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Practical guidance for municipalities

Manage information.
Protect it.
Use it with confidence.

Bring records & information management, privacy and information security together—around the information your municipality depends on.

No contact information needed to see your initial results.

One information environmentMIM / 01
EmailMicrosoft 365Shared drivesPaper & systems
The common starting pointYour municipal
information
01Records & informationKnow it. Find it. Keep it.
02PrivacyUnderstand it. Use it appropriately.
03Information securityProtect it. Control access.
Different responsibilities. A connected approach.

Every municipality
depends on information.

It is in email, shared drives, Microsoft 365, business applications, paper records and the knowledge employees carry with them. That information supports Council decisions, municipal services, financial management, regulatory requirements and day-to-day operations.

But managing information has become more complicated.

Records and information management, privacy and information security are often handled separately—even though they frequently involve the same information and the same risks.

Modern Information Management (MIM) brings these responsibilities together.

It provides a practical way to understand what information you have, where it is, why you need it, who should have access to it, how it should be protected, how long it should be kept, and what happens when something goes wrong.

The objective is not more administration. It is to make information easier to find, safer to use, simpler to manage and more useful to the municipality.

What can MIM help you achieve?

Know what you have

understand important information, systems and repositories.

Find what you need

reduce searching and dependence on individual employees.

Keep what is required

apply appropriate retention and disposition.

Protect what matters

identify personal, confidential, sensitive and critical information.

Control access

ensure people have appropriate access as roles and responsibilities change.

Be ready for what comes next

create a stronger information foundation for Microsoft 365, cloud services, automation and AI.

Start with the issue.
Not the discipline.

You don’t need a major technology project or a large internal team to get started. Begin with what is working, what is uncertain and what deserves attention first.

A familiar place to start

What sounds like
your municipality?

Choose a situation for practical context and a manageable first step. There is no single right place to begin.

Three perspectives. Equal importance.

A clearer view of
the whole picture.

These responsibilities often involve the same information, systems, people and risks. Modern Information Management brings them together.

Records & Information Management

Keep the right information and make it easy to find when it is needed.

Explore this topic

Privacy

Know what personal information you have and use it appropriately.

Explore this topic

Information Security

Protect information from inappropriate access, loss and disruption.

Explore this topic

Why bring them together?

One shared drive.
Three connected questions.

An old shared drive can be difficult to search, hold unnecessary personal information and have outdated permissions. These are different aspects of the same environment.

Records & information

What is worth keeping?

Identify official records, improve findability and apply approved retention requirements.

Privacy

Why do we still hold it?

Understand what personal information exists and whether it still needs to be retained.

Information security

Who can access it?

Review who has access and whether that access still reflects a current need.

See how the three work together

Your Municipal Information Check

A useful first step.
About five minutes.

Answer six straightforward questions. See what your responses suggest. Explore six more questions for a little extra insight.

Start my information check

Free. No contact details required for the check.

01

Start with everyday practices

Finding information, retention, personal information, access and incident readiness.

02

Get your four-indicator snapshot

Records & information, privacy, information security and working together.

03

Choose your next step

Explore related topics, request a detailed report or have a free, informal discussion.

Start with your situation

You don’t need to have
all the answers.

Talk with our team about what you are dealing with and where a practical first step might be.

Arrange a free discussion

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Search & organization

We can’t find things.

Experienced employees can become the municipality’s unofficial search system because they remember where things are kept.

Why it matters

Searching takes time away from municipal services. Dependence on particular employees also creates problems when someone is absent or leaves.

A practical first step

Ask staff where they look first for common information and what they regularly have difficulty finding.

Shared drives & Microsoft 365

We have years of information on shared drives.

Information spreads across shared drives, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, business applications and paper files.

Why it matters

More storage does not necessarily mean better management. Multiple repositories can create duplication and uncertainty about the official record.

A practical first step

Identify the major repositories and what each is intended to contain. You do not need to inventory every file to get started.

Retention & disposition

We’re not sure what we can delete.

Keeping everything can seem safer than deleting anything. Duplicate and obsolete material accumulates alongside records that must be retained.

Why it matters

Keeping information too long increases the amount to find, manage and protect. Disposing of it too soon creates a different set of risks.

A practical first step

Review the approved retention schedule, any applicable holds and current practices. Choose one manageable area for authorized, documented disposition.

Privacy & visibility

We don’t know where all our personal information is.

Personal information may be spread across business systems, email, shared drives, paper records and external services.

Why it matters

Responding to requests or managing an incident is harder when the information and its location are unclear.

A practical first step

Identify major repositories and the types of personal information each holds. Start at the system or repository level.

Permissions & outside providers

We’re concerned about who has access.

Permissions can accumulate as roles evolve, temporary access is granted and service providers are engaged.

Why it matters

Unnecessary access can increase both privacy and security exposure.

A practical first step

Choose one important system and confirm that each person’s access reflects a current business requirement.

Information readiness & guidance

Staff are already using AI.

Employees may already be experimenting with AI for writing, searching, summarizing or other everyday work.

Why it matters

Responsible use depends on knowing what information can be used, how outputs are checked and who remains accountable.

A practical first step

Establish what tools employees use. Give clear guidance on approved tools, personal and confidential information, verification and human oversight.

Typical questions

Typical questions

Typical questions