A tool which can quantify the significant cost savings, and other benefits, of good information management is to be made freely available to the public sector by The National Archives.

The resource- Information Management Value Model (IMVM) - will ensure best practice in information management throughout the public sector.

It has been developed by Bramble.cc, a UK-based specialist consultancy and solution provider for information management, on behalf of the “Digital Continuity Project”, managed by the National Archives. The project is developing a service that will enable government to use its digital information for as long as it needs to.

David Thomas, chief information officer, The National Archives said: “The information an organisation holds is often of great value, not only for it to function in the short term, but also for legal compliance and for its wider historical value.”

“Information which is managed poorly tends to lose availability, integrity and usability, and can therefore lose value over time.” Thomas points that organisations need to know what information they have, where it is and how to access and use it.

The IMVM addresses ways in which poor information management such as time wasted by staff hunting for information and the unnecessary duplication of effort, can be costly to an organisation.

It calculates a number of benefits, from efficiencies and effectiveness to better customer service and risk reduction. It works by quantifying the value of a proposed improvement in information management, rather than attempting to directly measure the value of the information.

The model is currently being tested and refined within central government. It will then be made available to all government departments and the wider public sector through the National Archives website.