Starting in early Spring 2024, UW and Office of Public Record (OPR) initiated a transformation of OPR. The goal was to reduce the backlog of Public Records requests (PRR), create greater transparency in responding to PRRs, and position OPR as a more proactive driver behind UW’s PRR responses.
To tackle the PRR backlog, OPR applied tactics like increased productivity through team review; responding to smaller, easier requests first; and releasing records on a more consistent basis to requesters. Efforts such as these reduced the backlog from 527 in April 2024 to 238 by August 2024 and to less than 60 by April 2025.
To increase transparency in operations, OPR edited all communications to be more friendly and direct, rewrote OPR’s website with more helpful tips, and established response times to within 48 hours. OPR also created a quarterly liaison committee to discuss PRA requests and collection issues, began weekly open office hours for liaisons, initiated regular liaison training, and created a Sharepoint site for liaisons with helpful tools and information.
Removal of a top-down model, incorporating staff into decision-making, opening discussions and brainstorming about changes, celebrating successes and rethinking approaches have all contributed to greater transparency and efficiency in operations. Implementation of new PRR management and review software, Purview and Google Vault search tools, and application of AI tools has reduced UW collection burden and decreased UW PRR response time.
Redefining the culture within OPR to be more collaborative, transparent, more open to ideas for change, and more accepting of a culture of continuous innovation and improvement, all have led to OPR’s success over the previous year and into the future.
To stay updated on other initiatives check out the Together We Thrive website.