[OpenSpending] The benefits of electronic records

[Alisha Green]

Hello all,
Apologies for cross-posting. I just wanted to share a recent blogpost from
Sunlight's local policy team looking at the benefits of electronic records,
for governments and citizens alike. It focuses on examples from the United
States, but we hope its scope could translate across international
contexts.

http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/08/09/can-electronic-records-save-money-increase-efficiency-and-benefit-everyone/


Can Electronic Records Save Money, Increase Efficiency, and Benefit
Everyone?<http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/08/09/can-electronic-records-save-money-increase-efficiency-and-benefit-everyone/>
by Alisha Green <http://sunlightfoundation.com/people/agreen/>Aug. 9, 2013,
9 a.m.

[image: paper-on-shelves]

The advantages of using electronic
records<http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/08/06/electronic-records-are-already-here-to-stay/>
and
providing more searchable, accessible
records<http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/07/16/reducing-paper-increasing-transparency-public-records-in-ohio/>
are
sometimes overshadowed by one concern: money. Many governments shiver at
the thought of dealing with expensive new management software, disruptive
staff trainings, and the potential (though always arduous) IT-procurement
fest that the words “electronic records” bring to mind.

That was the response of the Ohio Municipal
League<http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/04/29/easy-access-to-local-government-data-sought.html>
when
considering the DataOhio Initiative, an open data plan for the state that
we wrote about here<http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/07/16/reducing-paper-increasing-transparency-public-records-in-ohio/>.
The League identified that, among other concerns, the proposed $10,000
state grants to help local governments with the transition to electronic
records might not cover all the associated costs municipalities would have
to wrestle with.

Such concerns are not without merit. Electronic records certainly come with
the price tag of integrating a new system (and management process): the
costs of digitizing existing records, the cost of server space for storing
the digital records, the cost of training staff on these new processes, and
potential additional costs that might come with building a platform to make
this information public-facing. However, these costs -- and others --
should be put into context, and compared with the alternative.

Keeping paper records already costs governments a considerable amount of
money. From ink and paper to the physical storage space required to house
all of the documents, managing a paper filing system is not cheap. Stow,
Ohio<http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2013/07/16/reducing-paper-increasing-transparency-public-records-in-ohio/>,
for example, was spending some $43,000 in one year on printing
costs<http://www.stowsentry.com/news%20local/2013/06/02/city-council-approves-transparency-and-green-savings-measure>.
In Avon Park, Florida, one overwhelmed records clerk resorted to storing
public documents in boxes under a
staircase<http://highlandstoday.com/hi/local-news/avon-park-city-hall-turmoil-continues-20130807/>because
the records room was so overflowing.

Staff time is also required for managing paper records and responding to
requests internally -- let alone from the public. Although the initial cost
of digitizing records to make them more accessible might seem daunting, we
have to consider that the upkeep costs for electronic records might be less
expensive than for paper records.

The value of electronic records over paper needs to take into account
long-term records retention and access and must go beyond “actual costs” to
look closely at the public interest (and government gains) in proactive,
electronic disclosure.

In Newport Beach,
California<http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Getting-ITs-Moneys-Worth-in-Newport-Beach-Calif.html>,
a transition to electronic records was used as an opportunity to streamline
internal government processes. The existing system for records storage had
been around since 1998, but upgrading to a new system gave the city a
chance to choose a platform that increased flexibility and, likely, cost
savings: The new platform was designed from the start to allow for the kind
of “open architecture database” that could integrate with the different
softwares currently in use by different departments and to accommodate
future software additions and changes, as well.

This kind of improved internal efficiency can also help lower the costs to
the public. Obtaining public records used to mean submitting a request to a
government staffer, who would find and create copies of records to then
send them to the requester, usually for a fee. Most fees are calculated
based on the costs of the staff time involved, along with the cost of the
paper and ink used to make copies, and can result in some incredible costs
for those making records requests. In Tennessee, a journalist was told it
would cost nearly $35,000 in "labor and printing costs" to provide the
records they had
requested<http://www.rcfp.org/browse-media-law-resources/news/agency-asks-tennessee-newspaper-pay-35000-records-deaths-and-near-de>
for
an investigation into a state agency. As the reporter put it, that kind of
price tag puts records out of many people's reach.

Governments, open government advocates, and watchdogs who rely on access to
on public records can all benefit from more efficient, cost-effective
systems of managing public information. We hope to see more local
governments recognize the benefits of electronic records, and we'll be
continuing to watch out for signs of it. In the meantime, we're collecting
helpful resources on public records issues in this editable research
document<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHz5lu2pqA8KHFtClHrqtE7VVUTru7WTIlXh31zOW38/edit?usp=sharing>
(feel
free to add any additional information that might be helpful).



*Photo by Flickr user
Merlin1487<http://www.flickr.com/photos/merlin1487/5518280677/sizes/m/in/photostream/>
*
Best wishes,
Alisha

-- 
Alisha Green
Policy Associate
Sunlight Foundation
agreen at sunlightfoundation.com
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