A SDSS for integrated management of health and education facilities at the local level : challenges and opportunities in a developing country

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to discuss challenges and opportunities met during the development of a SDSS (Spatial Decision Support System) for integrated management of health and education facilities at the local level in Brazil. The goal of the proposed system is to seek for an optimal arrangement of health and education facilities in medium-sized cities, in order to reduce both facilities construction costs and user's transportation costs that ought to be produced during a time span of two to four decades. Some of the operational difficulties observed during the early implementation steps of the proposed SDSS are discussed in this paper. Apparently, they can be relevant in the practical application of similar systems. The described experience also suggests that the implementation of systems like the one proposed here can be an opportunity to drive a change in the way that local governments in developing countries deal with planning.