Information, information management and governance

Abstract
This paper makes the link between information, its management
and governance. It explores the literature in an attempt to gain an appreciation
of what constitutes governance and extracts from that search a number of views.
The paper is built in part around those views that in fact converge. Governance
needs to be informed continually by information flows that are examined,
digested and evaluated against the intended direction of government policy. The
mechanics of establishing an effective information system are discussed against
the background of an existing system that is unequal to the contemporary demands
for information to inform governance. The paper views appropriate and relevant
data as a necessary input into the process of governance, but does not focus on
that process. The importance of networking of both people and computer hardware
is observed. The paper observes the importance of networking among people in the
interest of the national good. The continued existence of islands of information
is viewed as being undesirable because of the inherent duplication of effort,
information and incomparability of data purporting to measure the same
phenomenon. A recommended way forward is the Â'horizontal approach' which
advocates a re-design of the information architecture. It finds a measure of
support in the recent data dissemination initiative of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF); and the World Bank. The paper recognises the effort of the
IMF and the World Bank to have countries document their methodologies and place
quality delimiters on their data. This effort is applauded.