NARA and Federal Agencies Face ERM Challenges

We found that NARA and federal agencies are confronted with many ERM challenges, particularly technological issues. NARA must be able to receive electronic records from agencies, store them, and retrieve them when needed. Agencies must be able to create electronic records, store them, properly dispose of them when appropriate, and send valuable electronic records to NARA for archival storage. In addition to increasing volume, NARA must address some definitional problems, such as what constitutes an electronic record. In addition, because agencies follow no uniform hardware or software standards, NARA must be capable of accepting various formats from agencies and maintaining a continued capability of reading those records. NARA is not alone in facing ERM challenges, the agencies also must meet Federal Records Act responsibilities. Agencies must incorporate NARA’s guidance into their own recordkeeping systems. Agencies Vary in Their Implementation of ERM

Agencies’ reactions to the challenges I just mentioned are varied. On the basis of our discussions with NARA and some agency officials, we learned that some agencies are waiting for more specific guidance from NARA while others are moving forward by looking for ways to better manage their electronic records. NARA Does Not Have Governmentwide Data on Agencies’ ERM Efforts

Even though NARA is aware of what some agencies are doing – such as DOD, NASA, OTS, and some others -- it does not have governmentwide data on the records management capabilities and programs of federal agencies. NARA had planned to do a baseline assessment survey to collect such data on all agencies by the end of fiscal year 2000. The Archivist decided, however, to temporarily postpone doing this baseline survey because he accorded higher priority to such activities as reengineering NARA’s business processes. In response to our draft report and in a September 17, 1999, letter to the Comptroller General, the Archivist said that much of this baseline data would not be relevant to BPR and therefore NARA would not collect it at this time. NARA Is Revising Its ERM Guidance

Even though NARA lacks governmentwide data on how agencies are implementing ERM, NARA has already begun revising its guidance to agencies. ERM Activities in Some States and Foreign Countries Differ from Those of the Federal Government

Our review of the ERM activities in four states and three foreign governments showed that approaches to ERM differ. These entities often did things differently from each other and/or NARA.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the challenges that face the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and federal agencies in their efforts to manage the rapidly increasing volume of electronic records.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) NARA and federal agencies are confronted with many electronic records management (ERM) challenges, particularly technological issues; (2) NARA must be able to receive electronic records from agencies, store them, and retrieve them when needed; (3) agencies must be able to create electronic records, store them, properly dispose of them when appropriate, and send valuable electronic records to NARA for archival storage; (4) NARA officials told GAO that NARA needs to expand its capacity to accept the increasing volume of electronic records from agencies; (5) in addition to increasing volume, NARA must address some definitional problems, such as what constitutes an electronic record; (6) in addition, because agencies follow no uniform hardware or software standards, NARA must be capable of accepting various formats from agencies and maintaining a continued capability of reading those records; (7) NARA is not alone in facing ERM challenges, the agencies also must meet Federal Records Act responsibilities; (8) agencies must incorporate NARA's guidance into their own recordkeeping systems; (9) agencies' reactions to ERM challenges are varied; (10) on the basis of GAO's discussions with NARA and some agency officials, GAO learned that some agencies are waiting for more specific guidance from NARA while others are moving forward by looking for ways to better manage their electronic records; (11) even though NARA is aware of what some agencies are doing, it does not have governmentwide data on records management capabilities and programs of federal agencies; (12) NARA had planned to do a baseline survey to collect such data on all agencies by the end of fiscal year 2000; (13) the Archivist decided, however, to temporarily postpone doing this baseline survey because he accorded higher priority to such activities as reengineering NARA's business processes; (14) GAO recommended that NARA do the baseline survey as part of its reengineering process; (15) the Archivist stated that the baseline data would not be relevant to its reengineering efforts and therefore NARA would not collect it at this time; (16) even though NARA lacks governmentwide data on how agencies are implementing ERM, NARA has already begun revising its guidance to agencies; (17) GAO's review of the ERM activities in four states and three foreign governments showed that approaches to ERM differ; and (18) these entities often did things differently from each other and NARA.