Background
In 1997 AIMS was established under the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Islamabad, Pakistan, to serve the information management needs of Afghanistan. In 2001, it was relocated to Kabul and became a project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Since its inception, AIMS has served the Government of Afghanistan, non-governmental organizations and the international donor community as a provider of information management services including the development of software applications, database solutions, geospatial information and maps. As a preferred trainer for Government employees and provider of management and monitoring systems, AIMS has significantly improved the coordination and delivery of such services within Afghanistan, offering a dynamic approach to capacity building and resolving information management challenges facing the entire development sector.
AIMS is located in a new office facility in Kabul, and in 2002 AIMS established offices in five regional centers: Jalalabad, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Kunduz. The regional offices provide services in information management, capacity development (i.e. job training), and mapping. The maps and geographic capabilities of AIMS were a key resource in the unique post-conflict Afghan development environment.
In 2004, AIMS shifted its focus from simple data provision to the development of information management capacity in the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRA) and the broader humanitarian community, especially in the areas of Geographic Information Systems GIS and database development. Since 2005, AIMS has deepened its capacity in GIS and software engineering with a target of providing world-class services to this developing country.
In September 2008, it transitioned from being a UNDP project into a national NGO. Since becoming an NGO, AIMS has further strengthened its determination to expand its services and expertise both within and outside Afghanistan, and ultimately wishes to make the transition from being a national to an international NGO in the future, providing its IM services across the region and beyond to other developing countries.
Read more about this topic: Afghanistan Information Management Services
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