As the target fields of international development cooperation have recently expanded to digital administration, geospatial information, and land management, the importance of geospatial-based international development projects is continuously increasi...
As the target fields of international development cooperation have recently expanded to digital administration, geospatial information, and land management, the importance of geospatial-based international development projects is continuously increasing. However, despite these projects involving complex management elements such as data quality, the integration of technical and administrative procedures, multi-ministerial cooperation structures, and long-term operation and maintenance, there is a lack of a systematic model to manage them integrally throughout their entire lifecycle. Accordingly, this study aims to propose an extended management model that complements existing international development project management frameworks for the successful implementation of geospatial-based international development projects, and to analyze its validity and implications by applying it to a case study in Bangladesh.
This study derives a common phased management structure for international development projects by comparing and analyzing the management frameworks presented by the World Bank, the European Union, and the United Nations Development Programme, and proposes an extended management model tailored to the characteristics of geospatial-based international development projects. In addition, in the process of applying the proposed extended model to the case of Bangladesh, the evaluation criteria of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) were utilized as the evaluation standard to determine the performance level of management elements at each stage.
The proposed extended management model is characterized by maintaining the phased structure of existing international development project management frameworks while combining extended management elements specialized for geospatial projects at each stage. In the planning stage, it is configured to pre-diagnose the existence and quality of spatial data, standards and coordinate systems, multi-ministerial data structures, connectivity between technology, administration, and systems, and local technical capacity. In the design stage, data standards and model design, metadata systems, data production/refinement/verification processes, interoperability structures, inter-institutional inspection and approval procedures, and operation and maintenance systems are specified. In the implementation and operation stage, continuous management of data quality and maintenance of compatibility between systems are set as key management elements. In the evaluation and feedback stage, the usability of data and systems, the capacity of operating agencies, the adequacy of cooperation structures, and whether sustainability has been secured are comprehensively evaluated, and the results are linked to subsequent planning and institutional improvements.
To review the applicability of this extended management model, this study selected the Bangladesh Digital Land Management System construction project as a case and analyzed the level of reflection of management elements at each stage. The analysis results showed that while technical elements and data construction-oriented management were relatively thoroughly carried out in the planning and design stages of the project, the analysis of institutional and organizational contexts, risk management strategies, and long-term operation and evaluation/feedback structures were reflected to a limited extent. This suggests that in geospatial-based international development projects, it is difficult to sufficiently secure the sustainability and effectiveness of the project through technical performance alone.
This study is significant in that it provides an analytical framework for the lifecycle management of geospatial-based international development projects by proposing an extended management model that integrates the universal management logic of international development projects with the specificities of the geospatial field.