Its all fine and dandy to have FOI legislation, but it is only as good as the information held and the manner it is held in. Without implementing existing record keeping procedures, we’re doing nothing other than playing a game of hide and go randomly seek, or appear to be ignoring the need for accountable and transparent government; which locally is perceived to be the cultural status quo.
The importance of records management is said to be a key component of freedom of information legislation. But why is it seen this way?
The application of the Law itself makes it clear that FOI will only be as good as the quality of information it relates to. Simply, if no record exists you cannot provide access to it. Similarly if you cannot find it, you cannot provide access to it. Thus, without such recorded evidence there is no transparency and no accountability. Consequently, emphasis is not only placed on ensuring that information is held as long as required and is readily accessible, but also that the proper information is being created in the first place in order to accurately document the decisions being made or transactions undertaken.
Most authorities over the years, have amassed an extensive backlog of unmanaged, duplicate or superfluous information. What was once accepted as a minor inconvenience filling up a dusty storeroom, now has the potential to severely impede an authority’s ability to comply with the law and will undoubtedly increase the resources required to respond to requests. This inability then results in an authority claiming that it would be an “unreasonable diversion of resources” to attempt to locate a record that may or may not exist within that store of records. Surely this is not accountability and transparency.
If fewer records were retained it would address the issues relating to storing and searching records- common sense right? This however would serve no better purpose than keeping the records in a poorly managed state as in the example above. The inability to provide records would still be the result. There are relevant accountability, business and community expectations which dictate what class of information should be kept, and how long that information must be kept to show what actions have transpired. It is this separation of the ‘wheat from the chaff’ which is key, and where the practices of appraisal and retention management, being the foundation of records management, come into their own. Ensuring that quality information is recorded and kept for an appropriate period of time is essential for the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation and its development over time. Without good records and record keeping an organization will not be able to learn from the past.
The beauty of our FOI Law is that it accords with the discipline and profession of records management, in that they both relate to and espouse the importance [of] records. Because while all records are information, not all information is a record.
Like many already developed countries, this “Island that time [once] forgot” is relatively new to a systematic (or legally prescribed) approach to records management.
Not to imply that any form of information/record management control did not exist in the past – to the contrary.
In fact, the National Archive and Public Records Law came into effect in 2007. What seems to have been lacking is a sense of a consistent, organisation-wide approach with good practice confined not to individual departments, but as the underpinning of government practices on a whole.
Thus we return to the realisation that in order for FOI to succeed, there must be a cultural change. Records management policies and Laws can be created, file plans and retention schedules can be agreed upon; but the real challenge is to convince staff to cease filing information as they please and to welcome the proper and accountable way of working that is records management.
Two and a half years have passed and the FOI Law has made significant achievements; however, now more than ever, FOI must continue to remain a priority and driving force for change within all of government. Every record properly created and filed, is an instance of accountability and transparency for the government and a win for Freedom of Information.
Sonji Myles is an Intake Analyst with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
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