Facets of Information Governance system at the South Africa Council for Social Service Professions

Abstract

In many organisations, information governance (IG) is implemented in fragmented silos and does not add value. After realising this, South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP), embarked on digital transformation process to modernise the organisation by implementing an information governance system. The SACSSP was experiencing challenges due to the lack of a cogent information technology (IT) system design and the disparaged registration, finance and external verification systems inherited that are not compatible with new system innovations to ensure effective and efficient operations. This study utilised the Control Objective for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) to develop an information governance system at SACSSP, with a view for entrenching a culture of good corporate governance. This critical emancipatory study used qualitative data collected through interviews, focus groups, observation, system and document analysis in response to research questions. The study was a participatory action research project that involved collaboration between the researcher and study participants in defining and solving the problem through needs assessment exercise. In order to address bias, the research findings were reviewed by peers to identify things that might have been missed or gaps that were not addressed. All three phases of participatory action research were followed, namely the ‘look phase’: getting to know stakeholders so that the problem is defined on their terms and the problem definition is reflective of the community context; the ‘think phase’: interpretation and analysis of what was learned in the ‘look phase’; and the ‘act phase’: planning, implementing, and evaluating, based on information collected and interpreted in the first two phases. Data was analysed thematically with the use of Atlas Ti 9 and presented in text, figures, pictures and diagrams. The key findings report on the processes taken by the SACSSP in identifying and implementing the IG system implementation, that is records management, information technology, content management, data governance, information security, data privacy, risk management, litigation readiness, regulatory compliance, long-term digital preservation, and even business intelligence. The results of the analysis suggest that integrated online system implementation, including system architecture can be used to address issues associated with information integrity in the present and near term, with proper IG policy and information & communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in place. It does not, however, guarantee reliability of information in the first place, and would have several limitations as a long term solution for maintaining digital records. The study established that there were no underlying technologies for the implementation of innovation technologies such as, artificial intelligence (AI). Core services of the organisation for social service professionals is dealing with registration related services such: as requirements for registrations; Foreign applications; Registrations fees; Restoration, Banking details. However, the SACSSP was on the right track towards digital transformation of the organisation. The study suggests a framework for information governance to assist professional organisations and board members to adopt a tailored governance system that would be designed according to their needs. It can be concluded that a successful IG system can be attained through adoption of principles and related accountabilities with a clear strategic direction that is supported by organisational business units. The study recommends that organisations need to make an emphasis of a holistic approach to IG in order to empower a board to coordinate and integrate decision making across the organisation.