Some of the most fundamental qualities of effective government are transparency and trust. You’ve undoubtedly worked hard to create engaging comms and programs to serve the public and engage them in dialogue, all with the goal of building trust. 

Unfortunately, government officials aiming to promote trust and transparency often face an uphill battle. Public trust in government is being eroded by widespread mis- and disinformation. A recent Pew Research study showed that a mere 24% of people said they could trust the government most of the time.

There are a couple of legislative protections that empower citizens to engage with government agencies, such as the Freedom of Information Act and Sunshine Laws. However, simply meeting requirements related to these laws is not enough. The best public-sector organizations make transparency and trust-building primary objectives of their day-to-day operations and that’s why government communicators play such a key role in an agency.  

A cornerstone of fostering trust and accountability for government entities involves presenting a comprehensive and accessible archive of data for the public to access. In today’s age of technology, this includes a government entity’s digital presence, such as any websites, social media accounts, and internal communications platforms like Slack.

How can you help your government entity systematically and securely archive every facet of its digital footprint? Pagefreezer’s government archiving solutions are your best, most user-friendly answer—but first, let’s dive into the concept of transparency in government and how archives relate to it.

Quick Links:

• What Is Transparency in Government & Why Is It Important?
• How Do Archives Impact Public Perception?
• Improve Transparency in Government with PageFreezer’s Archiving Solutions

What Is Transparency in Government & Why Is It Important?

Transparency in government is broadly defined as a state of openness and the full flow of information between the government and the governed. As the saying goes, knowledge is power; equipping the public with information and access to data that’s managed or disseminated by a government entity is the foundation of transparency.

When people have access to government records, they have the ability to question processes and scrutinize communications between officials and entities that represent them. It’s a matter of checks and balances—elected officials and government organizations reflect or act upon public interests, thus the public has a role and responsibility to evaluate the actions or intentions of such organizations. 

Transparency means not only giving people access to government records but making it as quick and easy as possible to access these records. Only by operating in as transparent a manner as possible and streamlining access to public-sector information can organizations improve public trust.

How Do Archives Impact Public Perception?

In the age of misinformation and manipulated facts, it’s vital that government archives are reliable and accessible. Without a comprehensive and accurate recording of events, information, documents, and more, the public has little certainty of what constitutes the past. 

This is where archives play a crucial role in bolstering transparency in government and equipping the public to investigate governmental data. While the term “archives” might conjure up images of dusty books or secret hallways as shown in Hollywood movies, today’s archiving capabilities are anything but stuck in the past. Websites, social media accounts, communication platforms like Slack, and more are included in the list of data types that need to be archived by a government entity.

They say the Internet never forgets and accessible government archives deliver on that promise. Whether it’s accessible via a public portal or an aggregate of information compiled in fulfilling a FOIA request, government entities must recognize that transparency hinges upon digital information being sufficiently captured, preserved, and presented to the public.

Improve Transparency in Government with Pagefreezer’s Archiving Solutions

Since any government entity’s digital presence is equivalent to a paper document, there is an urgent need to capture and retain every iteration of their website or comment on their social media accounts in order to encourage transparency.

Manually taking screenshots of your government agency’s digital presence in an attempt to fulfill FOIA requests is time-consuming, disorganized, and nearly impossible to effectively manage given the nature of digital sites and platforms constantly changing. With Pagefreezer’s comprehensive, user-friendly archiving solutions, it’s easy to find and export items from your government entity’s archive in full context and native format.

Since government entities have a responsibility to be open and transparent with their records, utilizing a public portal for your organization’s digital content archives is an easy, effective solution. When citizens are able to access and download your entity’s archives through a public portal at any time, there’s no longer a delay between request and fulfillment. Shortening this process and providing ample opportunities for the public to look into your government entity’s records saves time and money, and builds trust.

Pagefreezer has developed a public portal specifically to meet such transparency needs. A Public Portal makes the open records compliance process as easy as possible; your organization can comprehensively share its online data with your constituents on-demand. Plus, by presenting this information in a way that is organized and searchable, the public can easily find what they want and download the content in PDF format.

Partner with Pagefreezer to Improve Transparency in Your Government Organization

Government archives play a vital role in boosting transparency, accountability, and accessibility between a government entity and the public. Between website page updates, social media platforms, and more, there are countless moments that need to be adequately monitored and preserved. Pagefreezer’s government archiving solution is your comprehensive resource to make archives available and compliant.

There’s a reason we’re trusted to keep government data secure, searchable, and seamlessly integrated into organizations around the world: we offer the best government archiving solution custom to your needs.

Download our Government Guidebook to learn more about recordkeeping requirements, the challenges of archiving websites and social media platforms, how to simplify this process, and more!