Construction and housing information needs in the Third World : an international survey

An international survey was carried out in 1989 on the existing information needs and technical facilities of professionals in the field of construction and housing (448 respondents from 92 different countries). The survey resulted in five guidelines for future database development: (1) there is a substantial demand for an information system for information exchange between professionals in the area of construction and housing; (2) to be effective, such an information system should be client-oriented; (3) for the system to be relevant, two approaches were suggested - the establishment of a regular horizontal information flow and the establishment of regional information centres; (4) the issue of cost must be tackled as it was one of the major constraints on the widespread use of electronic equipment ; (5) the development of such an information system must be carried out in cooperation with existing information efforts in the building and construction industry.