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Federal and state agencies are looking for strategies to help them manage vast amounts of information in ways that can help reduce costs, eliminate inefficient paper driven processes, comply with e-discovery requirements, and increase openness and transparency. The Center for Technology in Government (CTG) at the University at Albany/SUNY is helping one such agency in New York State with a set of tools that will enable them to effectively and efficiently accomplish these critical needs.

CTG recently completed a project with the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). This agency sought to integrate core business processes and associated records and other information resources into an agency wide Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system. In collaboration with HCR staff, a team of CTG researchers used business process mapping and its extensive experience working on government information management initiatives to help develop and pilot an ECM strategy that can be applied across the entire agency. 

“A comprehensive enterprise content management strategy can be a powerful tool in this era of government restructuring and downsizing. Such a strategy with its policy, management, as well as technology components will enable agency staff to transform work practices and continue improving services to our customers,” said Duane Averill, Assistant Director, Data Processing Technical Services, at HCR. “Our project with CTG provided us with a detailed How To Guide and set of practical tools to implement such a strategy.”

“For over a decade government agencies have been under pressure to use information technologies to be more efficient and productive while reducing costs,” said Derek Werthmuller, director of innovative technologies at CTG. “However, the implementation of these types of systems is no simple matter and requires that attention be paid to and investments made in management and policy capabilities as well as technology.”

Specifically, the HCR project involved the following:

• Exploring the capabilities of HCR’s existing technology tools and identifying the business process to be used as a pilot during the project.
• Mapping out the selected core business process and its information relationships to improve the process, identify key records, and determine the records to be retained in the ECM system.
• Identifying records retention requirements and security classifications.
• Mapping the business process and associated documents to the ECM system.
• Developing project report, templates, and tools and products for agency wide implementation.

The HCR project resulted in a generalizable process and set of tools and strategies that can be applied to any organization seeking to develop strategies for improved information access, business process efficiency or improvement, e-discovery, or general information or records management issues.

These tools include an ECM Strategy Five Step Intake Process and a Guide to Business Process Analysis (BPA) for an Enterprise Content Management Intake Process, a “how to” guide including scripts and templates on conducting a BPA that can support the intake of program units records into an ECM.

For more information, visit the project page>> 

The mission of the Center for Technology in Government at the University at Albany is to foster public sector innovation, enhance capability, generate public value, and support good governance. We carry out this mission through applied research, knowledge sharing, and collaboration at the intersection of policy, management, and technology. 

The University at Albany-SUNY has a broad mission of excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, life-enhancing research and scholarship, and a commitment to public service. A University at Albany education brings the world within reach to students through nine schools and colleges, and an honors college. A student body of more than 17,000 students has a global connection to more than 140,000 alumni. For more information about this internationally ranked institution, visit www.albany.edu. For UAlbany's extensive roster of faculty experts, visit www.albany.edu/news/experts.php.