Developments in electronic information systems in social welfare agencies: from simple to complex

The problems with current forms of electronic information systems (IS) being used by social welfare agencies have been documented by researchers internationally and attention is turning to how they might be better designed and used. In this article, drawing from ethnographic research about IS implementation and evaluation with a number of social welfare agencies, two different approachesuone simple and one complexuto designing and using IS in social welfare agencies are presented. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach, as emerged from discussions with research participants, are explored. The aim of the article is to assist both decision makers and practitioners in social welfare agencies to clarify their needs in relation to how future IS are designed and used