| Abstract: | The study sought to assess the practice and challenges of implementing an electronic regulatory
system project in the case of the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority. For this study, the researcher
used both a Mixed Approach as well as a Descriptive Design. The researcher used primary data
collection tools such as structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Of the 186
employees, who use the shared portal (eRIS), the researcher took 127 professional permanent
employees as a sample size for this study using a simple random sampling technique. The findings
revealed that the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority's practice of electronic Regulatory
Information System project implementation was good when measured from the perspectives of
electronic Regulatory Information System practices such as efficiency, security/privacy,
fulfillment, and system availability. The project site's service performance was successful on the
first request; the site provided prompt service and can be retrieved quickly enough; the project
site was tailored to each user's needs and was compatible with their preferred browser.
Additionally, the website included up-to-date information and was user-friendly and wellorganized.
The study came to the additional conclusion that when viewed from the perspective of
challenges like the inconvenience of downloading or uploading data on the site forms, ease of
accessibility, and a lack of necessary knowledge to address user inquiries, the practice of
electronic Regulatory Information System project implementation was in a good position. This
conclusion was drawn from the fact that the project did not experience any significant issues
concerning employees' capacities for eliciting confidence and trust, their inability to exhibit a
sincere interest in resolving users' issues, their promptness in responding to users' queries, and
their provision of unnecessary data for authentication. Regarding technology and infrastructure,
the project didn't face any significant obstacles. The project's implementation, however, was
challenged by stakeholder resistance to change and unwanted data produced by site visitors. The
study recommends that management should implement the necessary corrective actions to raise
awareness among its important stakeholder groups, including businesses and government
authorities. Additionally, it is recommended that the management should understand the reasons
and effects of unintentional data shared by site visitors and take proper action in response. |
