Behind the build: City of Peterborough
When most people think about municipal innovation, records management probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But for the City of Peterborough, modernizing how departments store, find, and manage information was a critical step toward better service delivery, as well as a more empowered workforce.
At Gravity Union, we were brought in to help make that transformation real. Here’s how we approached it, and what we learned along the way.
Source: Gravity Union
🧭 Starting with People, Not Just Platforms
The City had already made the strategic decision to move to Microsoft 365 and Collabspace. But technology alone doesn’t solve problems—people do. So we started by listening.
We worked closely with pilot departments to understand how they actually work: how they search for files, how they collaborate, and where things break down. Through card sorting, mind mapping, and lots of sketching, we co-designed a SharePoint Online structure that made sense to them, and not just to the technical team.
The goal is not to drop a new system on people. We want to build it with them
🛠️ Building a Foundation for the Future
With a clear structure in place, we built out SharePoint libraries, metadata tagging, and retention policies tailored to each department’s needs. We also introduced a repeatable model which we call “I do, we do, you do” to help internal teams take ownership of their own rollouts.
To support long-term compliance and reduce manual overhead, we integrated Collabspace to handle automated, layered retention workflows. This allowed the City to apply nuanced retention rules across departments. This ensures that records are preserved or disposed of according to policy, without burdening staff with complex manual processes. It’s a powerful way to meet regulatory requirements while keeping the system user-friendly and scalable.
This wasn’t just about compliance (though that mattered). It was about making it easier to do good work, without hunting through a maze of folders.
💡 A-Ha Moments:
Designing with users leads to even better adoption—and better outcomes.
Small wins matter: even things like improved search and better filters on libraries can have a big impact.
Sustainability is key: we focused on building internal capacity, not dependency.
🚀 The Outcome
The City now has a modern, scalable records management system that reflects how their teams actually work. And they’re better positioned to meet compliance standards, collaborate across departments, and evolve over time.
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