Developing and testing criteria and indicators for an effective information system in the forest sector

Unprecedented increase in demand for a wider range of forest goods and services has made the management of forests more challenging. The role of information, on almost all aspects of forestry, is of utmost concern. Millions of dollars are being spent for developing and implementing information systems (IS) in forest sector. Mechanism for the evaluation of IS in business organizations itself has not been standardized and when it comes to evaluating IS in forest sector, the task becomes further complex due to the presence of a variety of stakeholders and conflicting interests. This paper(1), based on field research, attempts to establish criteria and indicators for assessing the effectiveness of an IS in forest sector. Concept of Effectiveness Index of an IS in forest sector has been elaborated upon. The evaluation technique is flexible enough and as the forest organization and stakeholders gain experience with IS, criteria and indicators can be further fine tuned for meeting the objectives.