Trust This Document! ICTs, Authentic Records and Accountability

Abstract

Accountability forums need authentic digital records to reconstruct actions and decisions of government organizations and officials. In this paper, case studies are used to explore the relations between ICTs, authentic records and accountability. The empirical research indicates that whether accountability forums perceive (digital) records to be authentic does not just depend on technological and organizational safeguards but also on institutional safeguards. Norms, values and cognitive scripts regarding recordkeeping in public organizations create safeguards for the preservation of authentic digital records. For the design of recordkeeping systems this means that organizations should create integral arrangements of technological, organizational and institutional safeguards.