SD Webworks - Home

Welcome to the SD Webworks—an online community sharing knowledge about using the Internet more effectively toward the achievement of sustainable development.

Many of us now working on the Web started out doing community development, environmental activism or policy analysis. Then, one morning, we woke up to find that we had been given the responsibility for creating and maintaining a Web site.

Others among us have come from the electronic communications field, but struggle at times to understand how best to communicate the complex and interwoven concepts of sustainable development. If you've ever felt like you were the only one in either of these situations, the SD Webworks is the place for you.

In May 2001, the Sustainable Development Communications Network (SDCN) invited Web managers from 25 leading non-profit organizations to a "write-shop" on Managing Sustainable Development Web Communications. Their thoughts, ideas and experiences have been compiled into a series of short articles and case studies that now form the basis for this SD Webworks online module.

The SD Webworks addresses issues including:

• What policies, practices and attitudes help organizations get information on the Web quickly and reliably? When do you need to hire staff and when is it better to outsource?
• How do you get started developing your organization's first Web site? How do you redesign the 5,000-file monster your site has become?
• What are some of the best sustainable development Web sites and what can we learn from them?
• How can you use multimedia, forums and databases more effectively? What resources are required to create more advanced Web products and services?
• How do you market your online products and services? How do you know what impact they are having on decision-making?

For more information and continuing discussion, please visit the sd-webworks discussion forum. This list has subscribers from around the world who are sharing their strategies for dealing with the challenges of communicating sustainable development using the Internet. So, put your feet up, grab a cup of coffee or chai or whatever other beverage you have on hand and share with us how your organization uses the Web to change the world from your little corner of it.

The SDCN thanks the sponsors of the SD Webworks: the Canadian International Development Agency, the International Development Research Centre and the World Bank Institute.