Berg - Interactive Media and Communication

Portal Feasibility Study
UNESCO

 

 

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This study is prepared for UNESCO to function as a discussion piece for the Executive Board. Below is the Executive Summary. The study focuses on the identification of desired services, and what the requirements for the implementation of these services would be.

Executive Summary

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) play a more and more important role in today's world. Partly driven by the appeal of novelty, but in large part also by the real opportunities provided by increased speed, storage and search capabilities, data manipulation and presentation techniques, as well as through innovative interface developments, organizations of all sorts are embarking on the ICT train. It is thus critical for UNESCO to evaluate the essential benefits these information technologies can bring to the Organization and its partners.

This study explores the utility and feasibility of a UNESCO Education Portal. The study attempts to contribute to the strategy formulation and decision-making process concerning a comprehensive UNESCO Education Portal by (1) providing options as to how the Internet could be used to support communication processes and information exchange between UNESCO and its partners and (2) for each possible option, indicating the required commitment of the Organization in terms of personnel, management, development costs, ongoing costs, required expertise and technology.

What is an Internet Portal?

The study observes that the portal concept is not unequivocally defined. Based on an analysis of several websites that can be identified as being portals, two main categories are identified: horizontal portals and vertical portals. Horizontal portals are mostly commercial in nature, aim at serving as many users as possible, and, to that end, provide a myriad of services to the users, ranging from the traditional search possibilities to e-mail, chat rooms and photo albums. Examples of horizontal portals are Yahoo!, Excite, and Netcenter. Vertical Internet portals, on the other hand, target specific user groups, either thematically and/or geographically defined. While the focus of horizontal portals is on attracting users and assuring return business by providing attractive services, successful vertical portals provide reliable and useful content. In the vertical portal category we find many (although not exclusively) nonprofit initiatives run by NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, national and local governments, etc.

Many of the current portals started during the 1990s as information providers and, over the years, have grown to be communication platforms (interaction) as well as places to buy products (transactions). The services provided to users through portals can thus be categorized into three main levels: providing access to information; providing opportunities for interaction; and providing the means to carry out transactions. Each of these three types of information exchange can take place on several levels, varying in the degree of security that they provide, for example: public, registered, password protected and/or encrypted.

A useful portal for a diverse user group

A UNESCO Education Portal should be established as a tool to facilitate the implementation of UNESCO's mandate in the area of education. Such an Education Portal should be a vertical portal serving the information and communication needs of UNESCO's target audiences (the government community, NGOs and associations, civil society), those providing services to these target groups (the UNESCO Secretariat, National Commissions, other U.N. Agencies) as well as facilitating partners such as consultants, travel agencies, etc.

The study presents an inventory of communication processes which the portal could potentially facilitate. Also, the study concludes that the use of any Portal by UNESCO's partners requires resources which are not necessarily available everywhere: (1) sustainable financial resources and required technologies for Internet access (2) enhancing the capacity to be able to assess and apply information (social resources); (3) contextual resources required to put information into action.

1. Access

Internet connectivity per se does not pose the problem, as all but a few countries in the world are connected to the Internet and most of UNESCO's partners and UNESCO's offices are located in major cities. In many cases, however, level of required maintenance of all technology, resources to pay for access to ICTs, usage skills to use the ICTs, and/or functional literacy in users are at a level which does not allow for sustainable access to information through the application of ICTs.

2. Social resources

To be able to effectively use information, partners need to be able to identify within each resource the particular context in which, or for which, it was created (relevance, applicability). Unless users are able to do that or come from the same context as the sources creating information, problems of miscommunication and misunderstanding can arise. A second factor affecting effective communication is trust. Partners must trust both source and communication channel to accept the channeled information as being reliable and valid. Thirdly, to be able to assess information on its reliability and validity (i.e, quality), users need the knowledge and skills to do so. Finally, the application of new information requires a certain level of confidence and motivation to take a risk.

3. Contextual resources

The value of information lies in its power to inform decision-making and action. As such, information is only one resource among many others, such as the social resources indicated above, financial resources, skills, production facilities, demand for output, etc.

Thus, in addition to establishing a Portal, the challenge for UNESCO lies in promoting:

  • the sustainable integration of project activities in the local organizational structures, including professional IT management and human resources management;
  • addressing the identified social resources;
  • the idea of ICTs being a means rather than an end in itself (ICTs should always be seen in the full context of the processes they are to facilitate);
  • the production and use of information by partners;

An Internet Portal proves its utility through a stable, if not consistently growing, group of returning users. The analysis of existing portals and literature leads to the following design guidelines and considerations for an Internet Portal of maximum utility:

The Education Portal should be conceived as a tool to support the execution of UNESCO's services: enhancing policy dialogue and advocacy, capacity building, technical assistance to Member States and research.

  1. Accessibility needs to be guaranteed for all users everywhere (i.e., availability of multiple language versions, required bandwidth, required client side software such as plug-ins).
  2. Realize that centralizing the control over what appears on the Portal (on a national or global level) inherently reduces the relevance and usability of the provided information on the local level due to the uniqueness and complexity of individual situations.
  3. All identified users should be explicitly seen as providers of content to the Education Portal. A distributed model for content provision, editorial services, application development, hosting of (elements of) the Portal, etc. is highly advisable.
  4. Services should not be implemented because technology makes them feasible. The usefulness of the Portal for the user groups should be the primary driving force for innovation and expansion. Services provided by a portal should be geared towards usefulness, ease of use and enjoyment.
  5. The Education Portal should be organized according to themes rather than according to UNESCO's organization charts.
  6. Rather than aiming at attracting as many visitors as possible, the Education Portal should target specific user groups, implying that the Education Portal will be a vertical portal.
  7. Static or outdated content is a killer; content should be reliable and relevant. In addition to regularly updated content, services should be expanded and renewed.
  8. Portal design (information and interaction design as well as graphical design) should be professional, consistent, functional and adapted to the Internet medium; the structure should be transparent and navigation should be intuitive; reliable service levels (up time, security, backup services) need to be guaranteed.

Current use of the Internet in the Education Sector

The Education Sector websites (currently about 20) as well as websites installed by Field Offices form an interesting collection of material. In general terms UNESCO's websites mostly offer program information, greatly varying in quality of design (information, interaction and graphical design), frequency of updating and utility. This study identifies some websites as possible starting points for the development of an Education Portal. While most of these sites are still far from perfect, their thematic approach and efforts to go beyond the provision of program information should be taken as exemplary. For example, the Early Childhood Development pages, the IBE INNODAT with country profiles, the Cairo office website for the advancement of science and math teaching and the Zimbabwe site for teacher development. Also initiatives outside the Education Sector should be taken into account. The WebWorld website, developed by the Information and Communication Sector, is one such example.

Apart from actual websites, the study analyzes current management practices related to the hardware and software infrastructure. Financial and personnel resources allocated to IT management are scarce. A clear division of responsibility as to who is responsible for which elements of the IT infrastructure, procedures to follow in case of system breakdown, and other critical arrangements are lacking or not clearly defined. Most skills required for the establishment of websites in the Education Sector are normally sought outside the Organization. The current use of the Internet by the Education Sector is not critical for its program implementation. However, with the establishment of an Education Portal, the requirements for the IT management will have to be reviewed.

The study highlights the importance of integrating the development of an Education Portal with the overall Information and Communication Strategy for UNESCO, which is currently under development. Part of this strategy is an integrated effort to increase computer proficiency levels in staff.

Implementing the Education Portal

The first step for UNESCO is, based on this feasibility study is to decide whether or not to go ahead with the establishment of an Education Portal. The first and foremost consideration for deciding about an Education Portal is whether the portal will be able to facilitate communication and information exchange between UNESCO and its partners and in the end serve the needs of UNESCO's target groups.

A positive decision should result in the production of a detailed project plan containing at least the following points:

  • functional specifications for the portal (interaction modalities, required levels of security and authorization, relation between the needs of users and the interaction modalities, etc.)
  • technical specifications (indication of initial required hard and software, infrastructure, etc.);
  • project specifications (phasing; project management; distribution of responsibilities; plan for the transfer of responsibility, financing, operation, etc. from the project to the line organization);
  • budget required for full development and implementation;
  • estimated structural budget required for continuing operation, upkeep and innovation;

Such a plan, the establishment of which needs to be a collaborative effort, is required for the successful implementation of the UNESCO Education Portal. When agreeing on such a plan, the Education Sector will have to commit itself to an ongoing investment in the Portal according to the project plan, and to this end establish a budget line.

The study describes several options, in terms of software tools, outsourcing or collaboration with other institutions, with cost indications where feasible. Also requirements in terms of personnel and management are indicated.

The chapter concludes by resuming that any intended portal requires significant initial and ongoing investments to develop and maintain services in terms of functional and technical management, system administration, user support, technological innovation, skills development, content acquisition, etc. Yearly costs for up keeping Internet applications range between 10 percent and 50 percent of the initial development costs, depending upon the size of the system, system complexity, speed of innovation, number of users and technological requirements. While sponsorship could be an option to generate revenues, the Education Sector should be prepared for a reorientation of resources.

The primary focus in any effort should be to serve the communication and information needs of UNESCO's partners.