Information related to cultural environments is socially valuable because it supports the preservation of cultural heritage. Museums, municipalities, and other expert organizations continuously handle materials related to the built environment, geospatial data, cultural-historical sites, and consultation processes. The amount of data is constantly growing, and at the same time the need for efficient management of it is becoming increasingly important.
Cultural environment information management refers to the collection, integration, preservation, and sharing of information about cultural environments in such a way that the right people can access it when needed. Effective information management supports expert work, speeds up decision-making, and helps preserve cultural heritage-related information in the long term.
What challenges are associated with cultural environment information management?
Often, information related to cultural environments is produced in multiple different systems, organizations, and processes, making it slow and laborious to form an overall picture.
Profium’s Product Manager Pasi Tiitinen describes the challenge as follows: “A key challenge is collecting data from different sources, coordinating data acquisition, and delivering the data to those who need it.”
Cultural environment data includes, for example, geospatial information, materials related to the built environment, and cultural-historical classifications of sites. In addition, multiple stakeholders are typically involved, ranging from museums and consultants to authorities. When information does not flow smoothly, work processes slow down.
Benefits of an effective information management system
A modern information management system helps combine fragmented data into a unified whole while supporting daily work processes.
Tiitinen sees integrations as playing a central role: “Modern technology enables relatively easy integrations with systems that produce data and those that need it.”
When information is centrally available, manual work is reduced, and data can also be shared through public interfaces.
The possibilities of utilizing artificial intelligence are also being actively explored. Profium is currently developing AI applications to support information management together with its customers.
Pasi Tiitinen summarizes: “This field is in constant development. At Profium, we have long-standing practical experience as a provider, but we want to be part of the change.”
What does a functional information management system for the cultural environment look like?
A well-functioning information management system supports cooperation between different actors and enables the automatic transfer of data between systems.
“A competent information management system takes the entire data production and usage chain into account and supports work processes involving multiple parties,” Tiitinen notes.
Hämeenlinna Museum: efficient consultation processes
Hämeenlinna Museum uses Profium’s solution for managing cultural environment data and consultation processes.
Museum Director Antti Krapu describes the initial situation: “The key challenge in cultural environment work was, and still is, that information is available in a fragmented way. The information system makes it possible to bring cultural environment data under a single service.”
According to Krapu, the system is also directly reflected in efficiency: “The Tupa system functions as a fully-fledged practical consultation tool and significantly improves efficiency in handling statements and in process information management.”
When information management comprehensively supports practical work, museum experts can spend more time on their core expertise and less time searching for information.
