Just a reminder that our annual Records Administration Conference (RACO) is going to be held tomorrow morning at our downtown building. Registration has been closed for a while because we’ve reached the capacity of the McGowan Theater. However, this year, like we’ve done with the last couple of BRIDG Meetings, we will providing a live stream of the event.
Laurence Brewer, Director, National Records Management Program, NARA
William Bridges, Director, National Records Management Training Program
Recognition of FY 2012 Records Management Training Certificants
8:45 – 10:00
Understanding and Implementing the Presidential Records Management Directive
Moderator, Jay Bosanko, Executive for Agency Services, NARA
Paul Wester, Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government, NARA
Jeanette Plante, U.S. Department of Justice
Arian D. Ravanbakhsh, Records Management Policy Section, NARA
10:00 – 10:15
Break
10:15 – 10:45
Presentation of 2012 Archivist Achievement Awards
Introduction, Paul Wester, Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government, NARA
David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, NARA
10:45 – 12:15
Best Practices in Records Management
Moderator, Margaret Hawkins, Director, Records Management Services, NARA
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of the Treasury
12:15 – 12:30
Closing Remarks
Paul Wester, Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government, NARA
In addition, you can join the conversation and ask questions by posting them to Twitter using the #raco12 hashtag. We will post any presentations and links to the video on our main RACO page and here on our blog in a few days.
We would like to call your attention to the US Federal Government Roundtable that will be held on Saturday, September 22 at 3:30 PM. The Roundtable is scheduled to meet in room E352 at the conference venue, McCormick Place-Lakeside. Here, representatives from our Federal Records Centers Program will offer information on services they offer, including customized records management, scanning, and electronic records storage. In addition, Chief Records Officer for the Federal Government Paul Wester is scheduled to present an update on the Managing Government Records Directive. Admission to the Roundtable is included with your full conference registration, so we hope to see you there!
Lastly, on Tuesday morning at 9:45 AM, Donald Rosen, our Director of Policy Analysis and Enforcement, will be presenting at a session entitled “How to Use ISO Standards to Strengthen Your Program.”
The informal networking hour will run from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.in the Washington Room on the mezzanine level. The BRIDG meeting will run from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the McGowan Theater. We will continue to make the meeting accessible via webcast. In addition, we will post more specific information about each meeting, including webcast information, here on Records Express as each meeting gets closer.
Please leave a comment with any suggested topics that you would like to hear discussed at BRIDG.
Our Big Bucket Scheduling Workshop a few weeks ago was a great success! Special thanks to the presenters from the US Patent and Trademark Office, Records Officer Susan Fawcett and USPTO records management contractors John Milligan, Neale Faunt, and Earl Ashley. Thanks also to nearly 200 attendees that filled the McGowan Theater for asking some interesting questions. Below are the products of that meeting.
Here is the presentation (link is to a .pdf) that was used. Next are two .pdf documents that were created by USPTO when communicating with their program offices about this schedule. First is the schedule review memo and next is the inventory memo.
Finally, here is the video recording of the presentation. The presentation runs about 50 minutes with the question/answer and discussion period taking the last hour.
Thanks again to PTO for making this event a success.
We hope to offer more of these kinds of events in the future. What topics would you like to see covered? Please leave a comment below.
Today, the Archivist of the United States and the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, released a Records Management Directive to the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies and Agencies. This Directive carries out the requirements set forth in the Presidential Memorandum of November 28, 2011.
We have prepared the following Frequently Asked Questions that we anticipate agencies and others may have.
1. What is the Managing Government Records Directive?
The Managing Government Records Directive was issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in response to the Presidential Memorandum on Managing Government Records released on November 28, 2011. The Directive establishes a robust 21st century framework for managing Federal records.
2. How can I find out more about this Directive?
This blog continues to be our primary mechanism to communicate about this Directive. NARA will continue to communicate about the requirements in this Directive through the Bimonthly Records and Information Discussion Group (BRIDG) meetings and other events such as RACO 2012 on September 25, 2012. In addition, NARA will establish a Project Management Office (PMO) to work on all aspects of this Directive.
3. To which agencies does this Directive apply?
This Directive is applicable to all Executive Departments and Agencies and to all Federal records, without regard to security classification or any other restriction.
4. What steps does my agency need to take by December 31, 2012?
By November 15, 2012 agencies must name a Senior Agency Official (SAO) for Records Management. The SAO will be invited to the first periodic meeting with the Archivist prior to December 31, 2012.
5. Will NARA provide additional information to help agencies implement this Directive?
Implementation guidance to help agencies meet the goals of this Directive will be forthcoming. This implementation guidance will provide more detailed information on how agencies can meet the requirements of the Directive.
6. Are regulatory changes required before agencies can implement this Directive?
No. OMB and NARA possess the basic authorities to implement the Directive and agencies will not need to wait for regulatory changes in order to take actions required in the Directive. NARA will review existing regulations to determine if regulatory changes are needed to further support implementation of the Directive.
7. Will NARA align reporting requirements with the Directive?
Yes. As stated in the Directive, NARA will review all existing reporting requirements by December 31, 2012. This review will also incorporate the new reporting requirements established in the Directive. In the second quarter of FY 2013, NARA will provide a reporting template.
8. What is the status of the separate Report to the President?
In addition to the Directive, the Presidential Memorandum required the Archivist, in coordination with the Director of OMB and the Associate Attorney General, to review relevant statutes, regulations, and official NARA guidance to identify opportunities for reforms to improve records management practices. This report is submitted to the President and not subject to government-wide review, acceptance, or distribution.
9. I have more questions that I would like to have answered?
Please submit your questions to PRMD@nara.gov. We will review these questions and incorporate responses into this FAQ.
We are planning a Big Bucket Scheduling (see http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/faqs/flexible-scheduling.html for information about big bucket schedules) workshop that will be presented by records management staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on August 21, 2012. USPTO staff will provide an overview of their Big Bucket scheduling project that was completed in November 2011.
The program will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at 11:30 a.m. This program will be recorded. More information about the recording (how to review it, etc..) will be posted at a later date. Presenters include Susan Fawcett, USPTO Records Officer, and John Milligan, Neale Faunt, and Earl Ashley, USPTO records management contractors. Program topics include preparing for a new approach to scheduling, developing a big bucket structure and a database to support it, and schedule implementation. There will be a question and answer period at the end of the presentation.
This event will be held at the National Archives and Records Administration downtown building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (Metrorail’s Yellow or Green lines to the Archives/Navy Memorial station) in the McGowan Theater. Please enter on the Constitution Avenue side of the building, the “Special Events” entrance (which is actually the exit for the general public).
To reserve a place for this program, please provide your name, telephone number, and agency name via e-mail to rm.communications@nara.gov, no later than Friday, August 17, 2012. You may reserve places for several staff in the same email, but for security purposes we must have each individual’s name, telephone number, and email address.
Please email Shannon Olsen at shannon.olsen@nara.gov, or call 301-817-3486 if you need assistance.
NARA reserves the right to postpone or cancel a meeting at any time. We will make every effort to contact registrants by e-mail and telephone if that occurs, so complete information at the time of registration is very important. Meetings WILL BE CANCELED if the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announces a “closed,” “unscheduled leave,” “liberal leave,” or “delayed arrival” policy for Federal employees for that day of if there has been an elevation to threat level RED in the Homeland Security status. Official Government closing and leave information is located on the OPM web site at www.opm.gov.
The National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) Records Administration Conference (RACO) is for Federal records officers, records management professionals, information managers and information technology professionals with an interest in Federal records and information management.
RACO 2012 is a half-day conference with no fees, but a limited number of seats are available in the theater. Registration will open Today, August 8, 2012, and will be first come, first served!
WHERE: National Archives and Records Administration’s McGowan Theater located at 7th and Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. The program will also be webcasted via live streaming on USTREAM (instructions below).
THEME:“Developing a 21st Century Framework for Records Management.”
This year’s program focuses on the implications of the Presidential Memorandum on Managing Government Records and case studies of the 2012 Archivist Achievement Award (AAA) winners.
REGISTRATION: RACO 2012 registration will begin on August 8, 2012, through NARA’s Learning Management System.
There are two options to participate in RACO 2012. One option is the traditional “live attendance”registration process via NARA’s Records Management Training Learn Center (LMS). Registration is a two-part process. After an initial registration in the LMS, an additional form with more specific information is required to expedite the registration process.
We also intend to make RACO 2012 available by remote streaming on http://www.ustream.tv/channel/raco2012 and using the password: RACO2012 to access the webcast (when the feed goes live on September 25).
The GRS Team recently completed the first draft of their proposal for revising and updating the GRS and is seeking input from Federal records managers. The team will be holding online focus group sessions in August (for further information see RM Communication, AC 22.2012: General Records Schedule (GRS) Focus Groups). We’re also providing a copy of the draft proposal here (link is a .pdf file), in case you cannot attend the online sessions. Comments may be submitted via this blog or to the team directly at GRS_Team@nara.gov.
The proposal for the new GRS is to restructure it along more functional lines with the intent to bucket records series as much as possible. The Team used the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) as a starting point to identify major functions and sub-functions common throughout the Federal government. Another significant change is that we plan to look at functions not currently included in the GRS and to incorporate more permanent records.
When reviewing this proposal please pay attention to Appendix A where each of the functions/sub-functions is described. We have also mapped existing GRS items to each function and add potential new series where they fit in the new structure. We are most interested in your thoughts concerning how we have organized and defined the functions/sub-functions:
Are there functions/sub-functions that should be arranged differently?
Should any of the sub-functions be broken up or combined differently?
Are we missing any functions/sub-functions that you think should be included?
Are there functions/sub-functions that shouldn’t be included that are?
Are there any records not already identified that should be added to any sub-function?
Are there sub-functions that should be under a different function than they are?
The proposal also includes a timeline for when each function will be revised. The idea is that at least two functions will be revised and issued each fiscal year. The GRS Team has a five-year plan to complete this project. We prioritized the plan based on results from the GRS Survey conducted last May. Please feel free to comment on the timeline as well, keeping in mind that we have tried to balance the work evenly while ensuring that the most problematic functions are addressed early on:
Are there functions that you would like to see addressed sooner than they are in the proposed plan, for example, should Human Resources Management come before Administrative Management?
We also would like input on the ordering of the functions in FY 2016 and 2017 as these are much more flexible.
If you are attending the 2012 Joint Annual Meeting of NAGARA and the Council of State Archivists later this week, we hope you have a great time in Santa Fe, New Mexico. On Thursday afternoon, you will hear from both the Archivist of the United States David Ferriero and Chief Records Officer Paul Wester. Information about the rest of the conference can be found here (link is .pdf).
Paul will be providing an update about the Presidential Memorandum and the work we have been doing all summer to meet the deadlines in that Memorandum. After his presentation, we will post his slides here on the blog.
Update: While weather issues kept Paul from presenting at NAGARA, here is a .pdf version of the slides that our colleague Meg Phillips delivered at the conference. Thanks Meg!
The Records Management Self Assessment 2012 (RMSA) is here! This morning, Monday, June 4, NARA opened the survey tool for the 2012 RMSA. We sent the link in an “RM Communications” e-mail to agency records officers — so if you’re reading this, and if you did not receive this link and you think you should have, please let us know as soon as possible! Or if you think you received this communication in error (if you are not your agency’s records officer or designated point-of-contact for the RMSA) let us know as well. For security reasons, the survey link cannot be forwarded to other individuals for response, so we must have the correct point-of-contact information for your agency. E-mail the NARA self-assessment team at rmselfassessment@nara.gov if you have any questions about your role in the RMSA.
The survey will be available until 11.59 p.m. EDT Friday, June 29. As of midnight, the online survey tool will shut down. However, agencies will be able to request changes to their responses through COB Friday, July 13. Agencies may submit changes during this two-week period directly to rmselfassessment@nara.gov. We will be unable to accept any changes after July 13.
Why respond to the RMSA? The RMSA is an annual, GAO-mandated exercise designed to help agencies assess compliance with Federal records management requirements.
The questionnaire and instructions for the RMSA are derived from Federal records management regulations (36 CFR Chapter XII, Subchapter B) and NARA guidance. This year the questionnaire is shorter! We do not have special focus topics as we did in previous RMSAs; instead we included mainly what we call our “core questions”, covering basic records management principles, that are repeatable with small changes in each annual survey. We believe that this year’s RMSA will give agencies a baseline score that agencies can use to chart progress over time.
This year, as in 2010 and 2011, we will verify agencies’ responses to specific questions. Agencies will be required to submit documentation to support their answers, and we will evaluate the materials we receive against checklists and criteria derived from the regulations and NARA guidance. These documents must be in PDF, MS Word, or Excel formats only (no web links, please!). The survey tool provides specific instructions on submitting these materials. We also sent instructions (and an advance copy of the questionnaire) to records officers on May 24.
As part of the verification process, we may request additional materials or contact you for more information.
Similar to RMSA 2011, after we have assessed all the data we will issue individual reports to agencies. We will also prepare a comprehensive report for publication later in FY 2013. We will include a section on the validation process, in which we will state whether we were able to verify each agency’s answers to the related questions based on the submitted documentation and any followup activities.
The results of the self-assessment will be reported in NARA’s annual performance and accountability report. We will also use our findings as one possible criteria for recommending agencies for an inspection of their recordkeeping practices, per 44 USC 2904(c) and 36 CFR 1239. Agency responses to questions in this assessment could be subject to public release pursuant to FOIA. However, we will not release responses to questions that contain detailed descriptions of agency activities and other requested internal documentation.
