DRAFT CONCEPT OF INFORMATION POLICY IN ARMENIA’S SOCIAL PROTECTION SECTOR BEING DEVELOPED
Noyan Tapan
Dec 17 2007
TSAKHKADZOR, DECEMBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The draft concept of information
policy in the social protection sector of the RA will be presented
to all interested sides for consideration in late January 2008. The
draft is being developed by the order of the RA minister of labor
and social issues. Hayk Chobanian, the director of "Nork" information
and analytical center responsible for the draft’s development, stated
this at the first seminar on the development of the concept.
The seminar was held in Tsakhkadzor on December 14-15 with the
participation of representatives of the RA ministry of labor and
social issues, heads of the ministry’s units and The Services Group
(TSG) company implementing the USAID-financed project on Armenia’s
"Social Protection Systems Strengthening".
After the two-day discussion it was decided the working group
composed of representatives of the above mentioned and other
interested sides will develop a concept based on the document’s
structure proposed by seminar participants. It is envisaged that
the document will have the following parts: "Current Situation",
"Objectives", "Action Plan", "Information and Communication
Technologies", "Legal-Normative Regulation", "Management Systems",
"Standards" and "Participants". There will be short-term (2008),
medium-term (2008-2009) and long-term (2008-2011) strategy. Among
the main objectives envisaged by the strategy is the creation of the
united portal of social protection, which, in particular, will allow
citizens and organization of the public and state sectors to receive
information and services of the social sector in "one window".
During the seminar, IT expert of the "Social Protection Services
Strengthening Project" Valery Dmitrushchenkov gave the report
"Information Strategy of the Social Protection System".
H. Chobanian presented an analysis of the current situation and the
development prospects of information and communication technologies
in the social protection sector. He attached special importance to
development of information systems and bringing their operational
standards into line with each other in the sphere of RA state
governance, especially in the departments related to the social sector
in a direct or indirect way.
According to the RA deputy minister of labor and social issues
Artyom Asatrian, the 2008 program of the RA government’s activities
envisages approving the strategy of sustainable development of the
social protection sector, with the automated systems of information
exchange being one of the components of this strategy. In his
words, the 2008-2012 program of the RA government’s activities
will attach importance to creation of an information network by the
ministry of labor and social issues in 2008-2009. It was underlined
that the strategy on development of information systems in the
social protection sector should be consistent with the information
technologies development concept, which is expected to be approved
by the Armenian government in the near future and which envisages
developing electronic governance in the country.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
