Information and Knowledge Management using ArcGIS ModelBuilder

Karen Anderson, Göran Samuelsson and Marie Morner Jansson
companies. The survey achieved a 47% response rate. The web survey tool used was Netigate,
which provided a summary and graphic representation of all responses.
Selected archivists and senior managers were interviewed to gain deeper understandings of issues
and challenges identified from the survey responses. Archivists were an important target group for the
interviews partly because the benchmark originated in Archives and Information Science research
and partly because this profession views information conceptually over time. Other professions
working with aspects of IM were: enterprise architects, information architects, a CIO and a business
process developer, lawyers, product documentation managers, IT-researchers and an environmental
manager. The interviewees then recommended additional participants. An interview guide was used
as a starting point, but the interviews were conducted as a conversation, between 1.5–2 hours and
sometimes longer.
3. Research findings
3.1 Key findings from the survey
The web-based questionnaire was targeted at the person in the organization who has the best overall
view of IM. The respondents were divided as follows: archivists 38%; IT managers / IT strategists /
information architects 22%; business process managers / developers 8%; registrars (operational
records managers) 2% and some other role 31%. Many responding organizations had difficulty in
identifying one person or position who could answer the questionnaire. There were some instances of
people from different professions and competence groups collaborating to answer the questionnaire.
An interesting observation is that there appeared to be some confusion around the concept of
“information” and who is responsible for its management in contemporary Swedish organizations.
There was no clear ‘ownership’ of IM, which is a matter for concern given the importance of
information governance for effective functioning of an organization. Responding organizations were:
82 municipalities, 79 government departments, 6 county councils and 3 companies.
3.1.1 Information use and users
The Swedish principle of citizens’ access to public documents gives anyone access to the records at
governmental and local authorities as soon as records are created or received, without any need to
justify their request. This is a fundamental cornerstone in the Swedish democracy. Nevertheless many
business leaders, focusing on cost cutting, are challenging this principle by asking for clarification of
purpose, particularly for long-term digital preservation but also considering secondary use of
information that may benefit other organizations. The PSI-directive (European Commission) which is
the European Union requirement that information created by public service organizations is freely
available for re-use by other organizations and businesses, requires making a wider range of
information available for re-use and re-purposing than that which is traditionally managed by
archivists under the definition of a public document given above.
We asked about users of the records and archives. 47% of use was by internal employees. The rest
was divided between different groups of external users like partners 13%; other organizations 14 %;
researchers 24%; and also the media 18%. Respondents reported a slight increase in external
demand recently. However, there is very little movement towards implementing strategies for
increasing the use and use benefits of records. 42% answered a clear no, not at all. 12% reported
action being taken to increase interest in information reuse. One respondent from this last group said:
“we welcome it and are adapting to the increasing demand”. There were many PR and
Communication officers with a special interest in communicating externally amongst respondents.
3.1.2 Organization-wide regulatory frameworks for IM
In response to questions about an organization-wide regulatory framework for managing documents
and information over time, 41% of respondents stated they have an updated framework considering
information regardless of media over time, 22% have a partial framework and 30% are in the process
of developing such a framework. At first glance it appears that many organizations are on track, but
upon closer inspection, there seems to be a lack of an overall vision and strategy founded in the new
digital and social media environment. Only 22% have comprehensive regulations for the use of social
media. 58% are either in the process of developing a framework for the use of social media or have
partially dealt with this issue. A full 36% have no framework for this increasingly important information
strategy. Barely 1/3 has a clear vision and purpose for their IT management with a strategy that
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