How to achieve the digitalization of documents in public institutions?The purpose of a public institution is to offer an efficient service to citizens and in this era marked by digitalization, the parameters of this efficiency are not inferior to those expected of private companies.The key to keeping up with these parameters is the virtualization of the public office that is digitized and managed through tools such as public management software.However, the digitization of the office goes through a task that is extremely simple in its conception but can be complex in the execution: the digitalization of documents .In essence, all public management software generates, modifies, and circulates digital documents that are associated with the requirements of users and digitization is what allows us to manage documents through software.But why take the trouble to digitize large masses of documents?
How to achieve it?Phases of the digitization process:In the digitalization of documents, tangible physical records such as text and images printed on sheets of paper or photographic material are converted into digital formats.This implies two processes that must converge properly: digitization and electronic document management.Digitizing involves transforming the content of an analogue media into a digital format.Electronic document management, that is, what is being understood as part of the electronic administration implies the management of what has already been digitized .The first process meets the second in three steps:Capture with document scanner.Indexing of the information of the document associating it with metadata that allows locating it Document storage and metadata.Prerequisites of the digitalization.However, a planning and evaluation phase of the digitization of the file and the structure of the digital documents is previously required .
To define the structure of the digital document, we will have to base ourselves on its meta data, signature and typology of the file.The definition of metadata is very important, since we must differentiate between content metadata such as concept, description, access and administrative metadata such as conservation, copying, traceability.Using document management systems or file management systems is essential throughout this process.Then we will proceed to create the archival documents keeping in mind that the creation of documents must be preceded by a series of legal, technological, and archival analyzes, which determine their usefulness.
This analysis will tell us if the document should be created or not.
(dokument)Next, it will be time to start the production of the files, as well as their management and processing within our document management system.The challenges of digitalization.All this process requires not only the choice of a document management software and an architecture of services suitable for the requirements of the public office but of an entire organization of work and processes.Digitizing does not imply just keeping information secure, but managing it , and doing it properly with the methods and tools of archival science .
For the digitalization they are still valid, archival concepts such as expurgation, transfer, documentary valuation, classification chart and documentary series.Also read: How to reduce downtime in public management?Managing this electronic environment is complex.
