NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AUTHORITY FOR SUPPORTING THE E-SRI LANKA INITIATIVE

Abstract

The announcement of e-Sri Lanka initiative was made by the prime minister of sri Lanka in December 2002 as a plan to leapfrog the technology gap to achieve e-governance. In order that the e-Sri Lanka concept could bear fruit, the need for urgent computerization of government departments(technology infrastructure and data systems) and improvement of the skills of government employees and citizens (human resource infrastructure) must be identified as a priority. This research aims to identify the requirements and develops a framework to computerize government entities in Sri Lanka efficiently and effectively and the steps to be taken to develop IT skills of government officials and citizens of the country. Three analytical elements of interest for the study of the need for a National Information Technology Authority (NITA) to support the e-Sri Lanka initiative are directly derived from literature reviewed and guided interviews carried out to gather relevant data. A current state analysis of twenty five government organizations already computerized and of those that are expected to be computerized is carried out in the process of data gathering. Citizens in four different age categories are interviewed to identify their training needs. Research data is used and analyzed to find out the possibility of proving that establishing an empowered competent central authority that is independent is the solution to the problem identified. Research data is also analyzed to identify the functions and activities of the National Information Technology Authority and to decide on the suitable organizational structure for the authority.

Keywords: e-Governance, e-Sri Lanka, Information management, Knowledge management

For full Paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk