Abstract
The origins, the design and the operations of PADIS were studied. In 1992 questionnaires were sent to the Central Co- ordinating Office (CCO) based in the ECA (the Economic Commission for Africa) in Addis Ababa, the Sub-Regional Centres (SRCs) and the National Co-ordinating Centres (NCCs). Interviews were held at the CCO and with repre sentatives of a wide range of organisations in Africa. Questionnaires were administered to actual and potential users in Zambia to establish knowledge of and use of PADIS. A test collection of development information relating to Zambia was compiled and analysed to determine the origins of, and publication pattern for, this material. The main conclusion is that PADIS, as presently consti tuted, is ineffective. Few of the 37 NCCs have provided records for PADIS databases and thirteen countries do not have NCCs. In Zambia, few researchers and others who might need development information know of the existence of PADIS and even fewer have used it. The analysis of the test collection demonstrated that much relevant information is produced and published in Europe and North America and is thus not recorded or collected either in Zambia or by PADIS.
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