Institutional Information and Knowledge Management for Development: The Case of Nairobi County Council, Kenya

Abstract

Key construction professionals and decision makers in the housing sector in Nairobi County require adequate and relevant information for work tasks and policy formulation for solving housing deficit.  However, their efforts are sometimes thwarted due to lack of well-organized and accessible information. This paper investigates the difficulties that construction professionals encounter while accessing information at the Nairobi City Hall. This study was conducted between 2009 and 2010 using 39 Key construction professionals and 30 informants at Nairobi City Hall. The research utilised the Grounded Theory method of data analysis to generate research results. Findings indicated that improper handling of information materials makes the access of building information at Nairobi City Hall very difficult.  Secondly the research established that decision makers at Nairobi City Hall do not emphasise on the need for quality information management in the institution. The study recommended that the methods of accessing and disbursing of the information to the users be re-designed. 

Keywords: Housing information, Information Access, Nairobi City Hall