Government of Canada Symposium: Achieving Excellence in Information Management

A message from the IM Champions for the Government of Canada

As the IM Champions for the Government of Canada, we would like to thank you for taking the time to participate in this first government Symposium on Information Management. Information is a valuable asset that must be managed. As a key government IM stakeholder, you play an important role in making the most of Canada's information assets.

Today, government leaders in Canada and the United States will share with you the progress that is being made to address our IM challenges. You will hear real examples of how IM is a key enabler to achieving government priorities as well as the risks we face if IM issues are not addressed. We will also be recognizing those departments that are "Leading by Example" in IM, by implementing new IM initiatives and sharing the results with their colleagues in other government departments.

To help you in your efforts to improve IM, we have put together this information folder. In it you will find the following useful documents about the latest thinking on IM and the tools and training available.

• A Case for Action for an Information Management Strategy for the Government of Canada, which discusses the importance of information management and proposes that a strategy be developed to improve the Government of Canada's IM capacity.
• The Executive Summary of a report recently prepared for the government by the Public Policy Forum, entitled Information Management to Support Evidence-Based Governance in the Electronic Age, which explores the relationship between IM and good governance and which identifies key issues governments should consider in assessing and improving their records management programs.
• A list of upcoming IM consultations and training and development opportunities being sponsored by the government's lead agencies in IM: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Library and Archives Canada, and Statistics Canada.
• IM tools that the lead agencies have developed to assist departments in their efforts to improve IM capacity. Of particular note, and an excellent starting point, is the Information Management Capacity Check tool, which assists departments in assessing the state of their IM practices against recognized best practices and in developing a plan for improvement.
• Finally, we are also enclosing pamphlets from some key professional organizations, which support the development of information professionals in the federal government, namely the Records Management Institute, the Knowledge Centre at Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Canadian Centre for Management Development, and the Council of Federal Libraries.

We hope that you will find this information beneficial in your efforts to improve the IM practices in your organization. As your IM Champions, we and the lead agencies will be following up, through the government's IM governance bodies, to obtain your feedback on the symposium and your recommended next steps. Key documents and results from the symposium will be posted on the Library and Archives Web site. Please direct any comments you may have resulting from the symposium to the Government Information Management Office, Library and Archives Canada by telephone: 819-934-7519, Fax: 819-934-7534, or email: centre.liaison.centre@bac-lac.gc.ca.

We will consider this event a success, if when you leave here today:

• you leave committed to ensuring that your IM practices provide you with the right information at the right time to fulfil your responsibilities to the Canadian public; and
• you know where to start on the road to improvement.