INFORMATION MANAGER SURVEY REPORT, 2014

4 November 2014

Information Manager Survey 2014 results are in!

The ICO has today released the Information Manager Survey Report, 2014.

In September 2014 the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) conducted a survey of Information Managers (IMs) across the Public Sector, focused on identifying the current profile of IMs, their experiences and training needs. The survey came about as the ICO has become increasingly concerned about the dwindling support and training available to IMs. The survey was anonymous and voluntary,and a total of 90 individuals participated, which equates to a response rate of 63%.The survey shows that most IMs have received past training and advice. They have several years of experience and can count on adequate support within their organizations to fulfill their role well. A majority of IMs are keen on renewing or enhancing their knowledge by taking additional FOI training. However, especially new IMs have not been trained and appear to have nowhere to turn for casespecific advice. Some of them do not have consistent access to people, records and senior management support in their organizations, and too many do not use the central tracking system.

Speaking about the survey, Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers said: “IMs are absolutely key to making the FOI Law work. Unfortunately, in recent years the training and advice available to them has declined. I hope this survey can give a new boost to basic training for new IMs and refresher training for experienced IMs to ensure the ongoing success of the FOI Law.”

The full Survey Report (download at: http://www.infocomm.ky/images/Survey%20of%20Information%20Managers%20Report%202014-11-03.pdf) and (anonymous) summary data collected via Survey Monkey are available on the ICO website at http://www.infocomm.ky/document-library . View the full report and find out more about what pay grades IMs are in, how many IMs are being recognized (financially or otherwise) for their FOI duties, how many IMs are satisfied with training provided by the FOI Unit and the ICO, how many feel that they have adequate access to colleagues, responsive records and support from senior management needed to fulfil their FOI duties, as well a range of other areas.

The survey revealed that one quarter of IMs do not have access to JADE which can be accessed internally through the government’s central computer system as well as externally via the internet. It also showed that one third of the IMs have yet to receive training for the tracking system.

Speaking on the results of the survey, Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers said, “IMs are absolutely key to making the FOI Law work. Unfortunately, in recent years the training and advice available to them has declined. I hope this survey can give a new boost to basic training for new IMs and refresher training for experienced IMs to ensure the ongoing success of the FOI Law.”

END

The Acting Information Commissioner is Jan Liebaers who joined the Information Commissioner’s Office in the Cayman Islands as Deputy Information Commissioner in June 2010.