involvement in extension. The 4^th GFRAS Annual Meeting will contribute to fill this gap by discussing:

Types of private sector and producer organisations RAS, their roles and limits, and areas to strengthen their contribution to sustainable rural development
Mechanisms to strengthen producer organisations’ roles and capacities in RAS, approaches to better integrate small-scale farmers, and tasks for RAS to support producer organisations’ contribution to RAS provision
Sustainability and cost-effectiveness in private sector and producer organisations RAS, approaches and transferability to other RAS sectors, and lessons from public-private partnerships

Functional Component: Network Strengthening

GFRAS and regional RAS networks are engaged in awareness raising on RAS, facilitating exchange, capacity strengthening, and translating, developing, and making use of knowledge products. Cross-regional sharing of experience and lessons learnt in three areas will support RAS fora in their future activities:

Mobilising human resources: approaches to attract interest, create ownership, strengthen capacities, activate country fora, and mobilise members for the long term
Mobilising financial resources: structures and mechanisms for mobilising internal and external resources, sustainability in funding, funding organisational development and networking, and the role of partnerships and visibility in fundraising
Planning and implementing networking: experience exchange on strategic planning, formal structures and tools that support implementation of activities

Share Fair: New approaches and issues of interest in RAS, progress reporting on GFRAS activities

Participants will have the opportunity to share and discuss their own experience with peers during a share fair. This session will contribute to the creation of links and partnerships between participants and to sharing of information. It will help to identify new areas of interest and interaction in RAS. At the share fair, GFRAS working groups and the secretariat will present and discuss activities and results. Find more information in the call and guidelines for inputs .

Call for inputs by participants

Apart from group work, participants have five opportunities to actively contribute to the 4^th GFRAS Annual Meeting:

Private sector and producer organisations RAS are invited to elaborate and share a position about their role in RAS
Input to the plenary on the role of private sector and producer organisations in RAS
Input to the plenary on network strengthening
Contribution to the share fair on new approaches, projects, programmes, institutional and organisational arrangements, and policies in RAS
Side events on regional and sub-regional RAS fora, on-going initiatives and other activities related to RAS

Requirements, selection process, and selection criteria for all inputs are described in detail in the call and guidelines for inputs.

Call and Guidelines for Inputs (pdf 302KB)

Registration and funding

Registration will open on 14 April 2013. Participants can register online or by downloading the registration form from the GFRAS website .
Registration closes on 9 June for sponsored participants, 21 July for self-sponsored participants
Registration of inputs opens on 14 April and closes on 21 July

A limited number of participants will be financially supported to attend the 4^th GFRAS Annual Meeting. The organising committee will select sponsored participants.

Online Registration (please be patient while opeing the registration form, it can take some time)

Registration-Form as a word document

Selection Criteria (pdf 2.6MB)