In a comprehensive study of Freedom of Information (FOI) laws in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, researchers acting on behalf of ARMA International and its Educational Foundation examined what records managers may need to know to comply with such laws.
Following is an excerpt from their 80-page report, which can be found in its entirety online at the ARMA International Educational Foundation Web site at www.armaedfoundation.org.
A NECESSARY ROLE
There is no doubt that freedom of information legislation is an opportunity for records managers, if they are willing to seize it. It is not by chance that the U.K. legislation includes provision for a Code of Practice on records management. Staff of the National Archives fought hard for it to be there, against considerable opposition. Its very existence now makes the point to all that you cannot operate an effective FOI regime unless you have good records management (RM) systems in place.
In the U.K., the Information Commissioner now regularly refers in public presentations to the importance of records management. Local authorities’ staff members in the U.K. suggest that the existence of the code, by emphasizing the importance and relevance of records management, has enabled them to push their work a little higher in the priorities of their authorities—never an easy task.
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"Any freedom of information legislation is only as good as the quality of the records to which it provides access. Such rights are of little use if reliable records are not created in the first place, if they cannot be found when needed or if the arrangements for their eventual archiving or destruction are inadequate." (From the Introduction to the Code of Practice on Records Management issued by the Lord Chancellor under section 46 of the U.K. FOI Act.•
"It is important to remember that the act brings with it not only the obligation to publish and provide information but also a much more rigorous approach to records management than many public authorities have been used to up until now." (Comment from the Web site of the U.K. Information Commissioner)•
"Government initiatives such as Modernizing Government, Freedom of Information legislation and e-Government targets all impose obligations to manage electronic records. However it has not yet been an issue that has achieved a significant profile among local government policy makers." (From "Archives in the Digital Age – A Study for Resource," Dec. 2002.)What then are the main points for records managers to be aware of and to make to their senior management (or customers)?
PIVOTAL POINTS
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The involvement and understanding of senior management is essential in developing adequate RM policies and systems to meet information access needs.•
Records management and information access need to sit in the same management chain, and communication between the teams (if they are separate teams, rather than parts of the same) needs to be good.•
Records managers’ knowledge of the organization’s records is an asset and could be used effectively in developing access policy as well as advising on processing of requests.•
Electronic Records Management Systems (ERMS) are essential to all organizations as we move to an environment where almost all records are created, stored, managed and disposed of electronically. ERMS is increasingly also the only way to underpin information access and retrieval adequately.•
Having the right systems may depend on technology but defining and using them to secure effective freedom of information is a management issue not a technological one. Records managers should led or have a key role in it.•
Having a wide range of separate public sector and government bodies operate the same systems and procedures for FOI is excellent if it works well, but it is not essential. What is essential is that each organization should have an effective set of systems and processes that meets its needs and the needs of the legislation currently in force.•
Records or information? In both cases though there will be specialist issues, such as the competent redaction of information where only part of a file can be released, which will involve the records manager.•
There are clear workload and staffing implications for records managers when FOI legislation is introduced or amended. New or changed needs may require more staff and staff with new and different skills. These are part of the overall resource implications of FOI.•
Records management staff should be sensitive to culture change in their organization.•
That said, they will also need to adapt to the policies of the current administration even where these reverse trends towards openness. But it is to be hoped that in principle all records managers see their task as enabling, not restricting, access to the information they manage.PATH TO IMPROVEMENT
Compliance with FOI legislation, especially new acts or revisions of older acts, gives opportunity to state the case for improved records management.
There is no easy solution to how to do this. But, given the right incentive and commitment, most public bodies can be persuaded, over time, to make the necessary steps. You need to:
Recognize the issue
. Everyone in your organization, especially its senior managers, must recognize the need for records management and agree to work together to achieve it.Be explicit
. Your corporate policies, your corporate plan, your IT or e-business strategy, whatever you have, must clearly indicate your corporate commitment to the importance of dealing with the issue of sustaining the management of your electronic information and records so they can do all that is required of themThink carefully about what records you have.
A good starting point is an information audit, telling you exactly what records you hold or are responsible for, how many there are, how long you need to keep them and so on.Find the solution that works for you.
You don’t have to have the most complex or expensive solution, but one that’s geared to what you do.Plan carefully.
Don’t jump straight in by buying a new and expensive system. Preparatory work will repay the time and effort it takes.Get your management team on board.
Senior managers and departmental managers have to understand, and support, what is being done and be prepared to sell it to their staff.Get the right help.
You need trained and experienced records management staff or advisors with the right skills to help you.Don’t just think IT.
Managing electronic records is a management, not an IT, problem. The system you buy is only part of it. You must also:•
Make all your staff members understand what is needed and why—change the culture.•
Spend time preparing and training staff so they play an active part.•
Make sure the training and the change is firmly embedded.Use others’ experience. Talk to other organizations you deal with. Their experience may well be relevant to your specific needs and complement advice and guidance you get, for example, from a Web site.
Allow enough time. You can’t do a quick fix and make it work. Typically, from start to finish, specifying, procuring and implementing a full EDRMS (electronic document and records management system) is going to take at least two years and it could be double that. Doing it fast isn’t the issue; doing it well is.
Mark Glover, Sarah Holsen, Craig MacDonald, Mehrangez Rahman and Duncan Simpson
The authors are part of the Constitution Unit of the Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy at University College of London, U.K. They conducted and wrote their study on behalf of the Houston Chapter of ARMA International and the ARMA International Educational Foundation Endowment Fund.
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