Records, Archives, and Transparency in the Development Community

Initiatives from the World Bank Group Archives

Elisa Liberatori Prati, World Bank Group Chief Archivisteliberatoriprati@worldbank.org

Federal Information and Records Managers (FIRM) Council FORUM @FOSE 2007 Washington, DC, March 20, 2007

Developing Nations: WBG Projects

• 69 active projects that involve a record-keeping, archives or government information delivery component at the World Bank.

• The objectives of these projects primarily fall into three groups:

1. Rural development and promotion of industries from increased access to government services and market information via the Web or other connectivity.

2. Enabling efficiency, transparency and accountability in government (Anti-corruption).

3. Disaster recovery.

Policy and operational files, Courtesy of International Records Management Trust Photo Archive, London.This picture is an example of public sector record keeping before a records management improvement program is undertaken.

• Evidence?

• Transparency?

• Enforceable

Civil Rights?

Policy and operational files, Courtesy of International Records Management Trust Photo Archive, London.This picture is an example of public sector record keeping before a records management improvement program is undertaken.

Accountability ? Anticorruption ?

Programs effectiveness?

Financial records, Courtesy of International Records Management Trust Photo Archive, London.This picture is an example of public sector record keeping before a records managementimprovement program is undertaken.

Try to do an audit!

Legal records, Courtesy of International Records Management Trust Photo Archive, London.This picture is an example of public sector record keeping before a records management improvement program is undertaken.

Try to prove your claim to

land!

Pension records, Courtesy of International Records Management Trust Photo Archive, London.This picture is an example of public sector record keeping before a records management improvement program is undertaken.

Try to find your pension

records after 30 years of

work !

Hospital records, Courtesy of International Records Management Trust Photo Archive, London.This picture is an example of public sector record keeping before a records management improvement program is undertaken.

Try to find your

medical

records!

Courtesy of International Records Management Trust Photo Archive, London.This picture is an example of public sector record keeping before a records management improvement program is undertaken.

Transitioning to e-records

• International efforts to • reduce poverty• control corruption • protect civil and human rights • strengthen democracy • preserve the cultural heritage of nations

are directly dependent upon properly managing records as evidence of accountability and as shared memory for governments and their citizens

Records Management: The Missing Link in Development Work?

Initiatives: • Since 2000, Awareness Raising Events + Learning Program in the World Bank Archives website

www.worldbank.org/archives • Evidence-based Governance in the Electronic Age Indicators of Country Capacity• Records Management Capacity Assessment System

Available for download at:•www.NationalArchives.gov.uk/

RMCAS

Records Management: The Missing Link in Development Work?

ICA, IRMT, World Bank ISGIM, PRMPS, January 2000

informationbased on records

effectivedecisionseffective

policieseffectiveprograms

effectiveprojects

effectivedelivery

povertyalleviation

i m p l e m e n t a t i o n

v e r i f i c a t i o n

Makean impact!

Beaccountable!

Causality ChainRECORDS in Development

Poverty Alleviation

records records

recordsrecords recordsrecordsrecords

GoodGovernance

EquitableJudicialSystem

AccountableFinancialSystem

EnforceableCivil Rights

RECORD KEEPING INFRASTRUCTURE

Development relies on sound record keeping regimes

Evidence-based Governancein the Electronic Age

• World Bank DGF Grant Partnership Project -- completed development of “Records Management Capacity Framework”http://www.irmt.org/evidence/ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/rmcas/

• TOOL: Provide a standardized, systematic means of assessing the strengths and weaknesses, and associated risks, of records management systems against objective international standards of good practice

• Assist in planning the migration from poor practice to good practice for specific components of records management– repair ‘collapsed’ records management systems– leverage ICT to improve records management quality and efficiency– ensure that electronic records are properly managed and preserved

Records Management CapacityAssessment System (RMCAS)

• The RMCAS software tool has become the focal point of the Framework

• PURPOSE: The RMCAS software allows users to:– gather data about records and information systems through

stakeholder questionnaires and documentation analysis• senior management and decision-makers• records management staff,• ICT staff, • record creators/users

– analyse the data to identify strengths, weaknesses and major risk areas in records management systems

– identify training and self-study resources to build records management capacity in high-risk or sub-optimal areas

Capacity Level

Capacity Level 1

Capacity Level 2

Capacity Level 3

Capacity Level 4

Capacity Level 5

Records Management Capacity Assessment Model

RMCAS Capacity Levels

• Level 0: Records management policies, systems and processes are non-existent or informal/ad hoc/personal and ineffective. There is little or no use of IT for creating or managing records.

• Level 1: Basic records management policies, systems and processes are defined but are not consistently and effectively applied across the organisation. There is little or no connection between records management and business functions. There is little or no effective use of IT for managing records.

• Level 2: Key records management policies, systems and processes are in place across the organisation and are working. The organisation recognises the need to link records management policies, systems and processes to business functions but has not yet achieved this. IT is used for records and information management but its effectiveness is limited.

• Level 3: Records management policies, systems and processes are in place across the organisation, are working effectively, are linked to business functions and support organizational management goals. A mixture of IT and paper systems are used in the creation and management of records and information.

• Level 4: Records management policies, systems and processes are in place, applied effectively, are integrated with all business functions and support organisational governance and accountability. Policies, systems and processes are reviewed and improved regularly. Extensive use is made of IT to create, manage and exploit records and information.

• Level 5: A knowledge management environment is in place and used effectively to support all business functions and governance objectives and the needs of all stakeholders. A learning culture exists in which monitoring, compliance and improvement takes place continuously. Advanced technology systems and networks are used for the creation and sharing of records and to enable effective communication and collaboration within the organisation and with other partners.

• Records Management Capacity Assessment System

(RMCAS) Presentation (Macromedia Flash 7- zipped file 8MB) Right-click on the link, 'save target as' to your computer and unzip the file to watch the presentation

• RMCAS 1.0 (Records Management Capacity Assessment System)

• RMCAS User Guide

• E-Records Readiness Assessment Tool

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/rmcas/