African Development Bank SANKOFA Program 2024

Description

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is implementing SANKOFA, a new document and records management platform. To improve metadata accuracy and efficiency, SANKOFA integrates a business classification scheme that categorizes documents by function, activity, and type. This enables better document organization, retrieval, and information management, supporting the AfDB’s mission of sustainable development in Africa.

• Type: Presentation
• Venue: DCMI
• Date: October 23, 2024
• Broad Topic: Metadata

Watch Presentation

• Download Video (MP4)
• Download Presentation | PPTX – PDF

Video Script

• Download Video Script (PDF)

[Slide 1:] The African Development Bank SANKOFA Program: How Integrating Business Classification into the Documentation Business Process Is Facilitating Complete and Correct Metadata

DCMI Best Practices Presentation, Toronto, Canada, October 23, 2024

Abstract: This presentation provides an update on the African Development Bank’s SANKOFA business classification and metadata scheme. This presentation focuses on how we are integrating business classification into the documentation business process. This facilitates complete and correct metadata in the document repository. The ultimate goal of this scheme is to enable information disclosure, protect sensitive materials, and integrate knowledge in the business processes of the Bank.

[Slide 2] Project context

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is a multilateral financial institution with the overall goal of sustainable economic development and social progress in African countries that contributes to poverty reduction. The Bank’s Secretary General (PSEG) has the mandate to provide leadership and sponsorship of the implementation of Bank policy and enabling compliance with it. This includes implementation of records management (RM) and disclosure and access to information (DAI) policies. In practice this means the capture and storage of documents and metadata across Bank activities, from drafts to the final version. The overall goals are to transform the current business practices where documents have been created and stored on personal computers, reviewed and approved using email and hard copies, and shared as email attachments. The desired future state is to implement common business processes among and across business units, regions and country offices that will result in shared online collaboration, an enriched document repository …

[Slide 3] The High 5s

… and ultimately achieves the Banks top priorities—”The High Fives”: Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Affrica, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.

[Slide 4] Metadata enablement goals

One of the key bottlenecks in international development is the appraisal and approval of projects. This involves a significant amount of documentation of project development activities prior to implementation. This is a major documentation challenge and potential project implementation bottleneck. SANKOFA is the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) new document and records management platform. SANKOFA aims to facilitate a digital transformation of the Bank’s documentation facility to address the project implementation challenge and to unify access to documents across all the Bank’s business activities, as well as to enable the disposition of the Bank’s records and their disclosure as appropriate.

[Slide 5] SANKOFA business classification scheme

A file plan is a standard method for organizing documents so they will be systematically filed and named. A file plan may be thought of as business classification categories, for example, by business Function, Activity, and Document Type as shown in this slide. 

[Slide 6] Function

To upload a document (or group of documents) to SANKOFA, the first step is to select the broad business Function in which a document was created. In SANKOFA, documents are organized based on the Function or business purpose for which they were created. Functions are more stable than organizational structure which frequently changes. This slide shows the 10 broad business Functions at the Bank. These are common business Functions that are applicable to any large organization.

[Slide 7] Activity

This slide shows the sub-functions or Activities that are related to the Operations, Programs, Projects and Initiatives Function at the Bank. Much (but not all) of the Bank’s activities are focused on the Project Lifecycle Management of development projects. 

[Slide 8] Document type

This slide shows the start of the list of the Document Types that are related to the Appraisal and Approval Phase in the lifecycle of development projects. 

[Slide 9] SANKOFA Business classification metamodel

In the past the Bank’s metadata model was detailed at the Document Type level. Over the past year, we have been rethinking this bottom-up metadata model and have decided to set metadata schema at the Activity level. There are several benefits to moving to a more top-down metamodel. 

1. There are far fewer Activities (approximately 150) than Document Types (approximately 1150).
2. Thus, it will be easier to agree on and simpler to manage metadata schema at the Activity level.
3. Key Activity Instances such as development projects are already managed by systems of record such as SAP.
4. Records management and disclosure information can also be managed at the Activity level and simply inherited by documents filed there.
5. Adding new documents will be much less cumbersome since most of the metadata will be inherited from the Activity Instance.

The new model will require that Activities 1) not be repeatable, and 2) have document types with a homogeneous retention period and disclosure classification. This means that several existing Activities will need to be split into two or more distinct Activities. On the other hand, Document Types may be used in any number of Activities. Note the red and brown arrows on the right-hand side of the metamodel indicate repeated Document Types.

A Registry for Activities to provide unique identifiers will be provided. Some of these Activity identifiers will be managed by systems of record but most will not. 

[Slide 10] SANKOFA Business classification metamodel

The metadata model specifies a schema for each Activity. There will be a Generic schema that includes a small set of standard Activity properties: Type, Identifier. Manager, Start and End Date, Record Value, Security Level. Integration schema will be able to be specified for Activities. For example, the Project Cycle Management integration schema has the Generic properties plus these integration Activity properties: Phase, High Five Description, Trust Fund Description, Trust Fund Number, Fund Type, Region, Country, Sector, Sub-sector, and Year. 

[Slide 11] SANKOFA Business classification instantiation

There are usually multiple instances for each Activity. For example, in the Governance and Organization Function, there is an Activity Annual Meeting. So, there will be an Annual Meeting instance for each year.

[Slide 12] SANKOFA Business classification instantiation

This is an instantiation of the Project Cycle Management Integration Schema.

[Slide 13] SANKOFA Activity metadata: Activity code

When there is no system of record, a unique Activity Identifier will be generated by SANKOFA and a Generic schema for Activity metadata will apply. When there is a system of record, an Integration schema for Activity metadata will apply, the user will enter the Activity Identifier and then the property values will be downloaded from the system of record.

[Slide 14] Sovereign Operations Project code metadata

SANKOFA makes it very easy to add metadata values to documents when they are uploaded into it. Many documents can be described by simply filing it under the Activity Instance. For example, in the Operations, Programs, Projects and Initiatives Function, there is an Activity Project Cycle Management. There will be an instance for each Project that contains the metadata. This slide shows the descriptive metadata associated with the Document Type Project Appraisal Report. The metadata values including the Project Code, Project Name, Task Manager, Region, Department, Country, Sector, and Subsector are automatically filled-in. 

[Slide 15] SANKOFA Activity metadata: Project phase

One of the main activities of the Bank is planning and supervision of development projects undertaken by one or more African countries. This is the primary work of these four Bank complexes

• Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery
• Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth
• Agriculture, Human and Social Development
• Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization

Each project involves (and indeed every Bank Activity) involves the creation and collaboration around many different types of documents. For the Project Cycle Management Activity the Document Types are grouped by Project Phases. Sovereign Operations have six Projects Phases.

[Slide 16] Sovereign Operations development project phases and key document types

One method to facilitate collaboration in document production is templates and metadata, especially for key document types such as the reports that are generated in conjunction with each Phase of the development project lifecycle illustrated in this slide [Table 1]. Templates enable standardization of the form, structure, and metadata of key document types. A template related to a specific type of report can be associated with the specific Phase in the project lifecycle when that type of report is generated, and specific metadata and metadata values can automatically be filled in based on this context.

Table 1-AfDB development project phases and key reports.

It is important to classify documents with their correct business Activity, Project Phase, and Document Type, and especially to tag them with the Project Code (or other identifier for documents that are not associated with Sovereign development projects). This enables the automatic population of important metadata associated with the Document Type, as well as metadata associated with the project. The business Activity and Document Type are used to retrieve metadata from the records management File Plan (plan de classement). The Project Code is used to query and retrieve related metadata from SAP, the system of record for Sovereign Operations. 

[Slide 17] Project Cycle Management phases and document types in Sankofa application

This is a screenshot of the Project Cycle Management Activity Document Types organized by Sovereign Operations Project Phases. When uploading one or more documents in SANKOFA the first step is to identify the Document Type that is being uploaded. This enables the system to display the appropriate metadata template and fill-in any default metadata associated with that Document Type.

[Slide 18] SANKOFA Activity metadata: Business process stage

Some Bank Activities such as Corporate Procurement have very specific Business Processes and these are sometimes organized into business process Stages. Procurement is a business Activity that applies to all Bank operations including those related to Sovereign and Non-Sovereign projects involving one or more African country as well as internal administrative Bank operations. 

[Slide 19] SANKOFA business classification scheme – Function: Corporate Support Services

To upload a document (or group of documents) in SANKOFA, the first step is to select the broad business Function in which a document was created. Corporate Support Services is the business Function under which Corporate Procurement is located.

[Slide 20] SANKOFA business classification scheme – Activity: Corporate Procurement

This slide shows the sub-functions or Activities that are related to the Corporate Support Services Function at the Bank. 

[Slide 21] SANKOFA business classification scheme – Corporate Procurement Document Types

This slide shows the start of the list of the Document Types grouped by Phases that are related to the Corporate Procurement Activity. 

[Slide 22] Corporate Procurement business process stages and document type examples

For the Corporate Procurement Activity the Document Types have been grouped into 10 Business Process Stages.

[Slide 23] Corporate Procurement business process stages and document types in Sankofa application

This is a screenshot of the Corporate Procurement Activity document types organized by business process Stages. 

[Slide 24] How metadata is used to filter documents

This slide illustrates how metadata is used to filter document collections by Country, Division, Phase, or Sector in SANKOFA. When uploading one or more documents in SANKOFA the first step is to identify the Document Type that is being uploaded. This enables the system to display the appropriate metadata template and fill-in any default metadata associated with that Document Type.

[Slide 25] How metadata is used to filter documents in Corporate Procurement – By country by year

After documents have been added to the SANKOFA repository the business user wants to be able to search for and easily retrieve individual or groups of documents. A primary design of SANKOFA is to enable dynamic reporting using metadata. For the Corporate Procurement Activity the primary way to browse and review documents related to Sovereign and Non-Sovereign projects is by Country and then by Year.

[Slide 26] … or by division by year

While the primary way to browse and review documents related to internal administrative Bank operations is by Division and then by Year.

[Slide 27] Summary

The Bank’s practices to obtain complete and consistent metadata include: 

• A core metadata standard for the Bank based on ISO 15836 – Dublin Core (Title, Owner, Date, and Coverage; plus: Function, Activity, and Document Type​) that enables complete metadata.,
• The re-use of existing metadata from Bank applications and repositories (such as SAP) enables more consistent metadata. 
• Plus, editorial guidelines and naming conventions for controlled vocabularies (not discussed in this report).

Practices focused on the right amount of ​metadata should result in:

• Reduced errors, 
• Relevant search results, 
• Reduced replication of existing work, and
• Optimized staff time.​