Digitisation of Documents in the Public...

Digitisation of Documents in the Public SectorSurvey Report 2015

Survey Partner

Digitisation of Documents in the Public Sector Survey Report 2015

The Survey 1

Survey Methodology and Respondents Profile 2

Key Findings 3 - 7

Conclusion 8

Appendix 1 - Participating Organisations 9 - 12

Appendix 2 - Full Survey Questions 13 - 17

Contents

The survey team at iGov Survey would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who were kind enough to take part - and especially to those who found the time to offer additional insight through their extra comments. We would also like to thank our partner, Redrock, for their assistance in compiling the survey questions, scrutinising the responses and analysing the results.

Digitisation of Documents in the Public Sector Survey Report 2015 © copyright Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all rights including those in copyright in the content of this publication are owned by or controlled for these purposes by iGov Survey.

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To contact the iGov Survey team: Email: [email protected] Tel: 0845 094 8567 Address: FAO David Cross, Ingenium IDS Ltd, Mansion House, Wellington Road South, Stockport, Cheshire, SK1 3UA

Digitisation of Documents in the Public Sector Survey Report 2015 Page 1

The Survey

Whilst the idea of the paperless office has been in circulation for some time, this survey seeks to understand how organisations are currently storing their historic documents and processing inbound mail in light of technology advances made in recent years – particularly in the areas of digitisation and cloud storage. The survey asks whether there is an expectation across the wider public sector that levels of hard copy storage (historic archives as well as inbound correspondence) will remain the same or even increase and looks at some of the reasons behind this change.

As organisations continue to come under pressure to reduce costs and be more efficient this survey provides insight into what extent organisations have already embraced the possibilities offered by digitising existing historic archives. It details what factors are considered most important when looking at a project and this includes a section on concerns that exist around digitisation from the perspective of security, cost, time involved, people issues and gaining management buy-in to the project.

Importantly organisations were asked about their attitude to threats posed to data security from the misuse or loss of data held on historic documents. They also gave their thoughts on mitigating the risk of litigation and meeting their legal obligations in respect of storing and managing paper archives.

Whilst cloud-based storage is now considered by many to be the way forward, the survey asks for the views of organisations towards this storage method to see if they view this is as an integral part of their organisation, or if there is any scepticism that needs to be addressed.

Finally the survey answers the all important question - when do Public Sector organisations expect to start reviewing how they store, manage and access historic documents and inbound mail? This question gets an interesting response that points towards substantial interest in this area. Maybe the paperless office is just around the corner after all!

This survey has been commissioned by Redrock Document Processing Services, an established secure Public Sector supplier that employs people with disabilities. Their status on CCS and Scottish Procurement frameworks and as a supported business makes it easier for Public Sector organisations to work with them and avoid the complex and expensive tendering process.

For more information on Redrock please visit - www.redrock.co.uk

http://www.redrock.co.uk

http://www.redrock.co.uk


Survey Methodology and Respondents Profile

The survey was conducted online by iGov Survey between the 14th and the 28th of May. A broad cross-section of managers, heads of department, directors and c-suite executives were asked to participate.

This was a Pan-Public Sector survey and included organisations from Central and Local Government, Healthcare, Emergency Services, HEFE, Housing Associations and the Charity Sectors. There was no incentive to take part in the survey and Redrock were not introduced as the survey partner.

The findings from the survey are based on those people who fully completed the survey, each of whom will have received a complimentary copy of the survey report.

The questionnaire was completed by individuals from 396 organisations . The survey questions are available in appendix 2. The results have been collated and presented in percentages. The answers to each question have been analysed and key findings are presented in the following pages.

BREAKDOWN OF RESPONDENTS BY SECTOR

Answer Number of OrganisationsCentral Government 59

Local Government 86

Healthcare 59

Emergency Services 6

HEFE 76

Housing Associations 37

Charities 71

*See full list of participating organisations in Appendix 1


Which of the following methods best describes how your organisation or department stores its historic documents (paper, microfiche etc)?

Do you think the amount of historic documents that your organisation or department stores in hard copy, on or off site, will change in the next 12 months?

1. 82% of historical documents are not digitised and over 60% of the survey responders say hard copy storage will likely remain the same or increase. This shows that there is a lot of property value / costs tied up in holding hard copy documents across the Public Sector and the problem is not going away.

Key Findings

27%

4%

14%21%

34% Mostly in filing cabinets / shelves / boxes at our premises Mostly in filing cabinets / shelves / boxes at third party premises Most of the historic documents have been digitised & are stored locally Most of the historic documents have been digitised & are stored via the Cloud Some of our historic documents have been digitised but we have further to go with this

37%

38%

25%

IncreaseDecreaseRemain the same


Some of the reasons given for the likely increase in hard copy storage.

“Continually updating contracts. New science papers being written” Procurement Manager, NDPB

“More requests for information from media and residents” Executive Councillor, County Council

“Ever growing population locally” Procurement Manger, Community Health Trust

“Simple growth in activity and increase in number of reporting expectations from growing body of statutory and other stakeholders” Energy and Sustainability Manager, University

“Pink Files, invoicing for procurement Health and Safety, Risk Assessments and estates paperwork” Administrative Officer - Operational Support, Central Government Department

“Increased number of students, changes in legislation, additional information which was once destroyed will be needed for evaluation and reference” Reprographics Manager, University

“Due to the diversity of formats of information coming into the practice in GP Surgeries, there is an urgent need to ensure that only digital images are stored” Vice Chair, Clinical Commissioning Group

2. Nearly 90% of organisations still process inbound mail manually at their premises – whilst unclear how many digitise at point of entry, it’s clear that this is one of the reasons for the increase in paper storage – tying up valuable space and staff resources.

What phrase best describes how your organisation or department handles inbound mail such as forms and correspondence?

5%

95%

Most mail is received by our in-house mail room, sorted & processed manually Most or some mail is directed to a third party (on or off site) to process


3. Improving and protecting access to documents were considered to be the most important factors when reviewing how an organisation manages its historic documents. Organisations also recognise the importance of meeting their legal requirements

What phrase best describes how your organisation or department handles inbound mail such as forms and correspondence?

Saving physical space

Improving access to documents

Protecting access to documents

Reducing risk of litigation from data loss or misuse

More productive use of staff time

Meeting legal obligations

Responding to FOI requests

%0 %20 %40 %60 %80 %100

Very important Important Moderately important Not important


4. Over half of organisations believe that cost savings and efficiencies could be realised by a change in the approach used to manage paper documents – leading to the thought that digitisation has not been maximised and storage is not as good as it could be?

Do you think the approach used by your organisation or department to manage paper documents impacts on its ability to deliver cost savings and efficiencies?

17%

56%

26%

It's not impacting our abilityIt could be impacting our ability I would need to see the business case before answering

5. Organisations have some concerns, which will need to be addressed during the review process, over the cost and time involved in the digitisation of paper documents although getting management buy-in and addressing any people or cultural issues is not something organisations seem to be unduly concerned over. Possibly a value for money managed programme to help the Public Sector body catalogue documents for digitisation would be interesting to some along with an ROI tool to provide insight into cost savings.

Would any of the following, in your opinion, be concerns to your department or organisation to the digitisation of historic documents?

Management Buy-in

Security

Cost

Time Involved

Cultural & People Issues

%0 %20 %40 %60 %80 %100

High Concern Low Concern No Concern


6. Cloud based storage is an area that has been taken up with confidence by only 40% of the sample and that 50% potentially like the idea but need to know more. This suggests that the Public Sector is willing to go down this route and want to use a trusted 3rd party once any reservations have been answered.

Which of the following terms best describes the view of your department or organisation toward using cloud-based storage?

7. The digitisation of historic documents and inbound mail is a hot topic across the Public Sector showing that the vast majority of the sample believe they need to review current practices and processes.

Do you know when your organisation might review how it manages the storage and access to its historic documents and inbound mail?

9%

50%

34%

7%

There is nothing about cloud-based storage that concerns us as it is now an integral part of our organisation There is very little about cloud-based storage that concerns us providing we used trusted third parties The idea of cloud-based storage is attractive but we have a lot of questions We dislike the idea of cloud-based storage

55%45% Next 6 months

Next 18 months


Conclusion

Maybe the paperless office is just around the corner after all!

With nearly half of all the survey responders suggesting that they will be reviewing how they manage and access their historic documents within the next 6 months and the remainder intending to look at this before the end of 2016 it is clear that there is an appetite amongst Public Sector organisations to understand whether the business case for digitisation and cloud storage stacks up.

Undoubtedly there are questions that need to be answered by providers around security, and the time it would take to implement, however with a view emerging that the problem is starting to have an impact on the ability of an organisation to meet its efficiency and cost saving targets the argument for embarking on digitisation is becoming stronger than ever.

By creating and executing a comprehensive, secure project that focuses on delivery of digitised documentation to the fingertips of those who need it, and by ensuring the paper mountain doesn’t grow again, Public Sector bodies can realise the benefit of smarter working, improved property utilisation and a removal of prohibitive on-costs.

It has often been quoted that it was John F. Kennedy who said “The time to repair a roof is when the sun is shining” – a phrase that could be applied to a problem that has been ignored for too long by some organisations simply through inertia. The results from this survey indicate that it might be climbing up the agenda.

Appendix 1 - Participating Organisations


Organisations that provided input into the survey broken down by sector

Central Government Home Office Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Dartmoor National Park Authority The British Library Office of Rail Regulation CITB - Construction Skills Student Loans Company Ltd Central Procurement Directorate National Museums Northern Ireland Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Scottish Funding Council Veterinary Medicines Directorate Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People Skills Funding Agency Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority Visit Britain Home-Grown Cereals Authority NHS Education for Scotland Forestry Commission Scotland Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Department of Finance and Personnel Northern Ireland Creative Scotland Architecture and Design Scotland Department for International Development House of Commons Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council National Offender Management Service NHS Property Services Ltd Science and Technology Facilities Council Highways England Gambling Commission Economic and Social Research Council Court Funds Office Higher Education Funding Council for England National Audit Office Department of Health Heritage Lottery Fund Judicial Appointments Commission Wales Community Rehabilitation Company Historic Scotland Tourism Ireland Exmoor National Park Authority National Museums and Galleries of Wales Department of Energy and Climate Change Brecon Beacons National Park Authority Lake District National Park Authority Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission National Records of Scotland British Council Homes and Communities Agency Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board The Scottish Government Cairngorms National Park Authority Scottish Childrens Reporter Administration

British Broadcasting Corporation Ministry of Justice Northern Ireland Assembly

Local Government Birmingham City Council Wirral Borough Council Tyne and Weir Archives and Museums Leeds City Council Daventry District Council Warrington Borough Council Sefton Council Peterborough City Council Worcestershire County Council Norwich City Council Blaby District Council Dorset County Council Mid Ulster District Council Mid Devon District Council Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands Mole Valley District Council Lewes District Council Shropshire Council Boston Borough Council The Moray Council Lambeth Council Bristol City Council Wigan Council Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Hambleton District Council Stoke-on-Trent City Council Ashford Borough Council Cardiff Council East Dunbartonshire Council Tandridge District Council London Borough of Havering Inverclyde Council Leicester City Council Arun District Council Staffordshire County Council Wealden District Council Southend on Sea Borough Council East Riding of Yorkshire Council Portsmouth City Council Bournemouth Borough Council London Borough of Barnet Newport City Council Transport for Greater Manchester Surrey Heath Borough Council Cumbria County Council East Midlands Councils South Norfolk Council Mid Suffolk District Council Melton Borough Council


Cheshire West and Chester Council Merseytravel London Borough of Barking & Dagenham City of York Council North Somerset Council East Sussex County Council Leicestershire County Council Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Liverpool City Council Charnwood Borough Council Fife Council East Lothian District Council Preston City Council Southern Education and Library Board West Lothian Council Trafford Council Broxbourne Borough Council Mid and East Antrim District Council Stirling Council Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council London Borough of Hounslow Newcastle Under Lyme Borough Council Swindon Borough Council Wyre Council Forest of Dean District Council Wiltshire Council North East Lincolnshire Council Buckinghamshire County Council Rutland County Council Derry and Strabane District Council Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Powys County Council Crawley Borough Council Nottingham City Council Ards and North Down District Council North Ayrshire Council Essex County Council

Healthcare Health Education Wessex Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust NHS Business Services Authority University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust NHS Fife Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust NHS Supply Chain Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust North East London NHS Foundation Trust Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group NHS West Hampshire CCG NHS Oxfordshire CCG The Huntercombe Group The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust NHS North Lincolnshire CCG Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust Medway NHS Foundation Trust NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Nuffield Health NHS Milton Keynes CCG The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust

2gether NHS Foundation Trust Public Health Wales Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust Community Health Partnerships Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust St Georges University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust NHS Bedfordshire CCG Southern Health and Social Care Trust Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust NHS Tayside ABM University NHS Board University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Health Education South West Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust The Shropshire Healthcare Procurement Service NHS Guildford and Waverley Clinical Commissioning Group NHS Havering Clinical Commissioning Group NHS Greenwich CCG NHS Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group Bedford Hospital NHS Trust Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust NHS Leeds West CCG NHS Borders Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust Bolton NHS Foundation Trust University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust Lifeways East Cheshire NHS Trust

Emergency Services Devon & Cornwall Police Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service Gwent Police Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Cambridgeshire Constabulary Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service

HEFE Heriot-Watt University Reaseheath College South and City Birmingham College Cardiff University Paston Sixth Form College The University of Warwick London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Swansea University Glasgow Caledonian University University of Oxford North West Kent College Birkbeck, University of London University of the West of Scotland


Canterbury Christ Church University Lancaster University Leicester College The University of Edinburgh Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College Derby College University of Hull Bishop Grosseteste University Warwickshire College The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh University of Sussex University of Bath City Lit University of Aberdeen Leeds Beckett University Aston University Newcastle University Amersham And Wycombe College Stephenson College Hilderstone College Bishop Burton College Anglia Ruskin University Edge Hill University LeSoCo Fareham College University of the Highlands and Islands City University London University of Derby University of Cumbria Goldsmiths, University of London West Lancashire College Northern College for Residential Adult Education Ltd The London School of Economics and Political Science University of Sunderland Hartlepool College of Further Education UCAS University of St Andrews The University of Nottingham University of Ulster Royal Northern College Of Music Central Bedfordshire College Wiltshire College Plymouth University University of London University of Leeds Nottingham Trent University Bangor University Borders College Oaklands College University of Hertfordshire Gloucestershire College King's College London University of Bedfordshire University for the Creative Arts University Of Wolverhampton University of Cambridge University of Dundee Newman University Richmond Upon Thames College Leeds College of Music Barking and Dagenham College Dundee and Angus College Cambridge Regional College

Housing Associations Watmos Community Homes King Street Housing Richmond Housing Partnership East Lothian Housing Association Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association Homes for Haringey Wishaw and District Housing Association Trafford Housing Trust Abertay Housing Association Knightstone Housing Association SLH Group Southdown Housing Association Salix Homes Vectis Housing Horton Housing Rooftop Housing Group Peaks and Plains Housing Trust Housing Plus Industrial Dwellings Society (1885) Charing Cross Housing Association Bro Myrddin Housing Association Castle Vale Community Housing Association Paradigm Housing Group Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd West Kent Housing Association The Villages Housing Association Drumchapel Housing Co-operative Rosehill Housing Cooperative Thrive Homes Phoenix Community Housing Rykneld Homes A1 Housing Bassetlaw Merthyr Valleys Homes Pierhead Housing Association Town and Country Housing Group Places for People Riverside Housing Group

Charities Caritas - social action The British Psychological Society Toybox Action in rural Sussex Kingwood Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations World Horse Welfare Erskine Hospital Ltd Scottish Mentoring Network The Health Foundation The Design and Technology Association Beating Bowel Cancer Royal Voluntary Service Raleigh International Lucy Faithfull Foundation The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust The Harpur Trust Action Housing and Support ASPIRE WDC For You By You


English Federation of Disability Sport The Three Faiths Forum The National Energy Foundation Parents And Children Together Barnardo's Transaid Institute for Government British Liver Trust The Benevolent Fund of the Institution of Civil Engineers ABF The Soldiers Charity Housing for Women Sportsaid Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming International HIV/AIDS Alliance Housing Justice Real Life Options CAFOD GrantScape Steps to Work Limited Save the Rhino The Picker Institute Europe Skills CFA The Church of England Aberlour Child Care Trust YMCA England Shaw Trust

Richmond Parish Lands Charity Volunteering England Bible Society The Children's Trust Landlife Bible Reading Fellowship Capability Scotland Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council The Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations NACRO The Children's Foundation Carnegie Young People Initiative Walcot Educational Foundation Livability Disability Action Yorkshire The Methodist Church in Britain Porchlight British Society for Rheumatology Surrey Community Action Knowsley Disability Concern Prison Reform Trust World Land Trust Kids' City Country Holidays for Inner City Kids


Question: Question: Which of the following methods best describes how your organisation or department stores its historic documents (paper, microfiche etc)?

Answer PercentMostly in filing cabinets / shelves / boxes at our premises 34%

Mostly in filing cabinets / shelves / boxes at third party premises 21%

Most of the historic documents have been digitised and are stored on computers / hard drives that are located at our premises

14%

Most of the historic documents have been digitised and are stored on computers / hard drives that are offsite and accessed via the Cloud

4%

Some of our historic documents have been digitised but we have further to go with this 27%

Question: Is your organisation or department being impacted by an increase in Freedom of Information (FOI) requests?

Answer PercentYes 52%

No 36%

Don't know/would rather not say 12%

Question: Do you think the amount of historic documents that your organisation or department stores in hard copy, on or off site, will change in the next 12 months?

Answer PercentIncrease 25%

Decrease 38%

Remain the same 37%

Question: What phrase best describes how your organisation or department handles inbound mail such as forms and correspondence?

Answer PercentMost mail is received by our in-house mail room, sorted and processed manually 95%

Most mail is directed to a third party (on or off site) to process 5%

Appendix 2 - Full Survey Questions


Question: How do you feel about the following statement: "There is a threat to my organisation's data security from the misuse of or loss of data held on historic documents"?

Answer PercentStrongly agree 5.9%

Agree 37.5%

Disagree 44.3%

Strongly disagree 7.2

Other - please specify 5.2%

Grid questions. If you were reviewing how your organisation or department manages its historic documents, please indicate how important these considerations are for each of the following.

Question: Saving physical space

Answer PercentVery important 46.9%

Important 35.8%

Moderately important 15.2%

Not Important 2.2%

Question: Improving access to documents


Important 29.3%


Not Important 2.8%

Question: Protecting access to documents


Important 33.8%


Not Important 0.9%


Question: Reducing risk of litigation from data loss or misuse


Important 32.8%


Not Important 5.4%

Question: More productive use of staff time


Important 36.5%

Moderately important 13%

Not Important 3%

Question: Meeting legal obligations


Important 34.9%


Not Important 2.4%

Question: Responding to FOI requests


Important 32.3%


Not Important 13.2%


Grid questions. Would any of the following, in your opinion, be concerns to your department or organisation to the digitisation of historic documents?

Question: Management buy-in

Answer PercentHigh concern 26%

Low concern 40.8%

No concern 33.2%

Question: Security

Answer PercentHigh concern 44.7%

Low concern 40.1%

No concern 15.2%

Question: Cost


Low concern 18%

No concern 3.3%

Question: Time involved


Low concern 24.5%

No concern 2.4%

Question: Cultural and people issues

Answer PercentHigh concern 31%

Low concern 49%

No concern 20%


Question: Do you think the approach used by your organisation or department to manage paper documents impacts on its ability to deliver cost savings and efficiencies?

Answer PercentIt's not impacting our ability 26%

It could be impacting our ability 56%

I would need to see the business case before answering 17%

Question: Which of the following terms best describes the view of your department or organisation toward using cloud-based storage?

Answer PercentThere is nothing about cloud-based storage that concerns us as it is now an integral part of our organisation

7%

There is very little about cloud-based storage that concerns us providing we used trusted third parties

34%

The idea of cloud-based storage is attractive but we have a lot of questions 50%

We dislike the idea of cloud-based storage 9%

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