The Tropical Institute of Communiity Health and Devlopment in Africa

UNESCO Provides MOST Policy Research Tool

The MOST Policy Research Tool is designed to provide speedy access to policy-relevant comparative information. Users will be able to create individual research profiles based on subject categories, produce customized reports with select content from the original documents and easily build customized bibliographies. Innovative functions will also assist users to compare cases and assess the relevance of the policy options available.

The Management of Social Transformations Programme (MOST) at UNESCO is initiating this no-fee on-line policy research service. This project is expected to foster new modes of decision-making, based on actual evidence from situations in the community. Increasing need for relevant knowledge to inform international and national decision-making has overtaken current capacities of access, retrieval, organization and interpretation.

This free service will share results of research and policy recommendations on crucial human challenges worldwide. The resource has three elements:

· An international standard for policy documents, to allow document content to be held in a database;

· A huge and growing library of policy and research documents;

· An innovative web-based search tool.

The tool will deliver user-tailored, issue and location-specific, policy-relevant material through a specially designed search function. It is being developed in multiple languages, starting with English, French and Spanish with plans to include the rest of the United Nations working languages. Policy Papers integrated into this innovative tool are written according to the standard methodology developed by MOST. Click here to view the Most document guidelines. UNESCO is accepting papers and submission details are also on their website. View a more detailed presentation about the MOST policy research tool which contains illustrative simulations: http://www.unesco.org/shs/most/

Contact Vincent Maugis at v.maugis@unesco.org . See also “An Online Service for Decision-Makers” in Unesco's Newsletter 08, January-March 2005. p.24 and on their website at:

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001390/139047E.pdf#page=24.