The Parties should correct existing problems with the collection, analyses and reporting of data, including establishing sampling protocols, filling data gaps and ensuring the quality of data. The application and interpretation of data generate information. Information forms the basis for policy decisions. Indicators are one type of information, but there are many others. Information management encompasses both information technology and data management.
Information management has several dimensions, such as availability, organization, and application.
Each of these dimensions has problems that concern the Commission because each affects the Parties' ability to meet their obligations under the Agreement as well as the Commission's ability to act as an objective adviser on how the Parties are meeting their obligations. There has been an explosion in the information technology and management fields in the past ten years. The Commission, the Governments, and other organizations have active web sites on the Internet that provide a broad spectrum of information and services related to the Great Lakes. However, these efforts are ad hoc and not part of a coordinated policy on information management related to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. An enduring problem is the lack of an appropriate and readily accessible repository of information.