On 15 October 2008, the National Information Management Skills Summit was held at Parliament House in Brisbane, Australia.

More than 160 delegates joined national and international information management experts to discuss best practice in the management of government information and to tackle the issue of information management skills shortages. Delegates included Chief Executive Officers, Chief Information Officers, HR and IM Directors, IM educators and industry representatives.

Delegates participated in one of three interactive sessions in the afternoon of the Summit. The information generated in these sessions contributed to the development of an action plan – the Queensland Government Information Management Skills Action Plan 2009-2014 - to improve the information management capability of the Queensland public sector. This Plan, through its focus areas and key strategies acknowledges the need for collective responsibility in building and enhancing information management capabilities, and will be implemented over a five year period by a range of agencies across the Queensland Government.

High-quality, authoritative information is essential to Governments’ ability to plan and deliver responsive services to citizens, manage risk and achieve accountability. Managing information requires skilled professionals from a variety of disciplines.

We would like to thank the speakers and delegates for their participation in the Summit and those that contributed to the development of the Information Management Skills Action Plan 2009-2014.

If you would like further information about the Action Plan, please contact Anna Morris, Senior Research Analyst, Queensland State Archives by emailing: anna.morris@archives.qld.gov.au.