Local governments and IRM: Policy emerging from practice

Abstract

The response to federal information resources management (IRM) initiatives at the local levels of government has been minimal. While this concept and requirement has been on the federal agenda since the 1970s, it has not successfully diffused to the city and county levels of government. This does not reflect, however, mismanagement of their information resources. Rather, it is indicative of a bottom-up development of information technology management. A history of trying out many different approaches to information resources management has enabled local governments to evolve practices, and in some cases, policies, that fit their needs. Local governments are concerned with the provision of information and services to a citizenry who are also local, not distant and once removed, as at the federal level. This more direct need for access to information and real-time service delivery has led to the evolution of local information management responses which meet these needs in a timely fashion. The value of information is seen in its ability to create access to government and to insure the provision of services to the local public. This article will examine the range and forms of IRM practiced in city and county governments. It will examine IRM as initially instituted at the federal level and analyze the resultant management practices at the local level. The variables which lead to differences in practice will be discussed. The data come from case study results, surveys and telephone interviews with top level managers in U.S. cities and counties.