REGIONAL DATA AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR THE DESIGN OF NEW E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES

The paper introduces an innovative approach related to the sustainable regional strategy design and implementation, suggesting the process re-engineering according to the new knowledge management and citizen-oriented governance paradigm. The solutions proposed rely on the potential of the information and communication technologies (ICT) for knowledge management, inclusion, democracy and development, and represent the results of a Romanian research project: “Knowledge management architecture in environmental, social and economic areas, designed to support the sustainable regional development strategy”, financed under the national research budget (Research and Development National Program – Ideas, National Council for Research and Higher Education). The research was structured in three main steps: the first step was oriented to the identification of the main characteristics of the regional strategy design process, the second step focused on the critical analysis of the existing procedures in order to identify the strengths and the weakness of the process and to propose improved solutions, and the third one consists in the ICT-led process re-engineering. The first phase of the project involves desk research, direct observations, carrying out specific surveys in the framework of the strategy development in the Bucharest-Ilfov region. The SWOT analysis of the actual strategy design process emphasized the specific needed improvements of the process, especially a deeper analysis using various sustainable development models and benchmarking. Other important issue is represented by the lack of the citizens’ involvement in the consultative and decision making processes. The proposed solution of the process re-engineering involves the use of specific ICT tools integrated in a virtual regional platform aiming at offering a complete and realistic picture of the region and collecting the regional stakeholders’ opinions concerning the strategic regional development priorities.