Observation and Benchmarking Observation and Benchmarking
The projects of Observation and Benchmarking aim to promote a culture of evaluation and accuracy and to support public policies, namely ensuring:
- Monitoring of activities;
- Open, rigorous and independent evaluation;
- Transparency of procedures and results.
Most Recent Data on the Information Society in Portugal >>
Examples of results and actions to ensure are:
- To perform the effective monitoring of Information and Knowledge Society projects and plans;
- To adopt regular mechanisms of observation and international comparison.
The planning, coordination and development of information society requires systematic studies, statistical analysis and foresight exercises, of national and international scope, including the international benchmarking of information society indicators.
The Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) assures these activities through the Information and Knowledge Society Observatory (OSIC), whose functions are to collect, compile, process, produce and disseminate statistical indicators and other information on the Information and Knowledge Society.
One of the core activities performed respects to a series of major survey operations, some of them in collaboration with the INE – National Statistics Institute, in particular on the use of ICT in households, enterprises, hotels, hospitals, the central, regional and municipal public administrations.
Another line of work is the specialization of data on ICT statistics obtained under sectorial statistical exercises, namely regarding the Economy (by INE – National Statistics Institute), employment (by the GEP – Office of Strategy and Planning of the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity), basic and secondary education (by the GEPE – Office of Strategy and Planning of Education of the Ministry of Education), communication infrastructures (by ICP-ANACOM – National Communications Authority).
Another activity is the periodic evaluation of the public administration websites, at central and municipal levels.
Reports of evaluations of public administration websites (reports in Portuguese) >>
The Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) participates in National Higher Council of Statistics, in the Permanent Section of Planning, Coordination and Dissemination, in the Permanent Section of Statistics Confidentiality, and in the Working Group of Statistics on the Information Society Monitoring.
Last Updated (13/11/2008)