Institute of Development Studies

I-K-Mediary Network

The I-K-Mediary Network is a global network of organisations that play a knowledge and information intermediary role in development. These organisations all aim to increase access to and use of research in development contexts by providing portals, gateways or reporting services. The idea for the network emerged from a workshop hosted by IDS in 2007, gathering together organisations from around the world. We shared a vision of a world where stakeholders in policy and practice processes are willing and able to use research-based information in their work for development and social justice. 

The I-K-Mediary Network aims to enhance and enable the positive impacts of information and knowledge intermediary work by:

• increasing the effectiveness of I-K-Mediary Network members
• creating a more enabling environment for their work.

What the network does

The network aims to enable the members to:

• Learn and innovate together
• Support professional development within the sector 
• Collaborate with each other to maximise their efficiency 
• Build greater understanding of the role of knowledge and information intermediaries 
• Advocate for the value of information and knowledge in development processes 
• Develop capacity of other key stakeholders in the information environment

Current activities underway include: joint experimentation with web 2.0 tools, case study work to understand our influence in change processes in different contexts, joint work to identify Monitoring & Evaluation (M & E) frameworks, indicators, data collection methods and tools, and ongoing information sharing and learning between members, including virtual workshops on functional areas of work such as producing email newsletters.

Meet the members

You can view a world map of members on the I-K-Mediary Network website. 

I-K-Mediary Network at the Between Ourselves workshop, South Africa

Want to get involved?

Membership is open to people directly involved in running an information knowledge service within development. For further information, email Yaso Kunaratnam, at the Institute of Development Studies or, contact Yaso by phone on +44 (0)1273 915823. You can also visit the I-K-Mediary Network website for latest news on the network and more information on its work.