Forests Sourcebook - HCV Resource Network

Box 7.14
FMIS in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The following planning steps were employed in an
FMIS project in Bosnia and Herzegovina that involved
developing a unified network-based system:
a) Conduct a gap analysis of the planning capacity of
the various enterprises and agencies.
b) Organize workshops to agree on approach with the
stakeholders.
c) Organize an FMIS Working Group (FMIS-WG)—
comprising foresters, IT specialists, business managers,
and inspection and planning officers—who
would function as a process advisory group to
define the basic data (including the minimum data
needs for central planning and control functions)
needed by the Cantonal Forest Management Companies
(CFMCs).
d) The FMIS-WG should organize a workshop to
demonstrate the power of a comprehensive FMIS
and to agree on the basic data needs and on the overall
development process. State-of-the-art software
providers (such as ESRI and Oracle), as well as users
(for example, the Hungary forest enterprise association,
the Polish State Forest Management Agency)
should be invited to give presentations. Key representatives
of the CFMCs and the ministerial and
cantonal administrations should be invited to participate
and the conclusions and recommendations
should be recorded and disseminated. The main
product of this workshop should be an agreed on
concept of a centralized system as well as a process
for developing that system. Agreement also needs to
be reached as to the overall coordination of the
process and on the “home” for the central database.
Time required: three months planning and implementation.
Coordinated by the Forest Development
and Conservation Project’s (FDCP) project implementation
unit (PIU) with help from the FMIS-WG.
e) Designate the institutional coordinator for the FMIS
development process and establish the institutional
home for the central database. This is the responsibility
of the ministry. All further development
depends on this key step to designate and equip the
“FMIS coordinator.”
f) Prepare the tender package for designing the FMIS
(international consultant, working with the FMIS-
WG). At a minimum, the terms of reference (TOR)
should include (i) an analysis of the existing situation
and review of the data needs; (ii) a comparative
analysis of international experience with similar
systems to ensure the most cost-effective approach;
(iii) the final design of the data module, the data
format, and the presentational standards, taking
into account any relevant government IT policy;
and (iv) the programming, communications, hardware,
and software customization. Time required:
five months contracting and preparation. Coordinated
by the FMIS coordinator, with input from the
FMIS-WG.
g) Organize a follow-up workshop to agree on the
FMIS tender package, and to seek funding sources.
Invite possible donors as well as government
officials to agree on the TOR and to secure funding.
Coordinated by the FMIS coordinator, with
help from the international consultant and the
FMIS-WG.
h) Tender the development phase per the agreed TOR.
Time required: eight months.
i) Design the database system. Time required: six
months.
j) Tender the remaining hardware and software.
k) Install the system, including training.
In this case, the overall development process was
estimated to take about two years.
Source: Robak and Kirmse 2007.
Technology specifications. The specific technologies 3 to
be employed depend on the conceptual design and performance
specifications, which should, in turn, take into
account the infrastructure and resources (human, technical,
and financial) that are available to the organization, internally
or from service organizations with a local (or, more
often these days, online) presence. Additional considerations
include the following:
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■
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The programming language of the software should be
one that is most appropriate and ideally, widely used.
The databases and software should be able to handle the
large number of transactions, ensure the security required
in some applications, have the necessary long-term technical
support, and not become obsolete in the short-term. 4
The total cost of operation, rather than the initial startup
costs, should be the focus over the life of the project.
266 CHAPTER 7: MONITORING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT