Dr Proscovia Svard

Research Interests

Enterprise content management, records management, information culture, e-government development, public sector information (PSI) and Open Data, long-term preservation of digital information, truth and reconciliation commissions and their documentation processes, the role of archives in enhancing accountability and transparency in government institutions, information access and the link to democracy and development and New Public Management and its impact on the management of government information.

PhD in

Archives and Information Science

Research Collaborations

Under the auspices of InterPares Trust AI which is at the University of British Columbia, I am leading a study entitled, "Investigating the Use of AI technologies in the Realm of E-Government Development together with colleagues; Ass. Prof. Esteban Guerrero, School of Technology and Innovations, Vaasa University, Assoc. Prof. Saurombe Nampombe, Associate Prof. Lorette Jacobs and Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Tolu Balogun, Department of Information Science, University of South Africa and Assoc. Prof. Pekka Henttonen of Tampere University, Faculty of Information technology and Communication Sciences.

Research Projects:

I am leading a pre-study entitled, “Greening Information Management for Sustainable Development.” The study investigates whether government agencies (of Sweden, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and UAE) have put in place strategies and policies to achieve green information management. Information continues to be an unexpendable element in all human activities. Most of it is borne digital and hence dependent on information management systems and IT solutions for its effective creation, capture, organization, use and preservation for re-use. The exponential growth of information has meant the implementation of data centers with servers that are reliant on electricity for cooling. Storage technology is said to be the biggest consumer of energy and yet, 60% of the information stored is either subsided or useless. Governments need to promote green IT and data stewardship strategies and policies to reduce social, ecological, and environmental challenges. The objective is to create awareness about the impact of digital information and information systems on the environment through energy consumption and e-waste. E-waste for example ends up in countries that have no recycling plants. The solution is usually, to burn the old computers, to both access parts that are considered valuable for sale and the burnt plastic components end up producing very toxic fumes dangerous to the poor people’s health. Sustainability should be integrated in the production of information systems that the digital society is now reliant on but that also require the extraction of raw materials from conflict ridden parts of the world. Sustainable development requires the promotion of social and economic development based on the effective utilization of resources so that even future generations can enjoy them too.

I am also carrying out a study entitled, “An Investigation of The Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) Documentation Process.” Truth Commissions (TCs) are temporary institutions that are set up to establish the truth by documenting patterns of past human rights violations, their causes and consequences. The Gambia experienced a 22-year dictatorship under the rule of Yahya Jammeh who came to power through the barrel of the gun and ruled between 1994 – 2017. The civilian population were exposed to extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, enforced disappearances, and numerous grievous human rights violations. After his fall, the Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was established by the Act of the National Assembly of The Republic of Gambia in December 2017. The objectives will be as follows: a) To establish if an information infrastructure that will facilitate the effective management of the TRRC’s documentation has been implemented, b)To establish if there are plans to promote the use of the documentation and c) To establish how the dissemination of the TRRC finding has been done.

Publications Book

• Svärd, P. (2017). Enterprise content management, records management and information culture amidst E-government development. Cambridge (MA): Chandos Publishing (Chandos information professional series), Elsevier.

Doctoral thesis

• Svärd, P. (2014). Information and records management systems and the impact of information culture on the management of public information. Dis. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, 2014.

Licentiate thesis

• Svärd, P. (2011). The Interface Between Enterprise Content Management and Records Management in Changing Organizations. Lic. (Comprehensive summary) Sundsvall: Kopieringen Mid Sweden University, 2011 (Mid Sweden University licentiate thesis: 71)

Book chapters

• Svard, P. (2023). The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Access to its Documentation. In Truth Commissions and State Building. Eds. Ibhawoh, B, Ayelazuno, J. A. and Bawa, S. pp. 281-294, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal.
• Svärd, P. (2020). The Role of Information Institutions in Promoting Information Literacy and Access to Information for Sustainable Development in the Post-Truth Era : The Case of Sweden. In Open Access Implications for Sustainable Social, Political, and Economic Development. IGI Global. pp. 78-99.
• Svärd, P. (2017). E-government development and challenges of freeing public sector information. In The Governance of Local Communities : Global Perspectives and Challenges. Hauppauge, New York : Nova Science Publishers, Inc.. pp. 145-162.
• Svärd, P. (2014). Exploring Two Approaches to Information Management : two Swedish municipalities as examples. In Enterprise Content Management in Information Systems Research : Foundations, Methods and Cases. Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin/Heidelberg. pp. 217-235.

Conference Proceedings

• Svärd, P. & Zimic, S. (2021). Information Management and E-services Development : The Follow-up Process of Residential Care Homes for Children and Young People in Two Swedish Municipalities. In EGOV-CeDEM-ePart 2021 : Proceedings of Ongoing Research, Practitioners, Posters, Workshops, and Projects of the International Conference EGOV-CeDEM-ePart 2021, pp. 91--102.
• Svärd, P. (2017). Hindrances to access and re-use of open government data : the case of Sweden. In Proceeding of DLIS 2017 International Conference. Gaborone: pp. 1--17.
• Svärd, P. & Joshi, S. (2015). Prerequisites to e-Government Development and Open Government: The Case of Three Municipalities. In CeDEM15 Proceedings.
• Svärd, P. & Samuelsson, G. (2011). E-Government Developments and The Challenges of Managing Geodata. In Electronic government and electronic participation: joint proceedings of ongoing research and projects of IFIP EGOV and ePart 2011. Linz : (Schrifenreihe Informatik). pp. 175--180.
• Svärd, P. (2010). e-Government Initiatives and Information Management in Two Local Government Authorities.. In Proceedings of 4th European Conference on Information Management and Evaluation. Reading: pp. 429--436.
• Kallberg, M., Svärd, P. & Sundberg, H. (2010). Improving Local Government - A Survey of Problems. In Proceedings of the IADIS International Conference e-Society 2010. pp. 76--84.
• Svard, P. (2009). Archiving Challenges in Africa: The Case of Post-Conflict Liberia. Paper presented at the IASA 2008 Conference, Sydney, Australia

Journal Articles

• Svärd, P. & Borglund, E. (2022). The implementation of an e-archive to facilitate open data publication and the use of common specifications : A case of three Swedish agencies. Government Information Quarterly.
• Svärd, P. (2022). The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Use of its Documentation : An Analysis. Working papers:33
• Svärd, P. (2021). Public Sector Information and Open Data : A Focus on Sweden. Mousaion: South African Journal of Information Studies, vol. 38:4
• Svärd, P. (2021). The Swedish People’s Awareness of The Public Sector Information Directive – a Pilot Study. Tidsskriftet Arkiv, vol. 9:1
• Svärd, P. (2021). Using African Truth and Reconciliation Commission documentation for truth telling and reconciliation. Education for Information, vol. 37: 1, pp. 113-120.
• Svärd, P. (2019). The Archivists’ Understanding of New Public Management and Outsourcing of Government Information : The Case of Sweden. Mousaion: South African Journal of Information Studies, vol. 37:1.
• Svärd, P. (2019). The impact of new public management through outsourcing on the management of government information : The case of Sweden. Records Management Journal, vol. 29: 1/2, pp. 134-151.
• Svärd, P. (2018). Access to government information : a global phenomenon but what are the challenges? ESARBICA Journal, vol. 37, pp. 158-177.
• Svärd, P. (2018). Has the Freedom of Information Act enhanced transparency and the free flow of information in Liberia?. Information Development, vol. 34: 1, pp. 20-30.
• Svärd, P. (2018). Public Information Directive (PSI) implementation in two Swedish municipalities. Records Management Journal, vol. 28: 1, pp. 2-17.
• Svärd, P. (2017). A proactive and holistic information management approach is crucial to e-government development. ESARBICA Journal: Journal of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives, vol. 36, pp. 1-11.
• Svärd, P. (2017). Freedom of information laws and information access : The case of Sierra Leone. Information Development, vol. 33: 2, pp. 190-198.
• Svärd, P. (2017). The woes of Swedish private archival institutions. Records Management Journal, vol. 27: 3, pp. 275-285.
• Sundqvist, A. & Svärd, P. (2016). Information culture and records management : a suitable match? Conceptualizations of information culture and their application on records management. International Journal of Information Management, vol. 36: 1, pp. 9-15.
• Svärd, P. (2014). Information Culture in Three Municipalities and Its Impact on Information Management amidst E-Government Development. IFLA Journal, vol. 40: 1, pp. 48-59.
• Svärd, P. (2014). The impact of information culture on information/ records management : A case study of a municipality in Belgium. Records Management Journal, vol. 24: 1, pp. 5-21.
• Svärd, P. (2013). Enterprise Content Management and the Records Continuum Model as strategies for long-term preservation of digital information. Records Management Journal, vol. 23: 3, pp. 159-176.
• Svärd, P. (2013). Records management and e-Government development in Europe : a tale of 3 municipalities, IQ: The RIM Quarterly, vol. 29: 4, pp. 37-42.
• Kallberg, M. , Ivarsson, E. Svärd, P. & Troselius, N. (2012). Rapport från ARCHIDIS-sommarskola : Marburg 1-12 augusti 2011. Arkiv, samhälle och forskning, vol. 2011: 1, pp. 22-27.
• Svärd, P. (2011). Information Management Strategies in Two Swedish Municipalities: Similarities with Enterprise Content Management.. Information and Records Management Annual, (iRMA) pp. 153-182.
• Svärd, P. (2011). Transforming public administrations and challenges of information management. Archives & Manuscripts, vol. 39: 2, pp. 96-118.
• Svärd, P. (2010). The international community and post-war reconciliation in Africa: A case study of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, vol. 10: 1, pp. 35-61.
• Svärd, P. & Sundqvist, A. (2009). Archiving and Small Nations : An Ethical Issue of Two Post-Conflict Societies. Infotrend, vol. 64: 1, pp. 2-12.
• Svärd, P. (2008). Access and democratisation of information: the documentation of war atrocities by the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Comma: 1, pp. 123-134.
• Svärd, P. (2008). The Role of Archives in enhancing Accountability and Transparency - The Case of Sierra Leone. The Eastern and Southern Regional Branch of the International Council of Archives (ESARBICA)-, vol. 27, pp. 20-38.
• Sundqvist, A. & Svärd, P. (2007). IT - the most revolutionary issue globally: but is it for all?. InfoTrend, vol. 62: 3, pp. 71-78.
• Svärd, P. (2007). The Challenges of Documenting War Atrocities in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone: A Study of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).. African Journal of International Affairs, vol. 10: 1&2, pp. 55-72.
• Svärd, P. (2005). Archival Challenges. News from the Nordic Africa Institute:2
• Svärd, P. (2005). Waste Management in Uganda. News from the Nordic Africa Institute: 3, pp. 26-28.

Affiliations

• Research Fellow (2015 - todate)
• University of South Africa, Department of Information Science (Unisa)