The Role of Information Technology in the Acceleration of Development in Egypt

Abstract

This paper outlines the most appropriate information technology approaches and methodologies that can be adopted and applied to build a nationwide information infrastructure that would provide an enhanced support for the strategic and operational decision-making in a developing country. The case presented reflects the experience gained and the work achieved by The Cabinet of Ministers Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) in implementing and managing a large scale information system for the Egyptian local administration system that consists of twenty-six nodes distributed all over the country (a node for each governorate), spreading awareness, knowledge, and decision support needed for the local government administration. The paper suggests how this approach can be replicated in other developing countries and what major changes will have to be made in the socioeconomic information collected and communicated to decision makers.