About us

We support qualified civil servants who enable the creation, organisation and exploitation of information and knowledge.

Who we are 

We are a community of experts who enable the creation, organisation and exploitation of information, records and knowledge. We help to ensure that public information is well-managed and used responsibly to deliver transparent, effective, and accountable public services.

We are a friendly and professional community of 4,000 people, working across departments, agencies, and arms’ length bodies (ALBs) to support and champion the creation, organisation and exploitation of information and knowledge. 

As a recognised profession in government, KIM forms a cornerstone of all    government activity.

There has never been a more exciting time to be part of this varied, diverse and inclusive profession.

Join the Profession

To join us - sign up via our Knowledge Hub site.

Our profession is open to anyone working in a KIM-related role in government or who has an interest in KIM or is responsible for managing information assets. It is a welcoming, open and collaborative profession.

The KIM profession offers an opportunity to develop a range of skills that are relevant to roles in government. We are leaders in managing change and working together and our skills make for more effective and efficient government. KIM touches every aspect of government activity and we  in the profession are in the privileged position of seeing the full extent of the work undertaken. We are keepers of the government’s history and ensure our departments remain transparent and are accountable to Parliament and the public.

Working as a KIM professional

GKIM professionals work in a range of disciplines, including information rights (Data Protection, Freedom of Information, Environmental Information Regulations), records management, information management, librarianship, knowledge management, information architecture and governance. They work in central Government departments, Government Agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies, and their careers may span many different disciplines and organisations.

The core KIM roles appear at the centre of the GKIM profession diagram (JPEG, 85.4 KB). Such roles are often filled by civil servants who have a recognised KIM qualification, or who have professional registration from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), Information and Records Management Society (IRMS), the Archives and Records Association (ARA) or the British Computer Society (BCS). Roles in the outer 2 rings may come under KIM, but this can vary in different Government departments.

Leadership

The Government Knowledge and Information Management Profession is led by the Government Head of Profession, Roger Smethurst of the Cabinet Office. He chairs the GKIM Leaders network, made up of KIM Leaders (the senior accountable person for KIM) from each main government department and participating devolved administrations, which governs the profession and provides a forum for developing an integrated cross-governmental approach to KIM. This includes creating opportunities for knowledge sharing, developing KIM skills and convening working groups to look at specific areas of importance for the GKIM community. The GKIM Head of Profession works with other government Heads of Professions, KIM Leaders and KIM professionals to:

  • build recognition among senior members of the civil service of the expertise of KIM professionals and the value they bring
  • improve the way departments manage information as an asset, ensuring it is protected, made accessible where appropriate and used effectively to inform decision-making and to provide efficient and effective public services
  • develop professionalism, a competency framework and learning opportunities to equip KIM professionals with the most up-to-date skills and career paths
  • unify specialist disciplines within the KIM profession to build a stronger community
  • raise core skills in managing knowledge and information across government

Professional Development

We help our KIM professionals to build the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to achieve their business objectives and to meet the challenges of delivering public services in the 21st century.

Building capability has personal benefits too, as professional skills and experience are recognised and valued, jobs become more rewarding, and professionals will be equipped to take their skills across the Civil Service.

The GKIM profession skills framework

The GKIM profession plays a critical role in supporting all government activity. We’re custodians of the government’s history. We ensure our departments remain transparent and accountable to Parliament and the public.The GKIM skills framework has both a generic set of skills and skills specific to each of the six GKIM disciplines.

These are:

  • Information Architecture
  • Information Management
  • Information Rights
  • Knowledge Management
  • Library Management
  • Records Management

The GKIM Skills framework is currently under re-development, in anticipation of the new Government Skills taxonomy, due in 2026. The static version of the 2024 GKIM skills framework is available here:

Our communities and networks

Here are a few of the networks that exist in the KIM profession.

AI for GKIM - Artificial Intelligence for GKIM

The artificial intelligence (AI) for government knowledge and information management (GKIM) community exists to:

  • bring together GKIM professionals across government to explore the opportunities and challenges offered by AI when used to better exploit, understand and manage unstructured data within departments
  • share and discuss findings from research projects and pilots that involve the use of AI to exploit and/or manage unstructured data
  • build greater understanding of the practicalities of planning, implementing and monitoring the use of AI tools for GKIM purposes

 Find out more about joining the AI for GKIM Community here

The Association of Departmental Record Officers (ADRO)

Represents all those responsible for or have an interest in records and information management in Government Departments, NDPBs or Agencies.

The aim of the Association is to provide a forum to discuss matters of mutual concern, to receive and share information, and when needed, to present a unified response to issues raised by The National Archives or other bodies.To find out more about this community apply to join via the Knowledge Hub ADRO Group.

The Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals

Has a Knowledge and Information Special Interest Group’ for CILIP members working in or who have an active interest in knowledge and information management.

The Committee of Departmental Librarians (CDL)

Consists of Heads of Profession from each government department who meet quarterly each year to discuss procurement, copyright and other pressing matters faced by departmental library and KIM teams. Both the Copyright and Procurement Practitioners Group are sub-groups of CDL.

If you are interested in joining CDL then please contact gkimhop@communities.gov.uk.

Government Information Group (GIG)

A Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) special interest group. It organises professional training for its members on topical subjects such as freedom of information, mentoring, electronic publishing and information handling. It promotes CILIP’s chartership and fellowships in government departments and encourages the use by members and their organisations of the Continuing Professional Development Personal Profile. Visits are arranged to government libraries and other national collections. As part of its policy of fostering contacts between members, the Group organises social activities.

If you are interested in joining GIG please contact Info.GIG@cilip.org.uk or look at the GIG pages on the CILIP website.

The Network of Government Library and Information Specialists (NGLIS)

  • provides an opportunity to network, socialise and keep in contact with Government information specialists
  • is a semi-formal organisation run by and for librarians and other information workers from government departments, agencies and other organisations
  • is non-profit making, funded by membership fees and income from courses and other events
  • is not affiliated to or funded by any government department or other organisation
  • is managed by members of the Committee, with assistance from other members and colleagues
  • is for anybody working within Government Information or anyone interested in Government Information. All members are welcome to join the committee or otherwise help with Network activities

To join NGLIS please contact nglispost@gmail.com or membernglis@gmail.com.

The Knowledge Mavericks

A Cross Government Knowledge Management (KM) Practitioners Group providing an informal and lively environment in which to share and develop good practice in KM within UK Government Departments.The Group is based upon a Community of Practice model, runs face- to-face meetings about once every 3 months and encourages online discussion and input from fellow practitioners.

The HMG Data Protection Implementation Group

We are a community group for information professionals responsible for Data Protection matters, offering an opportunity to share ideas and practice and ask questions. Register on Knowledge Hub to request to join the group.

The M365 Knowledge and Information Management User Group

Uses a FCDO hosted Microsoft Teams to discuss issues of interest to departments and organisations using Microsoft 365. The group also meets periodically.To join the group via your  M365 tenant contact GovernmentAudience@nationalarchives.gov.uk marking the email title as ‘M365 GKIM User Group’.

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