Cooperation on the Web

To deal with the challenges and opportunities posed by theInternet, the authors argue that the information and com-munication ‘strategies’ of development organisations mustbe based around notions of cooperation and communities.This paper introduces some information-sharing and man-agement trends on the Internet, exploring the growth ingateways and portals, and briefly profiling several coopera-tive efforts. Discussion is focused on the institutional dimen-sions of this cooperation, looking at issues like ownership,participation, sustainability, and ‘cooperativity’. The authorsconclude by calling for more joint action in which develop-ment organizations, together, seek to harness the power ofthe Internet. Peter Ballantyne is Programme Coordinator at the EuropeanCentre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), OnzeLieve Vrouweplein 21, 6211 HE Maastricht, The Netherlands.E-mail: [email protected]; Tel: +31 43 35