New content management programme will bring order

Many people who engage with UCT come up against the frustration of not being sure where to find something (a form, a policy, tutorial notes, a researcher, a paper, a map). There are thousands of places to look; and once you have found what you're looking for, you're seldom certain that the information is up-to-date and correct.

The Enterprise Content Management (ECM) programme, a multi-year project supported by the VC's Strategic Fund, will bring a level of order and organisation to UCT's information content. Apart from the challenges mentioned above, there is also a significant amount of duplication; one researcher may have 20 different profiles in as many different places, or if a brochure is published, it needs to be published simultaneously in many formats. Rather than just throwing technology at the problem and increasing the proliferation of business application silos, UCT is starting at the beginning.

The first project in the ECM programme is focused on defining governance: policies, procedures, processes, roles and responsibilities, and frameworks, so that the university is able to standardise across the institution.

The next step will be to examine the various content needs of information consumers and publishers and consolidate these across the silos in which UCT has been operating. The inventory will include current IT applications and those still required.

The ECM programme provides an umbrella for many initiatives and interrelated projects currently under way, including:

• The Research Portal
• The Web Renewal project
• The Open Governance Intranet (Meeting minutes, policies, etc.)
• UCT OpenContent
• Staff and researcher directories
• Records Management
• UCT Knowledge Co-op

These projects will look at aligning applications and content sources; reducing duplication; making storage and publication of information easier and more streamlined; and ultimately, delivering to information consumers exactly what they need in the most appropriate form.

For further information, please contact Richard Higgs.