Records and Information Disaster Preparedness in Selected Organisations in Uganda

Abstract

This study looked at the availability of rules and regulations governing access to and use of records; threats to records management; disaster response plan; extent to which organizations are committed in four major stages of disaster management in organizations in Uganda. In gathering the data, structured questionnaire was administered to 32 records and information professionals from both government and private sector who participated in performance improvement training in Electronic Records Management at Makerere University in August 2010. The findings show among others the areas of interest for short training for records managers; availability of rules and regulations governing access to records; percentage of the organizations‟ budget spent on disaster preparedness; threats to both paper-based and e-records; availability of policy on records disaster management; availability of migration plans from paper based toelectronic records; rate at which records are lost through disasters. The  study showed the level of records disaster planning preparedness of the organizations in Uganda and extent of commitment towards disaster management. It gives a picture of records managers‟ perception on aspects of records disaster management considered crucial for effective records management in organizations. The study concludes a worrying situation that requires immediate interventions that include among others: the need for organizations to design records disaster management policy; the inclusion of disaster planning and management as a core training course for Information Science professionals; sensitization of organizations‟ policy makers on disaster planning and management; developing techniques for training, knowledge transfer and assessments for records disasters.

Keywords: Disaster Management, Records Disaster Plan, Records Management, Records-Threats, Uganda