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| Aceh Moving Forward with AcehInfo 4.0 to Monitor Recovery Data |
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Indonesia’s special territory of Aceh, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, was one of the worst affected regions during the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Officials working on recovery operations (post-tsunami and post-conflict) struggled to identify reliable and accurate data sources to guide their recovery policy making.
In this context, the development of AcehInfo played a major role in assisting the government of Aceh with data management and recovery policy making. Launched as an initiative of the United
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| Nations Office of the Recovery Coordinator for Aceh and Nias (UNORC), AcehInfo is a user-friendly recovery database adapted from the DevInfo database system endorsed by the United Nations for monitoring progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and other national priorities. The |
AcehInfo database was released initially as a desktop version in 2007 and subsequently as a web-based version (www.acehinfo.nad.go.id) in 2010.
At present, AcehInfo is going through a transition from being a UN-led initiative to a database system managed by and embedded within the provincial Planning and Development Authority, in partnership with the provincial department of Statistics and other government authorities. In April 2010, the UN RCO officially handed over management of AcehInfo to the Government of Aceh, for continued monitoring of human development and disaster recovery. A Secretariat has been set up consisting of various governmental bodies to ensure that AcehInfo will be positioned as the key tool to monitor and present data.
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Population Size
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To facilitate a smooth transfer in project management and implementation, the government has organized a series of on-going training workshops since December 2009 to ensure that capacities are in place by the time of the handover. So far, user-level trainings have been conducted for 342 government officials in Aceh. Advanced database administration trainings have been provided to the Secretariat, with ongoing mentoring and coaching to strengthen the capacity of the Secretariat. To reduce training time and costs, the transition team has also developed innovative multimedia training materials in Bahasa Indonesia - the Indonesian national language - to guide the user through a series of self-paced e-learning courses.
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In preparation for this transition, over the past few months the Secretariat, with support from the UN system, has worked on developing AcehInfo 4.0. The Government of Aceh launched this latest version in April 2010 at the provincial Musrenbang, an annual high-profile forum in Aceh where government and civil society stakeholders gather to plan and prioritize development planning activities for the coming year.
At the launch, Irwandi Yusuf, the Governor of Aceh, was shown a demonstration of AcehInfo by BAPPEDA (the Aceh Planning and Development Authority). He also presented laptops to the heads of two Aceh districts who have taken the initiative
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Irwandi Yusuf, Governor of Aceh, being shown AcehInfo at the launch ceremony |
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to launch their own district adaptations of AcehInfo this year. Additionally, DVD copies of the database system were distributed to over 400 stakeholders, mainly government officials at the district and provincial levels.
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Enthusiasm over AcehInfo 4.0 from local authorities is an excellent sign that the database system will continue to be used as an effective monitoring tool for the region. As Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf remarked, “Information and accurate data are essential for planning effectively.”
“AcehInfo is the ideal tool for the planning and development of Aceh” affirmed Ir. Iskandar, Head of Aceh Planning and Development Authority.
To learn more about the status of AcehInfo implementation, please visit http://www.devinfo.org/Di-wiki/index.php?title=Aceh_%28Indonesia%29.
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Representatives of the AcehInfo Secretariat and the UNORC team
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DevInfo is a powerful database system for monitoring human development endorsed by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) to assist countries in monitoring achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To download a copy of this royalty-free software, please visit http://www.devinfo.org/di_downloads.html.
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| For more information about AcehInfo, please contact Mr. Marthunis, ST, DEA at acehinfo@acehprov.go.id. |
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