Eskel Porter Consulting Inc.

Do You Have a Solution for Managing

Public Records Act Requests?

Why a Solution is needed for managing Public Records Act Requests

Across the nation, CRM (Constituent Relationship Management) is being proven as an important technology and solution for managing Public Records Act (PRA) requests in state government. State and local governments are successfully delivering higher levels of prompt, customer-oriented service through the adoption of the same tools and technologies used by the commercial sector. CRM software makes it possible for users to capture and view all interactions with constituents. CRM enables state agencies and department staff to better track communications, as well as manage and proactively respond to Public Records Act requests – whether it is with citizens, consumers, media, or other state organizations. Heads of State around the country have made it a mandate to improve customer service and transform state government to make it more responsive to the public's needs.

In a time of instant global communication and ubiquitous information, citizens and businesses are demanding convenient and consistent access to government information and services. The problem begins when public organization are often hampered by limited resources and inefficient, paper-based service delivery processes. Adding additional challenges to public organizations is anticipation that almost 40% of the state's workforce will be at retirement age within two to three years. This fact certainly does not help current resource constraints that already stand in the way of state government being more responsive to the public’s needs.

In addition, the Public Records Act (PRA) has given citizens, media, and constituent’s access to state documents and information. California passed Proposition 59, which added constitutional weight to the Public Records Act by requiring government entities to demonstrate why information requested by the public should be kept private. The law now requires that all state agencies respond to these requests for information within 10 days or face the possibility of a legal action.

With a greater number of requests across a broader range of subjects, coupled with enforceable deadlines, CRM is needed more than ever. CRM is a software technology that can provide the capability to centralize and track all communications and requests from a single database system. In addition to tracking and organizing requests, CRM will provide communication history, process resolutions, escalation routing, and report on the status and results related to all types of issues for management.

According to Gartner Research - Through 2007, governments that organize service delivery around constituent needs instead of organizational silos will reduce annual operating expenses by greater that 15%. The reality is that state agencies cannot afford NOT to invest in CRM technology.

Solution - Microsoft Dynamics CRM for PRA Management

In 2007 Microsoft, in conjunction with a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and a select group of government state agencies from the State of California collaborated in the design and development of a PRA management solution using Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a technology solution to resolve key issues facing government in managing PRA requests. The group provided key information in the areas of; system design, navigation, user interface, workflow and reporting.

The result of this collaboration was the development of a Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Public Records Act request tracking system that includes the following features:

Ø Track all communication and activities between agency and requestor

Ø Connect all relevant emails and documents associated with a PRA case

Ø Capture all relevant information associated with the person making the PRA request

Ø Prioritize and/or escalate a PRA based on predefined criteria

Ø Automatically notify management when a new PRA comes in

Ø Provide standard responses to common PRA requests automatically

Ø Auto alerts to notify when a PRA request is approaching the due date

Ø Audit capabilities to track dates of correspondence

Ø Workflow that will allow requests to be automatically routed to the appropriate staff

Ø Estimate the cost and number of man hours associated with fulfilling PRA requests

Ø Keep an updated knowledge base repository of documents that is searchable

Ø Ability to receive & respond to requests using email, fax, mail and the web

Ø Ability to view all PRA requests and the status from a single application

Ø Provide Key Reports on PRA resolutions

In addition, Microsoft Dynamics CRM has been designed to be a natural extension of Microsoft Office and Outlook, providing a familiar and intuitive work environment that fosters user adoption and productivity. Since Microsoft Dynamics CRM integrates directly into Outlook and other Office applications you can take advantage of; Word, Excel, Outlook email and calendaring features right from Dynamics CRM. This feature allows you to leverage leveraging tools already familiar to your organization.

Want to Learn More?

If you are interested in learning more about Microsoft Dynamics CRM for PRA Management and would like to see a demonstration of the solution please contact us: microsoft@eskelporter.com or call (916) 492-1212.