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Information and Decision Support Center, Cairo, Egypt: Website An Online Knowledge Hub with Simple Clicks IDSC

Company: Information and Decision Support Center
Company Description: IDSC affiliated to the Egyptian Cabinet, is one of Egypt's leading think tanks. It is a governmental non-profit think-tank offering professional and specialized services to the decision makers. IDSC strive to effectively support the ongoing developmental plans of the country, IDSC's role has emerged as the main governmental think-tank in Egypt, supporting the decision-making process.
Nomination Category: Web Site Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Award for Innovation in Non-Profit/NGO Websites
2023 Stevie Winner Nomination Title: Website An Online Knowledge Hub with Simple Clicks IDSC
  1. Optionally, you may list creative and production credits for your work - a list of the people and organizations that contributed to its development:

     

  2. Provide the date on which this nominated site was first published:

    IDSC launched its website in April 2000, making it one of the pioneering
    Egyptian government entities to establish an online presence. Through
    this, it declared its vision, strategic objectives, and organizational
    structure to the world. The website has undergone multiple
    development phases since its inception, culminating in the launch of the
    latest version in July 2023. This new iteration of the website serves as a
    reflection of the prominent role of IDSC as a leading governmental think
    tank. The center is dedicated to supporting decision-making, providing
    data, analysis, and accurate assessments to specialized researchers in
    political, economic, social, and technological domains. This
    commitment stems from the government's recognition of the
    significance attached to information accessibility.

    Constant Evolution: The Dynamic Purpose Behind IDSC Website’s Ongoing Journy.

    Since the beginning of the millennium until the latest version of the website, several iterations have been launched. Each version was tailored to meet the evolving requirements and expectations of users while keeping pace with rapid technological advancements. These upgrades aimed to enhance interactivity, align with user needs.

    The website holds significance for decision-makers, the research and academic community, as well as media
    and oversight bodies alike. It provides up-to-date and well-documented data, detailed studies, and
    comprehensive information to assess and monitor the impact and implementation of policies on both the
    national and sectoral levels. The website also offers a wide array of research outputs, whether in written, audio,
    or summarized forms, including informational 'infographics', addressing a diverse audience with varying
    information needs.

  3. Provide an essay of up to 625 words describing the website or blog and the innovative aspect of the site that you are nominating:

    Total 630 words used.

    Exploring the Upgrades in the LatestVersion of the Website

    The new version of the website is part of the commitment to providing
    research and informational services through the latest technological tools.
    This effort aims to support general citizens and researchers alike in accessing
    various knowledge and research content more easily and swiftly. The
    redesigned website facilitates access to a diverse range of research
    publications, covering economic, social, administrative, technological, and
    other fields, totaling over four thousand publications. The new version
    introduces new tools that allow users to select specific sectors of interest,
    thereby displaying knowledge or research content tailored to those choices.
    This enhances the ease of research and access to various Center
    publications and knowledge services in a segmented manner.

    Notably, the new version witnessed a significant enhancement in
    the main search engine on the homepage of the website. This
    upgrade enhances the accuracy of search result displays and the
    extraction of required information. The engine is equipped with
    the latest advanced search features, contributing to rapid
    navigation between the website's pages based on pre-defined
    user choices. This feature, in turn, amplifies page views and
    interactions on the Center's website, which has already achieved
    approximately 7 million views since January 2022.

    Moreover, the new version allows each user to create a personal
    account to save their preferences, including publications,
    research, indicators, and more. This feature saves users the
    hassle of searching for materials during each visit, thereby
    increasing the number of visits to the Center's website, which
    attracted around 2 million visits during the past year, after initially
    drawing about 1.5 million visitors.

    The development of the website relies on
    Progressive Web Application (PWA)
    technology, one of the latest web
    development techniques worldwide. This
    technology can be installed on various
    devices, enabling users to install the
    Center's website as a standalone
    application on smartphones or computers.

    This provides users with direct access from their
    device's home screen, eliminating the need to
    access the website through a browser. Additionally,
    the technology allows for automatic updates of the
    installed version whenever new content is added to
    the website, as long as the user's device is
    connected to the internet.

    Key Elements of the Latest Website
    Version: A Comprehensive Overview
    The redesigned website features six main sections:
    "Research Programs" - housing prominent political, strategic,
    and economic studies, as well as studies promoting sustainable
    development policies, digital transformation, and cybersecurity.
    "Data Hub" - presenting essential local, African, and Arab
    economic indicators, statistics, and local and global price
    trends. It includes the "Egypt in Figures" system, detailing the
    nation's developmental efforts both nationally and by sector.
    Additionally, it hosts the National Studies Database containing
    approximately 15,000 diverse studies, as well as 138 statistical
    indicators, known for their comprehensiveness, accuracy,
    consistency, and currency, covering all development areas in
    Egypt.
    "Featured Topics" - featuring an advanced search system for
    the Center's knowledge content. Results are filtered and
    presented according to main and sub-topics and keywords,
    along with recommendations for related content. This ensures a
    seamless browsing experience and easy access to information.

    "Smart Infographics" - in response to the digital
    transformation and rapid technological advancements in
    handling big data, the Center offers a collection of
    intelligent infographics, a first-of-its-kind in Egypt. These
    infographics display the temporal evolution of
    interconnected economic indicators over more than a
    quarter-century, providing updated information in interactive
    graphic formats that support economic decision-making.

    "Media Corner" - focused on disseminating the Center's
    intellectual production in simpler and more engaging
    formats, such as infographics, videos, and podcasts. The
    new version includes 873 infographics, 529 videos, and 963
    audio posts. This enables visitors to access diverse
    published materials through new tools, in addition to the
    textual news and reports produced by the Center, of which
    there are currently 2231 on the website.

Attachments/Videos/Links:
Website An Online Knowledge Hub with Simple Clicks IDSC
PDF IDSC_Webite_Report.pdf
MP4 IDSC_webSite.mp4
URL IDSC website