We are pleased to be able to launch our new information management self-assessment tool, developed to help government organisations assess the effectiveness of their approach to information and records management. It’s the culmination of two years’ work.
It is not intended to replace the formal Information Management Assessment process. The National Archives will continue to assess core government departments. This tool will complement our formal programme, and enable us to extend the benefits of assessment to a wider government and public sector audience.
Self-assessing information and records management is not a new concept. We wanted to take the best bits from previous tools and create an online tool that was easy to use and offered greater functionality than a spreadsheet. It is based on Moodle which we have also used for our e-learning packages.
The self-assessment tool is divided into five modules:
- Valuing your information
- Managing digital information throughout its lifecycle
- Managing information risk and information assurance
- Governing information and records management
- Reviewing and transferring records
You can complete some or all of these modules as required and will receive results for each module. This will give you the flexibility to target the assessment in the areas where you need it most. Questions are in a simple multiple-choice format and results include an overall Red Amber Green (RAG) rating for each area and feedback.
There is also an end user questionnaire which will enable you to build up a picture of how information and records are being managed out in the business.
Feedback is designed to help you improve your organisation’s approach to information and records management. Ideally these points should be used to create an action plan which also documents appropriate owners for each activity and timescales for completion.
For maximum impact, we recommend that action plans should be signed off at a senior level and progress should be reported to an appropriately senior governance board. We recommend Public Record Bodies should discuss their results, action plan and progress with The National Archives.
We hope that you find the tool useful and are keen to hear your feedback: information.management@nationalarchives.gov.uk.