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© FAO 2005

IMARK Investing in Information for Development Information Strategy Developing an Information Strategy. © FAO 2005. Learning Objectives. identify several options to deal with stakeholders when developing an Information Strategy;

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© FAO 2005

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  1. IMARK Investing in Information for Development Information Strategy Developing an Information Strategy ©FAO 2005

  2. Learning Objectives • identify several options to deal with stakeholders when developing an Information Strategy; • be aware of the differentstages in the process of developing an Information Strategy.

  3. Introduction A range of methods and tools exists for developing and implementing an Information Strategy. We will look at some of them, together with some of the key issues involved.

  4. Stakeholders in your Information Strategy When developing an Information Strategy, it is important to keep all the stakeholders in mind. They include: Management Staff Suppliers/Agents Financial institutions/Investors Audiences/Customers Government

  5. Stakeholders in your Information Strategy There are different approaches to involving the various stakeholders: 1. by yourself; 2. with a pool of management colleagues; (top-down) 3. through participatory approaches with staff and other stakeholders. (bottom-up) It is best to use an element of bothtop-down and bottom-up approaches.

  6. Stakeholders in your Information Strategy • What are themethodsfor consulting stakeholders? • They include: • interviews; • questionnaires; • focus or peer group discussion; • observation. • Combinationsof these methods can be developed to suit any organization.

  7. The objectives in your Information Strategy • The first stage in the development of anInformation Strategyis the definition of objectives. • They should be: • specific; • measurable; • realistic; and • related to the overall corporate strategy.

  8. The process for developing your Information Strategy Preparing the main body of the strategy should follow a series of stages: 1. Analysis 2. Identification of Options 3. Selection of Options

  9. The process for developing your Information Strategy: Analysis The first stage is theAnalysis. It comprises the following steps: SWOT Analysis Information audit Information Technology assessment Financial assessment

  10. SWOT Analysis WEAKNESSES STRENGTHS The SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a management tool which should be applied to all stakeholders, processes, and resources involved in or related to information activities. • e.g. What does your organization not do well? What resources does the organization lack? • e.g. What are your organization’s assets? What does your organization do well? OPPORTUNITES THREATS • e.g. What technology-related opportunities are there currently? • e.g. What economic challenges do you face? What is your competition doing?

  11. Information audit The next step is to analyze the existing Information Management processes in your organization. Some of the issues relate to: 1.Where your organization gets its information from. 2.What happens to information withinyour organization. 3.How and to whom it disseminates information.

  12. Information Technology Assessment How do you know if your organisation uses Information Technology effectively? Consider the issues from four perspectives: 1. Make IT development efficient 2. Learn from experience 3. Concentrate on “who” and “why” 4. Find new ways of using IT

  13. Financial assessment The financial analysis for the Information Strategy has to examine expenditure (or costs) and income (or revenues). Costs can include: Staff costs Acquisition costs Establishment costs Production costs Training costs Maintenance costs

  14. Identification of options • The second stage in the process of developing an Information Strategy is the identification of options. • It involves recognizing: • The information products and/or services that could be acquired for internal use; and • The information products and/or services • that could be offered to external audience(s).

  15. Identification of options Findings of the ITassessment Results of SWOT analysis Each of the products or services to be acquired or offered should have a full profile based on the analysis conducted during the preparation of the strategy. PRODUCT PROFILE Results of Information Audit Results of Economic Assessment

  16. Selection of options The third stage in the process of developing an Information Strategy is the selection of options. To choose among different options, you should take into account possiblerisks and benefits, and consider how to deal with them.

  17. Selection of options RISKS ANALYSIS BENEFIT ANALYSIS 1.Identifying possible benefit 1.Identifying possible risk Here is a process for identifying and considering how you would respond to risks and benefits of all the options. 2.Assessing the likelihood of it occurring. 2.Assessing the likelihood of it occurring. 3. Assessing the probable impact if it does occur. 3. Assessing the probable impact if it does occur. 4. Foreseeing measures to avoid it. 4.Foreseeing measures to best take advantage of it. 5. Knowing what to do if it still happens. 5. Knowing what to do to sustain the benefits.

  18. Selection of options There are various types of risks and benefits. We can group them under four different categories: ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICAL FINANCIAL TECHNICAL

  19. Selection of options The value of a strategic option has to be described with a range of indicators, since you need some consistent criteria as a basis for making choices. Here is how you could proceed: Step 1. Find alternative indicators to express “value” Step 2.Create a basis for more consistent decision making

  20. Conclusions After completing these stages you should be able to choose between possible, tangible options. The strategic alternatives will be prioritized according to institutional objectives and requirements, rather than on personal perceptions.

  21. Summary • It is important to develop an organization’ s Information Strategy with all the stakeholders in mind. • The main approaches to involve stakeholders are: top-down and bottom-up. A combination of elements of both approaches in advisable. • The stages for developing your organization’ s Information Strategy are:1) Analysis; 2) Identification of Options; 3) Selection of Options. • The analysis comprises several steps: 1) SWOT Analysis; 2) Information audit; 3) Information Technology assessment; and 4) Financial assessment.

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