“Back to the future”: electronic records management in the twenty‐first century
| Pages | 103-107 |
| Published date | 01 December 2002 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09565690210454932 |
| Date | 01 December 2002 |
| Author | Niall Sinclair |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
``Back to the future'':
electronic records
management in the
twenty-first century
Niall Sinclair
The knowledge era
The empires of the future are empires of the
mind (Winston Churchill).
Information management (IM) has become a
topic that is generating a lot of attention at
every level within the Canadian public
service. It is apparent to those involved in the
IM community that whilst there is awareness
and interest concerning the topic, there is also
a limited understanding as to its impacts and
scope. Those impacts are being felt at every
level, and within every information process, as
we convert ourselves to e-governments. At the
same time we are encountering a new level of
stress, as we attempt to reconcile our
emerging understanding of how things will
work in our ``future world'' with the way they
currently work in a world we created from a
very different set of assumptions and
understanding. We are having to examine the
very nature of our work, learning to live with
constant change, and attempting to
understand that success lies in how well we
can share, learn and collaborate with others,
not in how well we can accumulate and
control information. Most uncomfortable of
all is the fact that this change is being brought
about through external, not internal forces, as
citizens demand that we do it better, faster
and in-line with their expectations, not ours.
However, as we look to the future, the
public service is increasingly aware that the
``same old, same old'' approach to the
business of government will no longer suffice
if we are to address the requirements of an
``e-world'', peopled by online, and real time,
citizenry. Futurists tell us that profound
change results when a society's underlying
science or mythology changes. Some call
these ``breakpoints,'' moments when
profound shifts of mind and thinking lead to
changes in our behavioural patterns. The
``breakpoint'' we are living through now is the
transition to e-government, and it will
profoundly affect the way we will view and use
government's information assets in the future.
IM is the compass to help us navigate
through this uncharted sea as we set sail
towards the promised land of e-government,
and fundamental to the success of any IM
initiatives will be the robustness of the records
management discipline within the
public sector.
The author
Niall Sinclair is Director at Knowledge Management
Initiatives, PWGSC, Government of Canada, Quebec,
Canada.
Keywords
Records management, Strategic management,
Government, Canada
Abstract
Canada has tasked itself with delivering e-government to
its citizens by the year 2005 and the Canadian
Government has recognized that improving the
management of its information holdings is critical to
successfully meeting the challenge. As Canadians become
accustomed to online services from the private sector,
they expect client-centric and customized service from
government and for government to use business
processes that make sense when used in an electronic
service delivery environment. Technology's ability to
disseminate information quickly and in large volumes,
bring an increased need for transparency to
e-government. E-government increases the need for
visible accountability. This in turn, increases the need for
accountability for information produced and used by
government. It pushes information management from an
invisible back office activity into the front lines of service
delivery. This article looks at the evolving accountability
for managing information within the public service, and
some of the approaches the Canadian Government is
taking to help address those accountabilities.
Electronic access
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The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
103
Records Management Journal
Volume 12 .Number 3 .2002 .pp. 103±107
#MCB UP Limited .ISSN 0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/09565690210454932
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