In an effort to streamline government operations and align federal agencies with current technology the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the National Archives Records Administration issued Memorandum M-12-18, Managing Government Records Directive in August 2012. M-12-18 requires all federal agencies to eliminate paper record-keeping for all permanent and temporary records by the end of 2019. This mandate has contributed to notable growth in federal agencies seeking digital services.

Just this year the Federal government consolidated OMB memorandum M-12-18 and the prior M-14-16 into the revised M-19-21 Memorandum. 

Some key points of this directive include:

• By 2019, Federal agencies will manage all permanent electronic records in an electronic format.
• By 2022, Federal agencies will manage all permanent records in an electronic format and with appropriate metadata.
• By 2022, NARA will no longer accept transfers of permanent or temporary records in analog formats and will accept records only in electronic format and with appropriate metadata.
• Beginning January I, 2023, all other legal transfers of permanent records must be in electronic format, to the fullest extent possible, regardless of whether the records were originally created in electronic formats.

You can learn more about this directive and see where we got our statistics by checking out NARA’s Federal Agency Records Management 2017 Annual Report or by reading the most recent M-19-21 Directive. 

The NARA Strategic Plan is the current driving force for federally managed records and is an actual mandate to Agencies stating that NARA will not accept analog records after the end of 2022 “whether the records were ‘born electronic’ or not.”

Some Additional Key Points include:

• By FY 2024, NARA will digitize 500 million pages of records and make them available online to the public through the National Archives Catalog
• By FY 2020, NARA will have policies and processes in place to support Federal agencies’ transition to fully electronic recordkeeping.
• By FY 2019, NARA will conduct inspections of records management practices at 10 percent of Federal agencies per year, to ensure that Federal email and other permanent electronic records are being managed in an electronic format.

Part of NARA’s strategy to achieve these goals includes “Enter(ing) into new public-private digitization partnerships with new types of partners.” Don’t get left behind, DOMA is the digitization partner for the Bureau of Reclamation. Whether you simply need a few records center boxes or multiple file rooms, DOMA can deploy a start to finish solution to get you records digitized in compliance with NARA records transfer requirements.

Click to read more about NARA’s Strategic Plan or Download a Copy.

Electronic Records Management (ERM) allows for better access, security, and compliance, but it requires more than just scanning content and storing it the Cloud. A successful ERM solution involves a dynamic shift in how content is generated, managed, and utilized. It can be daunting to make the leap, but DOMA is equipped to help you at any stage of your digital transformation journey.

By December 31, 2022, NARA will, to the fullest extent possible, no longer accept transfers of permanent or temporary records in analog formats and will accept records only in electronic format and with appropriate metadata. NARA and most Federal agencies currently maintain separate policies, practices, and physical infrastructures for managing records in traditional (analog) formats compared to electronic records. This structure is costly and complex, which increases the risk that permanently valuable records in either format may not be appropriately retained. NARA must take decisive action to transition Federal record-keeping to a fully-electronic environment to promote efficiency, increase access to information, and allow NARA and Federal agencies to focus resources on meeting the challenges of managing electronic records. 

After December 31, 2022, NARA will no longer accept new transfers of analog records for storage by the Federal Records Centers Program (FRCP) to the fullest extent possible. NARA will continue to store and service all records received by the FRCP by that date until their scheduled disposition date. Once those records reach their disposition date, NARA will accept the permanent records into the National Archives in their original (analog) format. Beginning January 1, 2023, all other legal transfers of permanent records must be in electronic format, to the fullest extent possible, whether the records were “born electronic” or not. After that date, agencies will be required to digitize permanent records in analog formats before transfer to NARA.

Reach out to Jesse Caro – Jesse can walk your office through the digitization process and coordinate the transfer of records to DOMA Technologies. If you would like more information before contacting Jesse sign up for one of our webinars below to learn more about NARA compliance and how Digital Transformation can help your office become more efficient. 

303-445-3346
jcaro@usbr.gov

DOMA Technologies, is the only digitization contractor for the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation that is set up to meet NARA standards for records capture and transfer.

DOMA has 20 years of experience working with federal agencies offering digital services, cloud solutions, and healthcare information management paired with an innovative records management software.

To date DOMA has digitized over 105 Million records while upholding the highest standards of information security, compliance, and customer service.