The Institute of Information Management (IIM) Africa and the Nigeria National Accreditation System ( NiNAS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the fields of accreditation and training of data, information, records, archives, knowledge and document management practitioners in the country.
The President/Chairman of IIM-Africa, Dr. Oyedokun Oyewole, signed on behalf of the Institute that is improving professionalism in the essential field, as required in functions such as healthcare, finance, administration, engineering, construction, project management, procurement, IT, communications, among others.
Also, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NiNAS, Celestine Okanya, signed on behalf of Nigeria’s national accreditation body, recognised internationally to accredit conformity assessment bodies (CABs) such as laboratories (testing, medical testing, and calibration), inspection bodies, and certification bodies, in accordance with the relevant International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) series of standards and guides.
According to Oyewole, “the purpose of MoU is to provide a framework for the parties’ cooperation in the field of accreditation and training.”
He added, “This MOU covers the relationship between NiNAS and IIM-Africa on matters of accreditation and training, in general, to strengthen quality infrastructure in Nigeria especially in Data and Information management and technology.”
He listed the areas of cooperation to include; promotion of accreditation for conformity assessment in the field of data and information protection/privacy, data and information lifecycle management as well as technology and other implementation tools. Other areas of collaboration include planning of training on International standards and promotion of Information Management and conformity among stakeholders in the Industry.
“The MoU signing happened at the right time, when we need to train data and information managers in order to assist various organisations to seize the emerging opportunities and meet the evolving challenges of managing data and information in the era of knowledge, artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, machine learning and internet of things (IoT).
“So, with NiNAS on board, we will have an exchange of experience and technical information on accreditation; and conduct joint stakeholder advocacy meetings to engender quality data and information management and certification among policymakers, organisations, and individuals,” Oyewole added.
