Public Records Collection and Dissemination

IT Governance Business Case Public Records Collection and Dissemination Public Affairs

Background Requests for public records have increased substantially over the past couple of years, including the types of content is being requested. As more records are being created, fulfilling those requests in a timely manner as required by law, as well as tracking them, is becoming more difficult.

Current State •

To make a public request, the preferred method is for residents is to submit a request on the Public Records request page on the City of Durham’s website.

•

Public Affairs in conjunction with other departments have various methods for receiving, managing and responding to requests for public records which is a decentralized approach.

•

Requests are made for different types of records that span various departments. This makes it difficult to collectively coordinate a response.

Current Pain Points • Retrieval process of email and text messaging is very inefficient and inadequate.

• There is a manual and time-consuming process to make documents uneditable • There is a manual and time-consuming process to redact documentation and emails • The public records request process is too centralized, which creates bottlenecks when there are multiple requests • Residents have a difficulty determining which department to contact for the records they are seeking

Current Pain Points (cont.)

•

Departments have different methods for receiving, managing and responding to requests for public records. With no enterprise tool, it is laborious and difficult to coordinate a response

•

The current process in Accela is cumbersome

•

Many times the response to residents is sent via email due to the fact that a number of residents have difficulty opening up attachments in Accela

•

No true end-to-end workflow capability

•

Text message retrieval process for the City Manager is currently very cumbersome

Desired Business Value City of Durham’s Strategic Plan Goal: Innovative & High Performing Organization •

Streamline the existing records request process by adopting a collaborative end-to-end records management tool, which increases efficiencies across the enterprise.

•

Improve overall compliance value at the city by retrieving and redacting files more effectively, accurately, and securely.

•

Increase efficiency and responsiveness to requests and provide better customer satisfaction.

Future State Benefits • Records Portal: End to end solution that features a specialized online portal for accepting, managing, and responding to record requests for all types of media • An all-in-one platform with robust features like retrieval, redaction, workflows, and reminders • Easy to use text messaging retrieval process • Robust reporting & analytic capabilities • Enhanced retrieval and redaction capabilities with a powerful search function • Ability to collaborate cross-departmentally to streamline requests so that no request goes unanswered

Recommended Solution and Analysis

Recommended Solution: NextRequest and Smarsh Description

A cloud-based communications retrieval and records management platform that includes all types of content including text messaging

Pros

• • • • •

All in one platform with robust features retrieval, redaction, and workflows Increased efficiencies and responsiveness to requests User friendly text messaging retrieval process Increased ability to streamline requests cross departmentally Capture text messages for up to 25 devices

•

There will be some minor business disruption to the organization until users are proficient using the new tools as with any system

Cons

Real examples https://www.smarsh.com/solutions/business-need/public-recordsmanagement

COST ESTIMATES Description

FUNDING Annual Run Costs (Hours)/ KTLO

Year 1 Costs (Hours)

Departmental Funding Amount:

$0

Labor $ (Hours) Internal TS:

75 hours

5 hours

Business Analysis

10 hours

0 hours

TS Services

15 hours

5 hours

Project One Time Costs

$17,200

TS PMO

50 hours

0 hours

Project Run Cost (External)

$13,950

40 hours

40 hours

*Total Project Funding Requested for Year 1

$17,200

$3250

$0

*Recurring Costs

$13,950

$500

$0

$2,750

$0

$0

$0

$3,950 $10,000

$3,950 $10,000

$0

$0

Internal Department: Public Affairs and all other departments External:

Professional Services (Smarsh) Professional Services (Next Request)

Funding Requested (Y/N):

Non-Labor $ Hardware: Software: Smarsh Software: NextRequest Other:

*Total Project Funding Requested (External), includes External Year 1 Run Costs and Non-Labor

Y

Risk Identification Description of Risk

Risk Impact

Mitigated (Y/N)

Contingency(Y/N)

Poor execution

High

Yes

No

Project team turnover

High

No

No

Vendor performance

Low

No

Yes

Cyber Security

Low

No

No

Mitigation Risk (Costs) •

No cost

Contingency Risk (Costs) •

No cost

Our Ask

We are asking to approve the business case for the Public Records Collection and Dissemination for submission to the City Manager for approval and funding through the BMS department.