AIDSPortal help
If you need help using AIDSPortal please contact the UK Consortium on
AIDS & International Development:
info@aidsportal.org
+44 (0) 207 324 4780
You can access the user guide here.
About AIDSPortal
AIDSPortal Vision
AIDSPortal Audience
AIDSPortal Membership
AIDSPortal Content
AIDSPortal Team and Partners
About AIDSPortal
What is AIDSPortal?
AIDSPortal is a global initiative that aims to facilitate greater knowledge sharing
and networking among organisations involved in the response to HIV and AIDS. It
focuses on developing or adapting simple tools that can support country led networking
and knowledge sharing. AIDSPortal primarily works in partnership with networks and
seeks to strengthen their ability to support the response to the AIDS epidemic.
The tools that make up the AIDSPortal knowledge management platform are focused
on three key areas:
1. SHARE: Electronically share and organise information, including policy, best
practice, programme experiences, events, and jobs
2. CONNECT: Connect people and organisations involved in a national response to
HIV and AIDS
3. CONSULT: Consult and provide feedback on key policy or programmatic topics
These tools are currently internet based (www.aidsportal.org)
but we are exploring how they can be extended using other technologies, such as
cell phone and fax, in order to expand access to HIV and AIDS knowledge. Users are
encouraged to pick, choose and adapt parts of this knowledge management platform
that compliment their work to meet their information sharing needs.
To support all users to effectively use this technology, AIDSPortal is committed
to working with regional and country-level organisations to build technical capacity
and strengthen and expand existing knowledge management work.
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How did AIDSPortal start?
AIDSPortal was launched in 2005 as a joint initiative between the DFID Global AIDS Policy Team and the UK Consortium on AIDS and International Development.
The UK Consortium is a network of over 80 UK based organisations working together to understand and develop effective approaches to the problems created by the HIV epidemic in developing countries. The UK Consortium wanted to expand their successful networking experience to include partners outside of the UK.
The DFID Global AIDS Policy team wanted a way to increase dialogue with country level partners around policy issues and to access programmatic experiences from the country level.
AIDSPortal is now managed and operated independently of DFID, but continues to provide
an information service for DFID staff interested in HIV and AIDS.
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How is AIDSPortal funded?
The global AIDSPortal initiative is currently funded by the DFID AIDS and
Reproductive Health Policy Team.
For country and regional specific activities, experience in Kenya and Latin America
suggests that initial activities are inexpensive and can be supported with seed
funding from AIDSPortal and local partners. This approach ensures that things can
happen without delays and lets the partnership demonstrate impact quickly. AIDSPortal
can then work with partners to include ongoing costs in funding proposals.
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How is AIDSPortal different from other websites on HIV and AIDS?
Unlike many HIV and AIDS websites, people, not technology, are at the heart
of AIDSPortal.
By focusing on people, AIDSPortal brings two particular areas of added value that
stand apart from other HIV and AIDS websites.
1) Simple ways to identify, connect and share information across sectors
AIDSPortal addresses the need for coordination in line with the three ones principle
and country national strategic plans by providing a mechanism to ‘sign-post’, organise
and coordinate who is doing what across sectors on key topics (such as ‘PMTCT’ or
‘male circumcision’) as well as gather and highlight best practice and lessons learnt
from all sectors.
2) A platform to link country-level best practice and expertise with cross-country
learning and regional collaboration
The AIDSPortal platform is built on a global database. This means that while a specific
collection of information, such as Kenyan knowledge and priorities, can be re-branded
and organised according to local information sharing needs, the collection remains
linked to the global database. As such, the Kenyan AIDSPortal both draws on and
contributes to knowledge flows from across Eastern Africa and globally.
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AIDSPortal Vision
What is the AIDSPortal vision?
The vision of AIDSPortal is to support country-led responses to HIV and
AIDS through strengthened knowledge sharing and networking among organisations involved
in the response to HIV and AIDS.
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AIDSPortal Audience
Who is the target audience of AIDSPortal?
AIDSPortal is designed to meet the diverse needs of organisations and networks around the world who are responding to the AIDS epidemic. This includes government, non-governmental organisations, faith-based organisations, research and academic institutions and the private sector. Many of the users of AIDSPortal are infomediaries,
organisations who gather and disseminate information to a particular target group
or groups. These organisations use AIDSPortal to support, connect and extend existing
knowledge management work.
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Who can access AIDSPortal?
The AIDSPortal resource collection of shared publications, links, events and notes is fully searchable and open to anyone. In order to access the contact databases, upload information to the site, participate in discussions or provide feedback on posted articles, people must apply to join AIDSPortal.
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What does AIDSPortal offer to organisations with limited access to the internet?
AIDSPortal works closely with international and national organisations that have pre-established networks and mechanisms of communication with grass-roots partners. These organisations serve as a link between AIDSPortal and grass-roots partners, both in getting information on the latest policy and programmatic initiatives to grass-roots organisations and giving grass-roots organisations a voice in national and international processes.
Furthermore, while users currently access AIDSPortal
through the internet, we are exploring how people can access information and contribute
to resource collections through other technologies, such as cell phone and fax.
Users can also sign up for email updates which provide quick access to information when email is available.
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Joining AIDSPortal
What does it mean to 'join' AIDSPortal?
You do not need to join AIDSPortal to access much of AIDSPortal knowledge library.
Joining AIDSPortal enables you to use the networking and information sharing tools.
These include:
• People and organisation global contact directories.
• Tools to directly upload and publicise your own work: You can upload documents, links, events and notes. Grey literature is encouraged and the site organises the
information to ensure that it is accessible to the broadest possible audience.
• Personalised email updates on the subjects that interest you.
• A personal ‘homepage’ which you can use to organise information that is most relevant
to your work.
• Online discussions: You can participate in focused discussions on key topics,
or set up your own discussion and invite colleagues to take part.
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Who can join AIDSPortal?
Anyone working for or affiliated with an organisation involved in the response to AIDS can apply to join AIDSPortal. When you join, you are a ‘members’ of AIDSPortal.
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Is there a fee for join AIDSPortal?
No. Joining AIDSPortal is free to all organisations involved in the response to AIDS.
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What are the obligations of being an AIDSPortal member?
The level of engagement is up to each member. People are encouraged to
share publications through the site, share contact details, promote AIDSPortal within
their network and participate in relevant online discussions.
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How do I join AIDSPortal?
Complete the form on the join page to request your membership. Once a moderator has approved your request you will be notified by email.
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AIDSPortal Content
What types of information can be posted on AIDSPortal?
AIDSPortal currently accepts electronic documents in PDF or Microsoft office formats, event postings, web links, notes and discussion comments. Users can also share programmatic
or project information, news and information about job vacancies.
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What kind information on AIDSPortal?
As a network driven site, AIDSPortal will accept any information relating to HIV and AIDS that members consider to be relevant and of interest to AIDSPortal users.
Priority is given to information relating to community level programmatic responses to HIV and AIDS and international policy initiatives. Moderators will make every effort to ensure that one perspective does not dominate a particular area of the site, seeking out different perspectives where appropriate. AIDSPortal does not seek to be an authoritative source of medical information on HIV and AIDS and does not prioritise information of this nature.
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How does information get posted to AIDSPortal?
Every AIDSPortal member can submit
information on a relevant AIDSPortal topic. A simple form on each subject
page makes submitting information as easy as sending an email attachment.
Once submitted, documents pass through a moderation queue and a trained
moderator checks the information against the AIDSPortal scope and selection policy.
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How is quality of information on AIDSPortal monitored?
Given the focus that AIDSPortal has on information relating to community level programmatic responses to HIV and AIDS there are several mechanisms in place to ensure the quality of information on AIDSPortal:
- Submission by members: only people that have applied for
and received AIDSPortal membership
can post information to the site.
- Approved by a trained moderator: Once submitted, all resources
are put in a moderation queue before going ‘live’ on the site. Moderators will compare the documents with the broad scope and selection policies of AIDSPortal and make every effort to ensure that one perspective does not dominate a particular area of the site, seeking out different perspectives where appropriate.
- Editor’s key documents: Key resources are identified by moderators
and highlighted on the relevant AIDSPortal page. Users can suggest documents to be included in key document lists.
- User review of posted information: Information that is posted on the site is subject to review by members of AIDSPortal. These reviews become a part of the document profile and will determine how highly an item ranks in a particular search or page.
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How does information on AIDSPortal stay up to date?
Information on AIDSPortal is both user driven and facilitated.
Users, by joining AIDSPortal, are encouraged to share their latest documents to
AIDSPortal.
Furthermore, AIDSPortal moderators work with national and international networks and partners to ensure that the latest information on the policy and programmatic initiatives is available on the site.
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AIDSPortal Management
Who is behind AIDSPortal?
AIDSPortal was launched in 2005 and the global initiative is managed by the UK Consortium
on AIDS & International Development (UK AIDS Consortium). The overall role of
the UK Consortium is one of technical development and support rather than implementation.
To facilitate country and regional activities, the global AIDSPortal initiative
forms partnerships with organisations already actively engaged in knowledge management.
Partner organisations then facilitate local AIDSPortal projects and support linkages
between countries. The UK AIDS Consortium provides ongoing technical support as
well as maintaining and developing the required tools and infrastructure.
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Who are the AIDSPortal partners?
Current AIDSPortal partners include:
• The Kenyan AIDS NGO Consortium (KANCO) has been running AIDSPortal
Kenya since April 2007. Members of AIDSPortal Kenya are building a Kenyan library of expertise on HIV and AIDS, while still having access to information and networking
opportunities from other countries.
More info
• The Men Engage Alliance is using AIDSPortal to build a resource
collection and community of practice around men’s engagement in responses to HIV
and AIDS. More info
• The International HIV/AIDS Alliance is working with AIDSPortal
in Latin America and the Caribbean to develop PortalSIDA, a Spanish language site
that will be launched at the Mexico AIDS Conference in August 2008.
More info
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