Information Management — Headache or Opportunity?
| Published date | 01 July 2009 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0952076709103815 |
| Author | Natalie Ceeney |
| Date | 01 July 2009 |
| Subject Matter | Features Section: Public Policy and Practice |
Information Management –
Headache or Opportunity?
The Challenges that the Recent Focus on Information
Management is Presenting to Senior Leaders in the
Public Sector
Natalie Ceeney
Chief Executive, The National Archives, and Government Head of Profession for
Knowledge & Information Management, UK
Abstract There has been significant recent focus on information and data handling in
the public sector prompted, in part, by the loss of two discs from HMRC in
late 2007 containing the details of 25 million citizens. This article explores
the issues behind this new focus, and examines how many of the underlying
issues are either new, or really different from the issues that Boards explore
every day in relation to other business challenges. Drawing on recent
publications as well as from the author’s experience as Government Head of
Profession in this arena, this article argues that information assets are as much
opportunities as risks, and that the opportunities are still poorly understood,
and information assets underexploited. It also proposes that Boards need to
treat information management as a core business challenge, and use existing
techniques, particularly that of risk management and cultural change, to
ensure that they address the critical challenges that digital information
presents.
Keywords data handling, governance, information management, leadership, risk
management
Introduction
It seems we cannot read a newspaper today without reading about a data breach,
concerns about how our information is used, or a scandal as a result of information
DOI: 10.1177/0952076709103815
Natalie Ceeney, The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU, UK.
[email: natalie.ceeney@nationalarchives.gov.uk] 339
© The Author(s), 2009.
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200907 24(3) 339–347
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