ShareEditorial by Didier Coulomb
The IIR is introducing changes. It has to change in order to meet the needs of its member countries, corporate and private members and clients. Its services must constantly evolve in line with new information technology as it becomes available. This is easier said than done. The IIR has launched three simultaneous actions: - a survey of Delegates of IIR member countries. The IIR's Management Committee has confirmed, following a strategic-planning process in 2008, that the IIR must remain above all an intergovernmental organization: the challenges ahead of us in the fields of food safety and health, along with climate change, are challenges that governments must place in the very core of their policies. This is why the IIR services provided to its member countries must meet their current needs. It is also important to maintain member-country contributions and services that encourage countries to pay on a regular basis and at a level reflecting their economic importance. - a survey of our Web site users, conducted with a view to identifying users' needs in terms of information services and medium for knowledge providing; please feel free to fill in the on-line questionnaire: www.iifiir.org. - complete renewal of the IIR's information system. The aims of this computer project are to make available on-line the greatest possible number of documents abstracted in the IIR's Fridoc database (84 000 references today, making it by far the largest specialized database in our sector, with articles from all over the world), to open up access to all our Web site users instead of confining access to members, and to facilitate on-line payment. Of course, this opening up to all users will be offset by free downloads for IIR members; beyond Fridoc, a wider range of tailored services and products according to IIR members' needs will be available thanks to an on-line portal. The benefits for corporate and private members will be even better. I hope that these changes, the scope of which will be defined during statutory meetings in June 2009 before being implemented in 2009-2010, will enable everyone to receive modern, high-quality services. Didier Coulomb Director of the IIR