Managing records, making knowledge and good governance

This paper aims to stimulate debate on the future development of records management, especially in the public sector, in the context of challenges from modernisation of government and from social and cultural changes emerging from internet developments.

The paper discusses relevant concepts of knowledge, records and public sector change, and attempts a high‐level synthesis.

The paper proposes a framework for characterising a social dimension to records management, relating records with knowledge communities and processes, and for mapping a records/knowledge dynamic in the policy‐to‐delivery process.

The paper integrates recent experience with electronic records management with developments in government policy delivery and programme development.