LAC education information system network

The project will be implemented by Chile"s Center for Education Research and Development (CIDE). The project will assist existing network centers in Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama, and Paraguay by providing TA, training (in, e.g., information management, computers, research methodology), equipment such as microcomputers and microfiche printers, funding for publications, and initial salaries for a documentalist and a computer operator. Each center will publish bibliographies on education research available in-country, 300-500 analytical abstracts of education documents, 3-4 state-of-the-art papers, and 2-3 diagnostic studies. To develop a permanent clientele, each center will have a "broker" to identify and train users and will hold annual seminars for researchers, documentalists, and users. Four other countries will be added to the network. (1) Two new national documentation centers will be established in Central America (probably in Guatemala and Honduras). CIDE will help train staff and will provide documents from other network centers, and the two centers will begin by preparing bibliographies and analytical abstracts relating to the educational experience of their own countries. These centers will also conduct seminars and will receive microfiche and computer equipment. (2) Two active national documentation centers in countries where education research and information exchange are already developed (institutions in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay are being considered) will be brought into the network to increase its information resources; these will receive minimal funding and some training to ensure compatibility with the rest of the network. CIDE will, inter alia: provide TA and training, including 2 supervisory visits yearly; organize 2 regional seminars; maintain its regional journal of abstracts; prepare 4 comparative studies on educational systems; and prepare a codification manual and indexes on the system. The project will train some 120 center staff, directly reach about 250 educational planners and decisionmakers, and benefit 3,900 through seminars and dissemination of 4-6 issues of abstract journals, indexes, and occasional publications.