Do We Have a Profession?
The somewhat controversial sounding title of this morning's session was posed to us by Natalie Ceeney, head of The National Archives (TNA) and as of last night, IWR's Information Professional of the Year.
"We are now living in an 'information society'" said Ceeney, whether that is through the daily use of tools such as Google to Wikipedia and a host of social networking services. During her 8 years in the profession she has seen the importance of information rise in the organisation from that of the outsider to of critical importance.
Information of course is the life blood of public services, it has a fundamental impact on the education system said Ceeney. Information is now a mainstream issue in British politics and recognised as such at the most senior level.
What has been driving Ceeney however is her quest to get us all to consider how much of an asset information is to business and to get that recognised by the most senior decision makers. Just as importantly it's about getting recognition for those who actually work with information and the skills they bring.
Ceeney explained how a report from Cap Gemini released in March this year, found that by not exploiting their information assets, the cost to organisations equated to lost opportunities of approximately £46bn in the private sector and £21bn in public sector.
Where does this all sit for information professionals? For Ceeney, it's about how the info pros define themselves. The culture is such that "we define ourselves by our sub professions - librarians, record managers, archivists she said, "The problem is because everyone has a different job description there is a lack of a cohesive identity for info pros among the organisation." Because of that definitive description, the due recognition is amiss in their organisation.
"If we sub-divide ourselves too much there is a risk that jobs are given to other departments as they don't fit properly at the moment." "Why do we think we are so different from other departments in the organisation?" Ceeney asked, murmurs of consent rippled around the room.
Ceeney outlined her own experiences within government as an example such as her role in the data handling review, getting the acknowledgement of information as an asset. The crux of her point was that these ideas are less for the profession and more for the eyes of senior management.
In making information management mainstream, Ceeney gave us the example of her Digital Continuity project that meant a joined up strategy of information management across government rather than each department trying to achieve it themselves and the great cost each would generate.
The biggest challenge we have got is getting senior people to realise that this matters and less the information professional.
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