Policy and Decision Support Systems

Policy and decision support systems allow policy makers to collect, aggregate, analyse and share information on topics such as food security and market conditions. This can provide them with access to timely and accurate information about rural conditions, greatly improving their capacity to make informed decisions and respond quickly and correctly. Policy and decision support systems can involve a wide range of information-gathering activities, from satellite photographs to meetings of high-level stakeholders to rural-based extension workers collecting market and crop data.

The features of these systems are as follows:

Stakeholders:
Primary: policy makers
Secondary: rural service providers

Functions and Subject Areas:
Information management systems that include production, archiving and dissemination on food security, market conditions, supply and demand, production and prices.

Media and Technologies:
Digital media such as the local area networks, Internet and CD-ROM, based on specialized software applications, systems and tools.

FAO has developed conceptual models for policy and decision support systems that are the basis for international collaborative networks. Each of these is based on standard tools and methods.