27 March 2023 – Meet us at the records management biggest reunion this year!
The Archive and Records Association (ARA) Annual Conference is returning to Belfast from 30 August – 01 September 2023.
And so are we!
Running with a ‘Communities’ theme, ARA promises a rich and varied programme that will appeal to archivists, records managers and conservators during this three day event.
The ARA Annual Conference 2023 brings together users, stakeholders, colleagues and collaborators from across the global records management and archiving community, who can enjoy a range of practical workshops, panel sessions and presentations as well as the opportunity to network with fellow members of the community. It also welcomes high profile speakers and influential players of the record keeping sector.
Our very own Noeleen Schenk, Director at Metataxis, will be on stage, revealing key strategies how to effectively design and implement retention and disposition rules for business records, as well as sharing some real life experiences and success stories – it is not to be missed!
We’re also really looking forward to hearing from keynote speaker, Dr Peter Crooks, Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at Trinity College Dublin.
It’s going to be a jam-packed show! Come and meet us at ARA 2023 – we look forward to seeing you there! Book your place today!
10 March 2023 – Metataxis defines robust records management process for public sector organisation.
Metataxis is delighted be supporting a UK government department to futureproof their records management policies.
This Parliamentary body is responsible for improving public services through its high-quality audits and reporting of financial accounts.
The department was seeking to develop and deploy a new appraisal and transfer policy along with supporting guidance to effectively govern and manage how their records series are selected and transferred to The National Archives (TNA). This new policy had to be aligned with the specific requirements for long-term management of records as stated in the Public Records Act 1958 and follows TNA best practice guidance.
After some research on G-Cloud 13, the team found and selected Metataxis to define this new policy.
With our extensive records management experience, the Metataxis team worked closely with the Head of Knowledge and Information Management and conducted interviews with the internal team, to identify the exact requirements in order to recommend a robust records management policy and compliant procedures.
Armed with this research, we were able to draw up a comprehensive appraisal transfer policy and process for the organisation to deploy in line with the set rules and regulations. We also defined a preservation policy – focused on the long-term preservation of records which could be either retained inhouse, transferred to another department or sent to be archived, as well as proposing a clear process for the transfer of paper records to the TNA. Finally, we put forward a report summarising the issues we had observed during our time working together along with some key recommendations for remediation.
Comments Noeleen Schenk, Director at Metataxis: “With this new appraisal transfer policy and clearer records management processes in place, the team can now easily manage, preserve and transfer these vital records, confident they are meeting all the necessary compliance rules and regulations.”
If you would like to learn more about how we help both public sector organisations and private businesses address the challenges of records management simply contact us.
03 March 2023 – Metataxis taxonomy expertise improves information management for Central Government department.
Metataxis is delighted to be helping a UK Central Government department to improve the management of its information.
Our experts have been commissioned to create a single taxonomy for use across the entire organisation.
This new taxonomy will name, describe and classify all information held by the department. Once defined, the taxonomy will enable a “single version of the truth” for the improved handling, analysis, and interpretation of the information they hold.
It will also support a real cultural change towards end-to-end system management as well as consistency and standardised working for data, information, and records management.
This six-month project will consist of phases to collate, validate, and deliver the taxonomy.
The Metataxis team of experts will then go on to provide key recommendations on its transition to real-life operation and its ongoing maintenance moving forward, to maximise value.
If you would like to learn more about how we help both public sector organisations and private businesses address the challenges of information management simply contact us.
Addressing the methodology hype
In his latest blog, Marc Stephenson, Director at Metataxis, discusses the mystique around methodologies typically presented by consultancies and the Metataxis approach to success.
The methodology mystique
There is often a lot of nonsense surrounding how consulting actually works and how consultants speak. In particular, how consultancies sell the specialness of their services by selling the specialness of their methodologies (I’m looking at you, big consultancies). Often “The Methodology” has an impressive, long, acronym, that has good marketing impact, and an even more impressive diagram explaining the methodology.
I’m not saying that such methodologies have no value, but I do think they are over-hyped. In my view, they are often conceived to be clear enough to sound useful, and be a clear consultancy differentiator, but also not so clear that the potential client can simply use them without hiring the originating consultancy! I also question whether a fixed methodology (as they usually are), is always well suited to the variable, unstructured world of information management.
The Metataxis approach
Metataxis takes a different approach. We have some methodological tools at our disposal of course, but when and how we use them really depends on the client and what the client is trying to achieve. Metataxis is focussed on delivering value to our clients and we’ll use any techniques and approaches that does just that – we are not slaves to The Methodology.
Listening to customers
If I was forced to define the Metataxis methodology, I would say we take the time to understand the client’s context, ask about what the client needs, and most importantly, listen to what our clients’ say. Not complicated, and definitely no methodology mystique.
Interested to learn more? If you’re looking for a fresh, clearer approach to consulting, we can help. Get it touch today.
10 Feb 2023 – Metataxis supports public heritage organisation deploy SharePoint records management system.
Metataxis is delighted to be working with a national heritage organisation to deliver a comprehensive information architecture framework.
This UK public body wanted to roll out SharePoint as their new records management system and were looking for ways to do this as efficiently as possible.
Following a search on G-Cloud for providers who offer this kind of support, the organisation was delighted to discover that Metataxis could meet their requirements, having successfully worked with the team on a previous project. Based on this positive past experience, Metataxis was thrilled to be selected as the partner of choice to develop an information architecture framework in order to help to shape and support the successful delivery of this SharePoint project.
This new information architecture framework will provide a clear blueprint for the organisation’s Microsoft 365 tenant and will ensure consistency across all sites.
Having a framework in place also provides opportunities to reuse existing information architecture designs which will in turn reduce duplication of effort and help to make the task of scaling up much easier.
Comments Noeleen Schenk, Director at Metataxis: “We are recognised for our records management and information governance expertise. Combined with our knowledge and experience of working with G-Cloud-13 services, Metataxis is well-positioned to support all public sector organisations manage and secure their data and collection of records in line with government policies. We are really looking forward to working with this organisation; they have a great in-house team and we think we will complement their skills well.”
The project commenced earlier this month and is due to be completed in March 2023.
Read more about our records management services.
If you would like to learn more about how we help both public sector organisations and private businesses address the challenges of information architecture and data retention and management, simply contact us.