The first version of the National Database SintMaartenInfo was recently launched within government, and a roll-out plan is being finalized to have a public launch within a few months. After that SintMaartenInfo will be available online to the public as a tool for research, analysis and advocacy.
Members of the Cabinet including Prime Minister William Marlin got first-hand experience on the use of the national database.
The establishment of SintMaartenInfo is part of the National Development Plan project, led by the Department of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BAK).
BAK took the lead in developing the database. A Task Force in Government was set-up consisting of representatives of various Ministries who were tasked together to develop and update.
Data availability is an important aspect of good governance and good planning. Data management is essential in allowing government to operate effectively and efficiently.
Through the management of good fata on a continuous basis, a country can monitor its development progress.
Prime Minister Marlin described the recent launch of SintMaartenInfo as an important milestone in improving the governance of the country.
SintMaartenInfo is designed to support strategic national planning by allowing access to a wide variety of reliable statistical data and enable government to better monitor the developmental progress of the country and to assist in international reporting.
SintMaartenInfo is also a tool to enable high quality presentation of data in a variety of formats.
The database for the moment contains socio-economic data from across government and Census material. The Department of Statistics in cooperation with all ministries will continue to update the system.
The main focus is to get all relevant data uploaded from 2010 onwards and to further build capacity within the Ministries to manage the database.