A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Advanced Technologies

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1998

The Internet offers powerful tools for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in developing countries to disseminate information on their activities, coordinate with partner organizations, and raise money. However, NGOs in Myanmar still lack routine access to the Internet for reasons of policy, infrastructure, and human resource development (eg, computer literacy). This thesis assesses the "state of the art" of Internet usage by NGOs worldwide and looks comparatively at how a sample ofNGOs in Bangkok and Rangoon process information. Based on an analysis of the information needs of NGOs, their partners, and donors, it proposes a strategy for pooling information from local databases in a central Web-based directory of NGO-related services. The design of this directory is based on a modular data structure that allows NGOs to maintain their databases locally while integrating their data with others' in a central point of access. The thesis considers the appropriateness for Myanmar NGOs of proprietary versus open data formats in the short and long terms.