The Department for International Development (DFID) is responsible for promoting overseas development and the reduction of poverty.

DFID engaged AMTEC to carry out a scoping study for an information needs analysis. A team of three from AMTEC, chosen for their wealth of experience in this area, delivered the following:

• a preliminary analysis of business information needs at the departmental level.
• a broad assessment of the suitability and efficiency of the current systems and structures that gather, distribute and store information.
• recommendations on the future direction of the information needs analysis study.

AMTEC investigated the targeting, finding and accessing of information, and also commented on information overload - the effects on staff of the high volumes of information that bombard them on a daily basis.

The team's conclusions reassured DFID that the information needs of staff were largely being met or addressed by ongoing initiatives, but some issues, such as information ownership and best practice, required more attention.