Information is essential to improving and delivering public services, and has been inexorably linked with technology since the term 'IT' was coined some 15 years ago.
But how many IT departments spend 50 per cent of their time considering the ramifications of their organisation's information, and how best to access, store and manage the growing number of terabytes of reports, presentations and forms?
The focus within the IT industry has been very much on the technology half of IT, which means that organisations - both public and private - often invest in sophisticated systems, such as data warehouses, without considering their information objectives.
Many of us have a love-hate relationship with information, and still cling to the 'file for later' mentality. Except that these days it's on a hard drive instead of in a metal cabinet in the corner of the office.
This attitude has to change if all the information now being generated in the public sector is to benefit the organisation, the people it serves and other government bodies.
The challenge for the IT department is to initiate this change, and to ensure that the necessary processes and policies are put in place to create a cost-effective, efficient information management strategy.
So what expertise do you need to create this information strategy? Well, the good news is that you will have probably already developed many of these skills during your career in IT, but you do need to be prepared for a lot of research and analysis.
A thorough understanding of how information is used across the organisation is the starting point for any data management project.
Therefore, you should begin by analysing the level and type of data your organisation generates, which elements need to be stored, and how rapidly you need to access them.
This process will also help you decide who owns the information and who is responsible for keeping it up-to-date. All sectors of the organisation should be involved in the development phase, so make sure you brush up on your communication skills.
When developing information policies and systems, it is important to build in the functionality for people to share relevant data externally.
Although the 'ownership' of information is important, it is essential that people don't also consider themselves as gatekeepers.
A report by the Society of IT Management and the Improvement & Development Agency highlighted that the sharing of knowledge is a key challenge for the public sector.
Unless government organisations share the information and expertise generated from new online services with their peers, many councils will find themselves reinventing the wheel. The transition to e-government is challenging enough without the problem of a poor or non-existent information flow.
You also need to be prepared for this culture of information sharing to extend way beyond the corridors of power.
The Freedom of Information Act is due to come into force in January 2005, and will allow anyone to make a request for information held on them by a public body.
As a result, public sector IT professionals need to ensure that systems and processes are developed to allow the organisation to respond swiftly and accurately to such requests.
The complexity of managing information in the public sector is likely to grow as online services take shape and we enter the second phase of e-government after 2005.
However, by developing the right management processes and policies now, you will be able to ensure that information is your friend and not your foe.
Quelle: Vnunet
