Information and Knowledge Management using ArcGIS ModelBuilder

Ermelinda Kordha and As. Kozeta Sevrani
Information and knowledge are the bedrock of the Knowledge Economy – the “currency” of modern
societies (Markle foundation 2003). The term ‘Knowledge Society’ generally refers to a society where
knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. Various observers
describe today's global economy as one in transition to a "knowledge economy," as an extension of
an "information society."In today’s increasingly integrated global economy, firms across the economic
landscape, including those in developing countries, will need to learn how to acquire and use
information effectively if they hope to succeed. In many cases information strategies are
communicated just as information society development programs, with direct concentration of
governmental resources and systematic realization of long-term operative programs (Karvalics 1997).
In visioning and in developing ICT strategies, it is important to think strategically of ICTs as enablers
of human development. It is imperative to consider how enhanced access to information can improve
the lives of people as well as stimulate the economy and streamline government.
3. Methodology
The methodology used is qualitative. We have analyzed the actual ICT strategy of Albania in the light
of information society. First of all we aimed to understand the stage of strategy implementation, so we
compared the strategy areas and data gathered about ICT projects implemented in Albania. Than, we
have administered 20 semi-structured interviews with government officials, project leaders and
managers countrywide. The goal was to take their perception about ICT strategy implementation in
Albania and the factors where Albania should focus more. The interviews were administered face to
face and were registered. Then, they were analyzed to identify the most frequently mentioned
problems and results in implemented projects. These findings will be showed below.
4. The Albanian ICT strategy in the regional context
ICT adoption and its impact in economy and society has been especially vigorous in certain Member
States (e.g. Ireland, Finland), while this effect has still not materialized in most EU countries (Van Ark
and Inklaar 2005). From a policy perspective, the concept of Information and knowledge societies,
raise the awareness of the need to adopt regional policies together with country‐level initiatives, since
the impact is visible. In the context of ICT strategy, Albanian government has included the national
strategy in the e eSEE – Agenda for the development of Information society. The goals of the National
ICT Strategy are to exploit the potential of ICT in order to promote human development in the country,
to support growth and sustainable development and to increase living standards for the whole
population. The vision of Albanian strategy is based upon the principles of building an information
society, because the human factor is an important asset. ICT is underpinning technology for all
reforms proposed by Albanian government. Albania has already implemented the strategy document
for 2002-2007 and now it is referring to the improvements in the document of 2007 -2013 which
describes the general goals and defines strategic actions to achieve the goals.Major strategic areas to
be addressed are:
Government as Promoter, Legislator and User of ICT,
Use of ICT for Education, Research, Health and Social Services.
Building Infrastructure needed for an Open Information Society,
Generating Economic Growth in the Private Sector,
Ensuring Relevance of ICT Strategy within a Regional and European Context
All the individual goals cover the areas that are important for building an information society as stated
previously in the literature review.
5. ICT strategy Implementation in Albania
Implementation of ICT strategy has taken place in the past 9 years ( 2002 - 2011) and is still going to
be fulfilled in the next two years. According to government officials interviewed in the next future there
will be an extension to this strategy where the development of information society will focus more on
bettering standard of leaving.
According to the first goal of the strategy, one of the first projects undertaken in the field of ICT is
government network GOVNET. Different state institutions are interconnected through a high speed
fiber optic network enabling them to use financial, human resource and operation applications in
different fields, such as justice, internal affairs etc. All the ministries nowadays have their own
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