Identification of information needs[edit]

This stage involves reflecting on education objectives within the context of national plans (including
national key performance indicators) and international commitments such as SDG 4. Once needs are
clearly identified and agreed by all stakeholder, the appropriate data collection instruments and
approaches should be developed.[2]

Data collection, processing, and analysis[edit]

Many countries assign different roles and responsibilities to different departments for the collection of
education data both at the school and the district provincial levels. In some countries, data collection for
different educational subsectors might be the responsibility of different ministries (e.g. data on early
childhood education may be collected by a ministry of social affairs).[2]
Data collection for an information base at the local level is not a process that can be established in a
single step. In order to be effective for ongoing monitoring, this information base must be dynamic and
have an appropriate mechanism for regular updates.[5] After collection of data from the different entities,
and data entry (if collection was done manually), data must then go through a data validation process. [6]
Data validation is therefore part of data processing, which happens after the data collection. Because
data can contain personal and sensitive information, there must be sound processes for their storage
and protection. After ensuring the data are collected and processed, the next step in the data
management cycle is analysis.[2]
In analysing data, the needs of EMIS end users - which can include decision-makers, planners,
researchers, information service providers, students, and teachers - should be taken into account. The
availability of EMIS data at school, regional, and national levels promotes the use of data to improve
school facilities and staffing, classroom, and school management.[2]

Data reporting, dissemination and use[edit]

At the stage of reporting and dissemination, the strategy is to have all the stakeholders access the
relevant information generated from education management information systems. Reports can be
prepared in different forms for different purposes: