Neelameghan A. (Professor)Andrea Dorothy2020-06-022023-11-182020-06-022023-11-181992-06http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/21389The information professionals, decision-makers as well as policy- makers aware of information issues in Africa, are demanding that their governments formulate specific national information policiesIt has been realized in wider circles that coordination, resource sharing and information exchange are futile in the absence of explicit principles and directions articulated in the form of legal policies. Policies are declarations of intent to take action, and they help to resolve confusion over who is responsible, at the national level for taking stock of advances in technological capabilities as well as adverse effects on information systems and servicesIn Tanzania attempts have been made to create a coordinated national information network to facilitate planning and decision- making in all sectors of development. However, these attempts have not yet been fruitful because an overall policy to guide such an establishment does not exist. This work is an attempt to provide a methodology aimed at formulating a national policy on information systems, a premise for a coordinated national information system for Tanzania.Background information on Tanzania, and description of the existing information infrastructure is followed by a discussion of explicit policy issues, model policy statements and implications and strategies for their implementation. Finally, a step by step methodology for formulating the policy, divided into three phases is given. It is hoped that this thesis will serve as a groundwork for the process of formulation of a national policy on information for Tanzania, and the document recommends that Tanzania embark on this process as soon as possibleenInformation ScienceThesis