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Information sharing in government departments : a Namibian case study
Author(s)
Hamunyela, Suama L.N.
Date Issued
2013
Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Abstract
This study explores information sharing in government departments from a developing
country's perspective. Efforts to understand the relationship between information sharing as
a concept and the e-government(s) phenomenon are made and discussed. Literature
reviewed in this study indicates that information sharing is a core component of the eadministration
part of e-government. E-government initiatives are intended to enable
information sharing between and within government departments. ICT initiatives under the egovernment
umbrella facilitate information sharing within government departments. However,
such initiatives fail to or do not achieve their intended objectives due to technological,
organisational, environmental and people related limitations. The process to overcome such
barriers can begin by analysing activities focusing on information sharing processes as a
means of identifying needs for improvement. There is a need to discuss work activities,
actors, aims of activities and the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
in government departments, in order to identify information sharing needs and make possible
recommendations for effective information sharing processes. A conceptual model is recommended to improve information sharing in government
departments, and it has shown promise when applied to a selected work activity in this study.
The results of the work activity case study show that technology, organization, environmental
and people related factors indeed exist in the government's department and can have both a
positive and a negative influence on information sharing between the three governing levels
of the Namibian government.
A pair of recommendations is given in this study. Firstly, a technology-organisationalenvironmental-
people framework is recommended to government departments for effective
information sharing. Secondly, recommendations are given to facilitate the information
sharing needs of the Child Allowance (CA) department in the Ministry of Gender Equality and
Child Welfare (MGECW). Limitations of the study and opportunities for further research that
have been identified are stated at the end of this study.
country's perspective. Efforts to understand the relationship between information sharing as
a concept and the e-government(s) phenomenon are made and discussed. Literature
reviewed in this study indicates that information sharing is a core component of the eadministration
part of e-government. E-government initiatives are intended to enable
information sharing between and within government departments. ICT initiatives under the egovernment
umbrella facilitate information sharing within government departments. However,
such initiatives fail to or do not achieve their intended objectives due to technological,
organisational, environmental and people related limitations. The process to overcome such
barriers can begin by analysing activities focusing on information sharing processes as a
means of identifying needs for improvement. There is a need to discuss work activities,
actors, aims of activities and the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
in government departments, in order to identify information sharing needs and make possible
recommendations for effective information sharing processes. A conceptual model is recommended to improve information sharing in government
departments, and it has shown promise when applied to a selected work activity in this study.
The results of the work activity case study show that technology, organization, environmental
and people related factors indeed exist in the government's department and can have both a
positive and a negative influence on information sharing between the three governing levels
of the Namibian government.
A pair of recommendations is given in this study. Firstly, a technology-organisationalenvironmental-
people framework is recommended to government departments for effective
information sharing. Secondly, recommendations are given to facilitate the information
sharing needs of the Child Allowance (CA) department in the Ministry of Gender Equality and
Child Welfare (MGECW). Limitations of the study and opportunities for further research that
have been identified are stated at the end of this study.
Additional information
Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013.
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