Affiliations: [a] Department of Information Studies, UCL, London, UK | School of Management, University of St Andrews, Scotland
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence: Elizabeth Shepherd, Department of Information
Studies, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. E-mail:
e.shepherd@ucl.ac.uk
Abstract: Research into the impact of the UK Freedom of Information (FOI) Act
2000 on records management services in public authorities, especially in local
government was carried out by the Department of Information Studies at UCL in
2008–2009, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project
considered the inter-relationship between records management and freedom of
information, and examined the co-operation and partnerships needed in order to
maximise the benefits of freedom of information. The first phase of the
research was an extensive literature review, focusing on freedom of information
and records management in the UK. This was followed by qualitative research
using semi-structured interviews to gather rich data from council officials
responsible for the provision of records management, information governance and
freedom of information functions, complemented by interviews with requestors,
to provide an outsider's perspective. The article reports on the position of
records management in local government prior to 2000s drawing on the
literature, outlines the research findings on FOI and records management policy
and practice in local government, and concludes by considering the perspective
of requestors and users of the FOIA as engaged citizens.
