The dialectics of decision-making

This article is based on a study commissioned by FOSAD, the Forum of South African Directors General, to look at the information needs of decision-makers in government. The study looked at the corporate information requirements of government by means of interviews, secondary data studies and a review of international best practices. The work involved structured interviews with officials from over twenty departments, including fourteen interviews with officials at Director general leve4, and spanned hub and line departments as well as statutory bodies. It looked at how information is collected by the departments themselves and by other organs of state, examined the type and level of information collected, and linked this to the government's decision-making needs. The interview schedules were examined to elicit common themes that were then subjected it additional discussion with key officials. The substantive issues became the basis for the set of recommendations. This and comparable international experiences led to a set of recommendations for managing government information.