Lessons for Other Registry Systems
As a registry system is an information product, and one well suited to substitution by computerised database systems, there are many standardised database packages available to process data. However, the computer systems and database software are only tools to assist data management. These systems do not substitute for effective information identification and data capture processes. Efficient manipulation of information once captured does not of itself compensate for the quality of data contained in the system. In any registry system, there will always be a trade-off between costs of operating the system and the quality of the data. The EEC system shows that the processes associated with the capture and verification of the data may be most significant contributors of cost, and not necessarily conducive to substitution by electronic processes. And even if they are conducive to substitution, regulations (either legislation or the rules of the organisation for whom the Registry is maintained) may compromise the ability to alter processes to take advantage of the benefits technology offers.
However, once these factors have been accounted for, the EEC case shows that investment in the complementary systems for identification and capture of the data will be the difference in a "value for budget" system and one which does not deliver as much with technology and its budget as possible. The EEC system is currently being audited on a "value for money" basis against registry systems worldwide. Whilst the results are not yet available, the signs are positive that the EEC has achieved internationally high data quality rankings whilst reducing the cost per enrolment. This tends to indicate that the system enhancements are trending in a positive direction. It is the authors' belief, guided by the findings of Brynjolfsson and Hitt, that the balance of attention between human systems development and computer systems development is a factor in this performance, and one that offers an insight for other developers of registry systems.
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