ARCHIVED - Internal Audit and Evaluation Bureau - Audit of Electronic Record Keeping

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
•  

This page has been archived.

Appendix D: Management Response and Action Plan

Management Response

Corporate Services Sector / Information Management and Technology Directorate (CSS/IMTD) has developed an information management (IM) road map that will provide the necessary strategy, guidance and high-level planning to ensure that the IM role is carried out beneficially within the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (the Secretariat). This road map will encompass and embed the Management Action Plan activities of the audit of electronic record keeping, ensuring a comprehensive holistic approach to IM activities and stewardship at the Secretariat. The target completion for this project is three years.

Key Activities:

• IM Practices: Update IM practices to focus on electronic IM and to fully leverage the records management tools and software available to the Secretariat. A component of this key activity will be the conclusion of IM agreements with each Sector/Branch. These agreements will outline roles and responsibilities and identify both the information assets of business value and the required methods of managing these assets to enable the business. Discussions on concluding these agreements will determine needs and gaps and will help determine ongoing IM priorities.
• Enterprise Taxonomy: Consolidate the existing taxonomies and put an emphasis on functions (derived from the Secretariat's Program Activity Architecture) over subject to create a more evergreen product.
• Records Management Tools: Upgrade IM products by providing increased functionality and social media and Web 2.0 applications to IM users.
• Collaboration: Develop the Secretariat's corporate approach to software, business processes and IM.
• Electronic Information Flow: Integrate IM practices into business processes and workflows to lessen the burden on users and to increase the accuracy of records metadata while encouraging the use of electronic records. Limit the collection and storage of paper records to those deemed necessary to collect and manage in that format. 

Recommendation 1:

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) should define performance expectations and performance measures for IM strategies and operational activities, and should ensure periodic reviews and reports on performance results (including compliance) against these expectations.

Priority Ranking: High

Management Action

1. Recommendation is accepted and agreed to.
2. Performance metrics are now part of the overall IMTD governance structure.
   • IM expectations will be reviewed and defined; (Completion Date: Q4 2011–12)
   • Metrics will be established; and (Completion Date: Q4 2011–12)
   • Metrics will be measured and reported. (Completion Date: Q1 2012–13)
3. Determine objectives and targets for areas of improvement to be included in the TBS IM Road Map project. (Completion Date: Q1 2012–13)

Office of Primary Interest (OPI)

IMTD leads; Other TBS organizational units to participate

Recommendation 2:

The CIO should define monitoring and reporting roles and responsibilities for IM in order to meet the needs of the Secretariat and to ensure that IM strategies and goals are met. This should be done by leveraging the knowledge of sectors and defining their responsibilities for IM, while respecting the holistic IM stewardship responsibilities of the Enterprise Information Management Services (EIMS) group within the Secretariat. Once defined, these roles and responsibilities should be approved by the Secretariat's governance committees to ensure acceptance.

Priority Ranking: High

Management Action

1. Recommendation is accepted and agreed to.
2. As part of the Secretariat's IM Road Map Project, agreements on roles and responsibilities will be concluded with all Sectors/Branches. Additionally, the IM Road Map Project will define a life-cycle management plan for identified information assets and will include a time frame for cyclical reviews.
   • Obtain senior management approval to begin. (Completion Date: Q4 2011–12)
   • Work with Sectors and Branches to draft agreements. (Completion Date: Q3 2012–13)
   • Accept and sign off agreements. (Completion Date: Q4 2012–13)

Office of Primary Interest (OPI)

IMTD leads; Other TBS organizational units to participate

Recommendation 3:

The CIO should develop an inventory of existing IM practices and should identify key practices that may be transferable or applicable to the Secretariat as a whole. It is also recommended that EIMS should develop department-wide IM practices and tools based on these key practices, as appropriate, and should ensure that existing sector capabilities are leveraged to support their development and implementation.

Priority Ranking: Medium

Management Action

1. Recommendation is accepted and agreed to.
2. Document known processes, publish them on InfoSite, and communicate them to the department. (Completion Date: Posted by Q4 2011–12)
3. The IM Road Map Project will facilitate an information/inventory gathering exercise to determine whether other best practices exist and how to incorporate them into departmental strategy (Completion Date: Q4 2012–13)

Office of Primary Interest (OPI)

IMTD with some input from business managers

Recommendation 4:

The CIO, in conjunction with sectors, should perform a gap analysis of the IM life cycle of electronic records to ensure that consistent IM life-cycle practices are in place across the Secretariat and information repositories, ensuring that:

• Information needs and processes are defined, documented, and periodically reviewed for all of the Secretariat's user groups; and
• Policies and training are updated to support the consistent application of these practices and to meet the needs of the Secretariat's user.

Priority Ranking:High

Management Action

1. Recommendation is accepted and agreed to.
2. The IM Road Map Project will define the needs and processes to be captured and documented in the IM agreements. (Completion Date: Q4 2012–13)
3. As part of the IM Road Map Project, an Enterprise taxonomy will be developed with a cyclical, built-in review process for business line/functional activities. (Completion Date: Q2 2012–13)
4. IM training will include:
   • email management; (Completion Date: Q3 2011–12)
   • an RDIMS on-line training tool; and (Completion Date: Q4 2011–12)
   • general IM/record-keeping training. (Completion Date: Q3 2011–12)
5. Disposition strategy to eliminate legacy electronic repositories, e.g., shared drives, will be included as part of the IM Road Map Project. (Completion Date: Q4 2011–12)

Office of Primary Interest (OPI)

IMTD leads, with participation as required from the Secretariat

---

Footnotes

[1] Guideline for Employees of the Government of Canada: Information Management (IM) Basics

[2] Guideline for Employees of the Government of Canada: Information Management (IM) Basics

• Previous Page
• Table of Contents
•