Supporting Institutional Records Management programme
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The aim of this programme is to help both FE and HE institutions to implement institutional records management programmes that will meet the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (2000) and conform to established good practice for the management of records and digital assets throughout their lifecycle.
This programme builds upon several existing JISC initiatives, especially the study of the records lifecycle and the creation of the Model Action Plan for achieving compliance with the Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on Records Management.
Background
The importance of ensuring good records management within FE and HE institutions is more important now than ever before. New legislation such as the Data Protection Act and especially the Freedom of Information Act cannot be fully complied with without the effective management of records from their initial creation through to their final disposition whilst institutions find themselves under ever increasing pressure to demonstrate their accountability and good corporate governance.
Good records management also lies at the heart of the efficient management of both paper and digital assets and the identification of permanently valuable records. The JISC has recently released its Continuing Access and Digital Preservation Strategy 2002-2005 and is funding this programme as part of that strategy. Institutions increasingly have their records and other assets in electronic form. The ability to manage electronic records and paper documentation well, objectively select what information it is necessary to preserve and therefore what it is acceptable to lose is a vital component in ensuring that a digital preservation strategy achieves its objectives in the most cost-effective manner possible.
Aims and Objectives
A core theme of the programme is embedding theoretical models of good practice within the community by drawing on the experience of actual institutions.
The studies and initiatives being funded are intended to help raise the profile of records management within the community and to provide practical advise and guidance as to how institutions should begin or further develop their own institutional programmes. The studies and initiatives are intended to achieve this by addressing this issue at a variety of levels, from strategic planning to practical training for staff.
It is also intended that the range of initiatives in this progamme will be of relevance and practical value to all staff employed by FE and HE institutions who have responsibility for managing records, professionally trained or otherwise.
The Projects
The projects funded from within this programme will fall into one of three themes:
Beyond the Study of the Records Lifecycle
- Study of the Records Lifecycle - Pilot Case Studies Funded projects will pilot sections of the revised Study of the Records Lifecycle. The objective of these pilots is to take the generic findings of the revised study and to test their applicability within actual HEIs and to feed this experience back to the community to help inform actual implementations.
- Study of the Records Lifecycle Specialist Electronic Studies These studies will explore the implementation of specific areas of records retention within HE/FE which were not addressed during the main Study of the Records Lifecycle. These are issues of a specific nature but are ones that are likely to be faced by many institutions. The results of these studies will again assist institutions who may otherwise struggle to apply the recommendations of the Study of Records Lifecycle within their institution.
Developing a Records Management programme to ensure the good management of records in all formats and digital assets within an FEI
Projects funded within this theme will encourage FE institutions to examine the recommendations of the Model Action Plan for achieving compliance with the Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on the Management of Records for Higher and Further Education Organisation and to establish the degree to which they may realistically be applied within their institution. It is hoped that the studies will uncover where potential difficulties or obstacles to compliance lay and to discuss the degree of compliance that is possible whilst exploring whether alternative methods of achieving the same goal may be possible.
The Electronic Records Management Training Package
By funding the creation of an electronic records management training package the JISC hopes to provide records managers and others with a tool to help inculcate good practice within an institution and thus to help create an organisation that is aware of its roles and responsibilities in this area. This training package will also act as an excellent training module in its own right for staff in institutions without professional records managers who have been given responsibilities in this area. Lastly, it will also act as a gateway into the range of JISC guidance, tools and services which are relevant to the management of records in all formats, including digital assets, within modern institutions.
Period of activity
Projects in Themes 1a and 1b will commence in May 2003 and conclude in November 2003. Projects in Themes 2 and 3 will commence in March 2003 and conclude in December 2003.