Cefas
Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) is an internationally renowned, multidisciplinary scientific research and consultancy centre. Established in April 1997 as an Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from MAFF’s Directorate of Fisheries Research (DFR) it is now an Executive Agency of the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Cefas provides research and advice to the UK government and industry on fisheries management, environmental protection and aquaculture. It has a staff of over 500 based at three specialist laboratories in the UK.
Knowledge management
Cefas was undertaking a knowledge management (KM) project with the aim of creating a trusted source for scientists and support staff to access and share information, based on an off-the-shelf electronic document and records managements system (EDRMS). The organisation was also in the process of preparing to move to a new building which had far less space for its paper records.
As a first step, Cefas required assistance on the development of a business case for an EDRM system. As an ISO 14001 certified organisation, a view on the impact of such a system on its carbon footprint was also a requirement.
Analysis report
Bramble.cc was appointed to conduct a short period of investigation followed by analysis of the results. A report was produced that
captured the drivers for change and outlined the areas where benefits could be gained by introducing an information management solution.
Recommendations from the report included:
- Senior management to provide governance to information management and implementation of a new information system
- The KM project should acquire software to support new ways of working with information
- The KM project should define the new ways of working (liaising with business representatives) and assist business managers in embedding them in everyday practice
- Senior management and the project should communicate the vision and benefits intended by the KM project to deliver the resource
required for change management. Options outlined - The report went on to explore options for implementing the required changes and the various technology options that could be
adopted by Cefas for facilitating the changes proposed - In addition to the report, Bramble.cc produced and delivered a presentation for senior management that summarised the findings of the report