CGMAP Latest News
MTP 2011-2013 upload status - 3 September 2010
MTP narratives and logframes uploaded via EasyMTP as of 3 September:
In the pipeline:
Financial data submitted to FIS as of 2 September (at time of publishing this announcement):
Progress of MTP document assembly and submission to CGMapThere have been a number of deadline extensions of the financial data submission. Consequently, the assembly and formatting process of the MTP document (narrative and financial tables) has started this week.EasyMTP focal points will start receiving requests for review and submission this week. The review and submission procedure has been updated to reflect the voluntary nature of MTP submission this year. The document is available in the User Guides: the actual steps required for review and submission have remained unchanged, with the exception that there is no review by Science Council and that not all Centers are submitting, and not all at the same time. How is the MTP data going to be published this year?As soon as focal points complete the submission, the submitted documents become available for download from the Download MTPs area of CGMap for public access. Center/CP staff can download the document for further formatting and layout improvement for their own purposes.The MTP database submitted via EasyMTP is transferred to the CGMap database. Date stamp certifies that the submission is official and that the version available in CGMap (both as document and as database) represents the reference version of the Center/CP MTP for the 2011-2013 period. Update of CGMap database starts:
Important note on MTP 2011-2013 data coverage
Considering the voluntary nature of MTP preparation and submission in 2010, CGMap will include only the data as submitted by the Centers and the Programs in EasyMTP and FIS. This will impact the amount of data offered in CGMap and in some cases, the Advanced Search functionality.
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Add MTP project maps and lists to your Web site: make your research more visible
It is now possible to reuse, embed and query the MTP data and maps
in Web sites and online applications. We hope this is good news for Web, communications and information managers as well as anybody with a role in web publishing in the CGIAR. All you need to do is generate codes to embed maps and lists and custom RSS feeds for each MTP period. Instructions on how to do this are available on the ICT Infopoint in CGXchange.org: Add CGMap Projects to Your Center/CP's Web Site In practice, it means that a map or a list of your Center or Program MTP projects can be easily embedded in any Web page or application, both on the public Web or on an Intranet. The MTP project information submitted to CGMap can therefore be reused and travel more easily to serve your communications purposes, in a cost-effective way, i.e. no need to reproduce a project database for the Center's Web site. We invite you to let the communications, information and Web specialists in your Center or Program know about the possibility of reusing key project information on your Web properties. Which MTP projects are available now?MTPs 2009-2011 and 2010-2012 are available for reuse and mashup.The Centers and Programs which are submitting their MTP 2011-2013 will have the possibility of adding up-to-date project maps or lists to their sites as soon as the CGMap database is updated by the end of August. Example: three steps to embedding a map of a Center's MTP: 1. customize: pick your criteria and settings; 2. check and interact with the preview; 3. copy the HTML code to be inserted in any Web page.  An advanced option for reusing the project database is to use the XML exports in RSS and GeoRSS feed format. This allows a tighter integration and customised reuse in content management systems and applications, such as building your own maps, filtering lists by specific criteria. Downloadable code and exports can be found under the Custom - Code samples tab. For any additional query on how to make the most of reusable CGMap project data, please contact cgmap-support@cgiar.org |
MTP 2011-2013 upload status - 27 July 2010
EasyMTP/CGMap July 2010 Update
Update July 9 at 9,50am GMT+1On Center's request, FIS has actually been opened for submission. Current deadline is 31 July.This is good news, since financial data and other data sourced from FIS will be aggregated in CGMap. So back to business as usual. Help us plan by filling out this brief questionnaireUpdate July 8 at 8,25pm GMT+1
We are verifying news about FIS open for submission. If confirmed, we will update the information below regarding aggregation of financial data. |
EasyMTP/CGMap Update August 2009
CGMap is up-to-dateCGMap is now updated with 19 of the MTPs submitted in June (only Climate Change Challenge Program is left to land into the system database, but is already available as a document).With 158 projects and 710 outputs, CGMap provides a comprehensive view of the work plans of the CGIAR. This year, the colleagues in Centers and Programs have done a great job in providing complete data on priorities, countries and output targets, i.e. the core data that allows the advanced search functions in CGMap to work and deliver accurate results. What's coming upWe're already at work with our CIAT colleagues on a number of new features of the system. This year, the keyword is 'Improve Access': we're working on more complete project fact sheets, on submitting the project information to search engines much more deeply than last year, and advanced mapping.We are publishing some sneak peeks about the future enhancements to CGMap, regarding maps and KML, the geographic information exchange standard that will allow CGmap projects to be visualised on online maps. See the post at http://ictkm.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/down-to-earth-cgmap-is-about-to-land/! Stay tuned on our blog for more news. Feedback welcomeWe welcome your comments on this year's experience, drop us a note at cgmap-support@cgiar.org Until the next update best regards The EasyMTP/CGMap Team i.e. Antonella Pastore, Tania Jordan, Michael Marus |
EasyMTP Update June 2009 - All's well
2010-2012 MTP submission successfully achievedAll 20 MTPs have now been submitted and can be downloaded from CGMap. The MTP submission 2009 went off smoothly: by Friday June 19, the deadline for submission in CGMap, 15 MTPs were available via Download MTPs. The pending 5 had either deadline extensions, or were submitting over the weekend. All Centers and Challenge Programs have made their MTP available via CGMap this year. Of these, 18 used EasyMTP for authoring and upload, 2 are on their way. Coverage of MTP projects and their related metadata (countries of planned research, potential beneficiary countries, system priorities by output) is very close to 100% this year, based on the control we made during upload and document assembly. Behind the scenesThe new report functionality, made available in EasyMTP last May, has remarkably streamlined the formatting and assembly process. Our colleagues in CIAT have, as usual, been responsive in exporting the complex financial tables from FIS, a substantial contribution to the finalisation of the MTP documents. The Helpdesk has received a much smaller number of requests and issue reports than last year, which means that in spite of the limited upgrade implemented in EasyMTP and what still remains to be improved, users were able to update the MTP information without major impediments. The extra step we took last winter to move more EasyMTP systems to the hosted environment has paid back. 11 systems are now hosted, while 8 are installed in Centers (Bioversity, IRRI, WorldFish, ICRISAT, ILRI, ICRAF, WARDA, CIAT). IFPRI, CIP, ICARDA moved to the hosted environment in 2009, in addition to the 8 existing systems set up in 2008 (CIMMYT, IITA, IWMI, CIFOR, 4 CPs - CCAFS to be set up over the next month). This setup has allowed the Helpdesk team to resolve reported issues and bugs very quickly, implement upgrades smoothly and with 100% quality control. For the locally installed systems, the Helpdesk team set up a monitoring mechanism that allowed them to be faster in analysing and resolving issues on this front as well. What's nextWe've already started updating the CGMap database with the 2010-2012 MTP information. Over the next week, we'll continue to:
In addition, we're planning to redesign some parts of the system in order to improve its accessibility and usability. Stay tuned for more. A shiny example of collective actionAll the people involved in the submission, including colleagues in Centers, Challenge Programs, the Helpdesk at IRRI, our colleagues at CIAT, should be proud of these achievements. The fact that every Center and Program has been able to complete this important task via CGMap is simply a shiny example of collective action, a much needed demonstration that we can work together in these times of change. So, thank you, all! Feedback welcomeWe welcome your comments on this year's experience, drop us a note at cgmap-support@cgiar.org Until the next update have a great summer The EasyMTP/CGMap Team i.e. Antonella Pastore, Tania Jordan, Michael Marus, Dominique Liberto |
Starting work on your 2010-2012 MTP? Refresh your memory!
We know some of you have started editing the MTP to prepare the next update due in June. If you need to refresh your memory on what you can do this year in EasyMTP, here are a few helpful pointers:
!Tip! Do not roll over the MTP if you need to start from existing content: just edit the titles, assign or reassign the projects, that's it!
For all your help request, contact cgmap-support@cgiar.org The EasyMTP/CGMap Support Team |
EasyMTP Update May 2009 - New Reports
A new reporting and exporting functionality is available now in your EasyMTP.
The upgrade is being installed and tested in the local and hosted systems. For locally installed systems, please inquire about installation status with your Center's IT focal point (as of Friday 8 May, all local systems have been updated while ILRI, ICRAF and Africa Rice are being provided assistance with installation).
What's new in the EasyMTP Reports
Here's an overview of the new features:
Action required: what you should do now
Download allows you to save reports to your computer with a .doc
file extension. This uses a document template with macros which convert
reports and any pictures used in the reports into a Microsoft Word
Document. How to enable macros for Report Download
After you download, save, and then open a report, you should now get the proper Security Warning Box Be sure to click on Enable Macros when you get the Security Warning Box. If you cannot change the Macro Security setting on Microsoft Word, contact the IT Helpdesk at your office 2. Test the performance of the reports
The new report functionality strips all unwanted formatting and applies a standardised template to the MTP content.
The performance of the document download depends on three known factors:
a. if download takes less than 1 minute, just let us know, no further action is required;
b. if download takes more than 1 minute, the clean-up functionality can be temporarily switched off to improve performance and be re-enabled before upload for the final check. Please contact us (for hosted systems) or your technical focal point (for local systems) to have the cleanup temporarily disabled.
Please report to cgmap-support any serious performance issue by Thursday 14 May. If you prefer to have the clean-up functionality switched off, please be aware that the reports may look good in HTML but unwanted or messy formatting remains in the document download.
!Tips to avoid performance issues while keeping the clean-up functionality enabled!
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EasyMTP Service Patch #4 is available and IT focal points are currently installing it...
The EasyMTP team has released a beta of the Service Patch #4 for EasyMTP that includes many important improvements:
The IT Focal points are currently in the process of installing this patch and it should be ready before Thursday May 7, 2009 We will keep you posted... Thank you, EasyMTP/CGMAP Team |
EasyMTP Update March 2009
The EasyMTP Updates go onlineStarting from March 2009, the Updates for the EasyMTP Focal Points will be published on the brand new CGMap-EasyMTP Helpdesk site. Email communications will be reserved to specific matters. New CGMap Helpdesk Web site  The CGMap-EasyMTP Helpdesk site is now public and aims to provide useful information to both the EasyMTP end users and the technical focal points based in the Centers. It is hosted on CGXchange 2.0, a new online collaboration toolset that we have just introduced as the reincarnation of CGXchange. Read more about what's new on CGXchange 2.0.What you can find on the CGMap-EasyMTP Helpdesk:
New reports start to look good!As anticipated, we are working on the upgrade of the report functionality of EasyMTP.The issues found last year (for example, special characters not being exported correctly) are being eliminated. Once the upgrade is installed, it will be possible to open the reports in MS Word, where they can be saved in .doc format with a cover, styles, table of contents and horizontal layout of the logframes to save space. Moreover, the lists of Countries of Planned Research and Potential Beneficiary Countries will be included as annexes to the report, so you will be able to check that the data has been entered and, at the same time, output a more compact final document. We expect to release the Service Pack with the report upgrade by the end of April. Ad-hoc communications will follow in due course. EasyMTP Online Training SessionsWe are just about to complete the EasyMTP training for the Centers and Challenge Programs that will be using EasyMTP for the first year.Hosted systemsCIP, ICARDA and IFPRI EasyMTP's have been migrated to the hosted environment.
Although we announced we were no longer in the position to migrate the local systems to the hosted environment, we have managed to find a different way of running the application on our servers even with reduced capacity. After a round of testing, we have agreed with the other Centers which run EasyMTP locally to leave the system on their local networks for this year. We will soon document this more efficient configuration and share it with the Centers' technical focal points, in case they want to adopt it for the locally installed systems. News on CGMap Last time, we mentioned that we were working with colleagues at the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Plan on a Web-based map of research activities in the region. The CGIAR Research Map is now online and is getting a lot of attention. Since it was announced a month ago, the map has been viewed around 500 times! We blogged about it in Africa research is on the map: this post is in the top ten most viewed articles on the ICT-KM blog this month.
We are currently working on Phase II of the project that will see broader use of georeferenced information to make the maps richer and more usable.
If you are into geographical information systems, keep an eye on the African Geospatial Week taking place in Nairobi from March 31 to April 4. Until the next update, take care! The CGMap Support Team
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