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Member of the Week: Peter Carver - Everyone Should Be Responsible for Managing Information

By Bryant Duhon posted 04-02-2012 13:42

  

Peter Carver is Delivery Manager, HM Revenue and Customs. Peter talks about the importance of managing information; the challenge of people; and the overlap between archeology and information management.

Duhon: What do you do and how did you get there?

Carver: I work for HM Revenue & Customs. Within the IT arm, I ensure that we follow IM best practices. Before IT, I was a front line Tax Inspector.

Duhon: What was your best day at work? Worst?

Carver: Too many good days to remember. I really enjoy what I do. The worst was having to attend a really important meeting when I had a really bad dose of the flu and I should have been tucked up in bed.

Duhon: What are you proudest of?

Carver: My family

Duhon: What is your No. 1. goal today—and what is your greatest content-related challenge?

Carver: Workwise; communicating effectively to others the passion that I have for working efficiently and collaboratively. The biggest challenge is getting people to recognise that IM best practice should be business as usual, the normal way of working rather than an “'overhead.” But I'm also studying part-time for a degree in archaeology and that is also challenging. The extent of skill cross-over is surprising.

Duhon: What kind of overlap and how does that apply? I’m assuming not very Indiana Jones-ish.

Carver: You are absolutely right: nothing to do with Indiana Jones. Excavation is somewhat passe nowadays. Excavating destroys the relationship between evidence. If done it is usually done sparingly, first making the best use of non-invasive imaging type technologies. Part of the argument is that, as science progresses, we will learn more and more without turning over a sod of earth. Often only happens when sites are threatened by development, etc.; what they call Rescue Archaeology. There is so much information already out there, much of it only partly processed, not always related to other information, that one of the biggest challenges nowadays is making the best use of all the information that already exists. So modern archaeology is very much an IM challenge (and an imaging challenge).

Moreover, it is not uncommon to come across situation where one society has undergone some sort of transformation and then the same change occurred elsewhere somewhat later. Just as happens in our world nowadays, was the learning shared or did each society go through the same learning process? A lot of research goes into understanding the mechanics by which learning in all its forms is shared between different groups; and if something is transmitted whether the process is (or any combination of) migration, diffusion, trade, exchange, war, or whatever. Our ancestors used so many different ways to communicate and share information: in many ways they were for more creative and inventive than we are nowadays!

Duhon: Can you talk a little more about governance best practice?

Carver: IM in HMRC, as I suspect in many large organisations, is very much about team work. There are a number of people across the organisation who focus on how we use information and, as a cross-organisational team, we meet regularly to share best practice and, in general, to sort out what we need to do as an organisation to manage information better. There are no stories of personal heroism to tell: it is really all about teamwork; both teams working across the whole organisation and within my immediate business unit. And, although technology is helpful, as with most organisations, the real challenge is people: persuading everyone that it is worth investing that bit of time 'up front' to do things in the most appropriate way so that you maximise the reuse and the value of each piece of information.

Duhon: Why do you consider yourself an information professional?

Carver: First and foremost I work for HMRC. I always have done. I'm an information professional because it makes sense. Throughout my working life; whether as a Tax Inspector or within IT; I've always been painfully aware of how important information is to the job and how challenging it is to manage it effectively. So in some respects I prefer not to see IM as a specialist’s area, but as something that is the responsibility of everyone. Equally, I do of course accept that there are a specialist set of skills that may be used to help everyone manage information better, and that it isn't necessary for everyone to possess that specific skillset. And, as I move into the later stages of my working life, having seen the same old problems arising again and again, I've developed an increasing interest in finding out about that skillset and being more proactive to take the lead and to encourage other people to manage information better.
Just for fun:

Duhon: What are your three favorite websites?

Carver: BBC; You Tube; Wikipaedia

Duhon: What are the three greatest books ever written—and what’s on your nightstand today?

Carver: Tale of Two Cities; Animal Farm; On the Origin of Species - and currently A History of Archaeological Thought

Duhon: What are the three greatest movies of all time—and what’s the last one you’ve seen?

Carver: Cabaret; Good Will Hunting; Saving Private Ryan - I don't get to the cinema so it is the most recent DVD I've watched, Clear and Present Danger

Duhon: What was your first concert—and what are the three greatest songs on your iPod?

Carver: Watching my father sing St Matthew's Passion with the Portsmouth Choral Union; but if you mean something more modern then probably T Rex (or Tyrannosaurus Rex as they were then) in about 1968 or 1969. My favourite albums would include Exile on Main Street, Dark Side of the Moon and New Adventures in Hi-Fi



#InformationGovernance #ElectronicRecordsManagement
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