2000 Performance Plan

Annual Performance Plan

Revised Final Plan, December, 1999

Table of Contents

Preface

Strategic Goal 1: Essential evidence

Target 1.1: Inventory and schedule
Target 1.2: Close out schedule items
Target 1.3: Recordkeeping systems
Target 1.4: Recordkeeping requirements

Strategic Goal 2: Access

Target 2.1: Customer service
Target 2.2: Customer contacts
Target 2.3: On-line catalog
Target 2.4: Declassification
Target 2.5: Presidential records
Target 2.6: Federal Register publications
Target 2.7: Charters of Freedom
Target 2.8: NHPRC grants

Strategic Goal 3: Space

Target 3.1: Holdings in appropriate space
Target 3.2: Preservation of at-risk holdings
Target 3.3: Preservation of electronic records

Strategic Goal 4: Infrastructure

Target 4.1: Performance plans and appraisals
Target 4.2: Equal employment opportunity
Target 4.3: Staff development plans
Target 4.4: Computers and communications
Target 4.5: Records life-cycle system

Preface

The National Archives of the United States is a public trust on which our democracy depends. We enable people to inspect for themselves the record of what Government has done. We enable officials and agencies to review their actions and help citizens hold them accountable. We ensure continuing access to essential evidence that documents:

• the rights of American citizens,
• the actions of Federal officials,
• the national experience.

To ensure ready access to essential evidence, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) establishes policies and procedures for managing U.S. Government records. We assist and train Federal agencies in documenting their activities, administering records management programs, scheduling records, and retiring non-current records to regional records services facilities for cost-effective storage. We appraise, accession, arrange, describe, preserve, and make available to the public the historically valuable records of the three branches of Government. We manage the nationwide system of Presidential libraries and regional records services facilities. We administer the Information Security Oversight Office and make grants to non-Federal institutions to support historical documentation through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. We publish the Federal Register, Statutes at Large, Government regulations, and Presidential and other public documents.

We serve a broad spectrum of American society. Genealogists, individuals, and family historians; veterans and their authorized representatives; academics, scholars, historians, business and occupational researchers; publication and broadcast journalists; Congress, the White House, other public officials; Federal Government agencies and the individuals they serve; State and local government personnel; professional organizations and their members; supporters' groups, foundations, donors of historical materials; students and teachers; and the general public — all seek answers from the records we preserve.

To be effective, we must determine what evidence is essential for documentation, ensure that Government creates such evidence, and make it easy for users to access that evidence regardless of where it is, or where they are, for as long as needed. We also must find technologies, techniques, and partners world-wide that can help improve service and hold down costs, and we must help staff members continuously expand their capability to make the changes necessary to realize the vision.

NARA's Mission:

NARA ensures, for the Citizen and the Public Servant, for the President and the Congress and the Courts, ready access to essential evidence.

NARA's Strategic Goals:

• One: Essential evidence will be created, identified, appropriately scheduled, and managed for as long as needed.
  
  
• Two: Essential evidence will be easy to access regardless of where it is or where users are for as long as needed.
  
  
• Three: All records will be preserved in appropriate space for use as long as needed.
  
  
• Four: NARA's capabilities for making the changes necessary to realize our vision will continuously expand.

These goals and the strategies to achieve them are detailed in Ready Access to Essential Evidence: The Strategic Plan of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1997-2007, issued September 1997. This annual performance plan is based on the goals, strategies, and long-range performance targets in our Strategic Plan, and builds on objectives achieved in FY 1999. The FY 2000 performance plan details the actions and outcomes that must occur in FY 2000 for us to move forward on meeting the goals and targets in our Strategic Plan. In addition to listing performance goals and measures for evaluating our performance, the plan describes the processes, skills, and technologies, and the human, capital, and informational resources needed to meet the year's performance goals. We received no aid from non-Federal parties in preparing this plan.

Following is a summary of the resources, by budget authority, we received to meet the FY 2000 objectives.

This is a high-level summary of NARA's resource requirements. The numbers are linked to strategic goals in the pages that follow.

We will continue using four mechanisms to measure actual performance: (1) periodic management reviews, (2) formal audits of operations, (3) implementation and refinement of the agency's performance measurement system, and (4) systematic sampling of measurement system effectiveness. In FY 1999 we deployed an agency-wide performance measurement and reporting system. This system allowed us to define and consistently measure data critical to the analysis of FY 1999 performance objectives. During FY 2000 we plan to integrate and expand the system so that our strategic performance is measured using a balanced scorecard approach for tracking cycle times, quality, productivity, cost, and customer satisfaction for our products and services.

Furthermore, we will review customer surveys concerning our performance during FY 2000 and will take action to respond to customer service needs identified in these surveys. We will continue to support this agency-wide plan with detailed performance plans for FY 2000 at the office level and below. Taken together, the program evaluations, audits, measurement system, customer surveys and office level plans and reports will enable us to identify program areas that need attention, analysis and possible re-engineering.

The work we have done on the performance measurement system already has produced changes in some performance objectives to make them measurable or to clarify what is being measured. In addition, performance objectives for which requested funds were not appropriated have been either scaled back or revised. These on-going refinements indicate that this annual plan and our Strategic Plan are living documents and are becoming an integral part of our operations.

We must succeed in reaching our goals because the National Archives and Records Administration is not an ordinary Federal agency. The records we preserve document the rights of American citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and the national experience. We serve not just today's citizens, but all who are yet to come. We must not only preserve past documents already in our care, but also prepare to manage tomorrow's records in new and challenging forms. This plan is our 2000 road map for making that a reality.

STRATEGIC GOAL 1:
Essential evidence will be created, identified, appropriately scheduled, and managed for as long as needed.

Long Range Performance Targets

1.1. By 2007, 80 percent of Federal records are inventoried and scheduled within two years of creation.

1.2. By 2007, 90 percent of records schedule items are closed outwithin 120 days of submission to NARA.

1.3. By 2007, Federal agencies incorporate NARA recordkeeping requirements in the design, development, and implementation of 50 percent of the automated recordkeeping systems through which they manage essential evidence.

1.4. By 2007, 100 percent of Federal agency components manage Government records in all formats in accordance with NARA recordkeeping requirements.

FY 00 Resources Required to Meet This Goal:$14,507,000; 149 FTE

Budget Linkage: pages 11-13

Long Range Performance Target 1.1. By 2007, 80 percent of Federal records are inventoried and scheduled within two years of creation.

Outcome Records are kept long enough to protect rights, assure accountability, and document the national experience; and records are destroyed when they are no longer needed and it is practical to do so.

Significance Approving the disposition of records is the most critical statutory responsibility held by the Archivist of the United States because it determines how long records must be kept to protect individual rights, provide accountability in government, and document the national experience. Therefore, the scheduling process, which we use to carry out this responsibility, is central to our mission. Our Strategic Plan identified this process as flawed and in need of a major overhaul. To ensure that records are not in jeopardy, we must reinvent the scheduling process and work in partnership with Federal agencies to identify and manage essential evidence.

Means and Strategies The scheduling process developed during the 20th century and currently used by the Federal Government is based primarily on paper recordkeeping systems as they were used at mid-century. The reality at the end of the 20th century is that most records are created electronically and may be maintained in a variety of media. Each of the media types ? paper, microform, film, electronic ? has advantages and disadvantages as a recording medium. And agencies need to know how to manage the disposition of all documentation they create, regardless of media, in light of current recordkeeping practices.

The goal of the scheduling reinvention project is to define what should be the Federal Government's policies on determining the disposition of Federal records, the processes that will best implement those policies, and the tools that are needed to support the revised policies and processes. We must answer a number of basic policy questions about Federal documentation, the goals and purposes of scheduling, the appraisal criteria to be used in determining appropriate retentions, and the respective roles of NARA, Federal agencies, and the public in achieving the goals and making the process work effectively. We must make the scheduling process more effective and efficient, and decrease the time that it takes to get schedules approved. And we must use automation to support the scheduling process as part of managing records throughout their life cycle.

This project will take some time to complete and implement; therefore, we do not expect significant increases in the numbers and kinds of records inventoried, scheduled, and managed until closer to 2007.

Key external factor Federal agencies must be willing and able to inventory and schedule records.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system, reinvention project plan, and quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 1.2. By 2007, 90 percent of records schedule items are closed out within 120 days of submission to NARA.

Outcome Decreasing the time it takes to close out schedule items will reduce the risk of improper maintenance or erroneous destruction of essential evidence and boost agencies' confidence in NARA leading to an increase in future schedule items submitted.

Significance We must make the scheduling process more effective and efficient and decrease the time it takes to get schedules approved. Taking a long time to process schedules delays action on the disposition of records and discourages agencies from submitting schedules, potentially putting essential evidence at risk.

Means and Strategies The scheduling reinvention process (described in Target 1.1) will result in significant process improvements in this area. We will identify and eliminate unnecessary steps in the process and make as many steps as possible concurrent rather than sequential. Because it will take some time to implement the project's recommendations, we expect dramatic increases in our ability to close out schedule items within 120 days as we get closer to 2007.

Key external factors Federal agencies must be willing and able to act on records schedules in a timely fashion. In addition, implementation of the recommendations of the Electronic Records Work Group (described in Target 1.3) may result in an overwhelming increase in the number of schedule items submitted, thus challenging our ability to meet the objectives before implementation of the re-engineered processes.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting System.

Long Range Performance Target 1.3. By 2007, Federal agencies incorporate NARA recordkeeping requirements in the design, development, and implementation of 50 percent of the automated recordkeeping systems through which they manage essential evidence.

Outcome Federal agencies improve their management of electronic records.

Significance In the past two decades, there has been an explosion in quantities and types of electronic records generated by the Federal Government as agencies have turned increasingly to information technology to improve and extend government services. Both electronic mail and the Internet have come into widespread use. And while agencies are creating, using and storing records electronically, they are not necessarily managing them in electronic recordkeeping systems. There are few software options that can provide the functionalities that make compliance possible and developments in technology for creating records have not been matched by technological developments for managing them. If we are to ensure that essential evidence is created, identified, appropriately scheduled, and managed, we must address realistically a future in which most government recordkeeping will be electronic and develop practical solutions for dealing with electronic records.

Means and Strategies Currently, we are devising new strategies for use throughout the Government for systematically managing electronic records. In FY 1999 we continued working on a new General Records Schedule for Information Technology records and established an interagency Fast Track Guidance Development Project to produce guidance on electronic records issues. We also participated in a number of partnerships, such as the INTERPARES project, an international effort to conduct basic research on electronic recordkeeping in an archival environment. But we also realize that such regulations and guidance have no credibility with other agencies unless we apply them to our own records. Therefore it is imperative that we put our own records management house in order, evaluating current recordkeeping practices and revising them to account for the new electronic records environment. To accomplish this, we will begin a Business Process Improvement project for its internal records management program. The purpose of this BPI project is not only to better our own program but to create and evaluate products that can be used by other agencies for examining their own records management programs to meet our new requirements.

Key external factors We are dependent on partners for funding and technological expertise, and in need of available partners willing to conduct pilots to test the feasibility of draft requirements.

Data source Quarterly reports to the Archivist and periodic reports of the Fast Track Guidance Development Team to the Archivist's Review Team.

Long Range Performance Target 1.4. By 2007, 100 percent of Federal agency components manage Government records in all formats in accordance with NARA recordkeeping requirements.

Outcome Records are kept long enough to protect rights, assure accountability, and document the national experience; and records are destroyed when they are no longer needed and it is practical to do so.

Significance To ensure essential evidence is created, identified, appropriately scheduled, and managed for as long as needed, we must take the initiative with Federal agencies to make sure their recordkeeping practices are in accordance with our guidelines.

Means and Strategies In the past we provided general outreach and technical assistance, promulgated policy, and evaluated agency records management programs, to compel Federal agencies to comply with our guidance. This resulted in a list of records management problems that agencies had to resolve on their own and reached very few agencies. We want to change past practice through our Targeted Assistance program.

This program will emphasize partnerships not compliance. In contrast to audits, which were often perceived negatively by agencies, we will work together with agencies to resolve long-standing or significant records management issues by:

• increasing direct contact with agencies and really understanding what they need from us
• increasing agency awareness of records management responsibilities through tailored training and outreach
• extending outreach initiatives beyond records officers to program managers
• resolving specific records management problems for records in all media, especially electronic records
• emphasizing problem resolution and customer service
• expediting disposition requests that result from program partnerships
• developing new measures to verify that agency records management programs are being carried out effectively.

The first step will be to create partnership agreements with agency headquarters and field components. We are hiring experienced records professionals to be the front-line staff for this program. They will meet with agency components in their geographic area to explore their records management needs and define the partnership agreements including criteria for successful completion. Each agreement will be tailored to the specific agency and will vary in complexity and length of time to complete it. Ultimately, we expect this program to result in significant improvements in the way Federal agencies manage their records.

Key external factors Federal agencies must be willing and able to enter into Targeted Assistance partnerships and to implement resulting recommendations.

Data source Quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Definitions

1. Records schedule: a document, having legally binding authority once approved by NARA, that provides mandatory instructions for what to do with records no longer needed for current business. Return to text.
2. Schedule items: records subject to a specific disposition authority that appear on a records schedule. Return to text.
3. Close out: completion of processing by NARA (i.e., items have been approved, withdrawn by the agency, or regrouped within existing authorities). Return to text.
4. Life cycle of records: the stages of a record?creation, scheduling and appraisal, maintenance in records centers, destruction or archival accessioning, preservation, and continuing use. Return to text.
5. Days: calendar days. Return to text.

STRATEGIC GOAL 2:
Essential evidence will be easy to access regardless of where it is or where users are for as long as needed.

Long Range Performance Targets

2.1. By 2007, access to records and services meets or exceeds NARA's published standards which continually reflect our customers' needs and requirements.

2.2. By 2007, 50 percent of customer contacts for NARA information and services are made electronically.

2.3. By 2007, 100 percent of NARA records holdings are described at the series or collection level in an on-line catalog.

2.4. By 2004, NARA will assist Federal agencies in their efforts to review systematically and declassify records in NARA custody by annually (a) reviewing and declassifying 100 percent of records more than 25 years old for which NARA has been granted declassification authority, and (b) identifying and making available for agency review records in NARA's custody that require review by the originating agency.

2.5. By 2007, 100 percent of Presidential records transferred to NARA are inventoried and processed so that they are readily identifiable for requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) at the end of the five-year post-Presidential period specified in the Presidential Records Act. At the same time, 10 percent of records of a two-term President or 15 percent of records of a one-term President are open and available for research.

2.6. By 2002, 100 percent of Office of Federal Register publications are available upon publication in both traditional formats and on-line.

2.7. By 2006, all architectural barriers preventing disabled Americans from having equal access to the Charters of Freedom are removed and the Charters of Freedom are appropriately re-encased to ensure their continued preservation.

2.8. By 2007, 90 percent of all NHPRC-assisted projects produce results promised in grant applications approved by the Commission.

FY 00 Resources Required to Meet This Goal: $116,414,000; 2,153 FTE

Budget Linkage: pages 14-16, 17-22

Long Range Performance Target 2.1. By 2007, access to records and services meets or exceeds NARA's published standards which continually reflect our customers' needs and requirements.

Outcome Improving performance against customer service standards will increase the confidence of our customers that essential evidence is readily available.

Significance Our customers deserve the best service we can deliver. In the past, however, due to unclear expectations, lack of training, and inefficient processes, we have not always put the customer first. Now, through the measurement of performance against customer service standards, development of customer service teams and customer service training, and process redesign efforts in areas that traditionally had high backlogs, we are coordinating our efforts to ensure that our customer service meets our customers' needs.

Means and Strategies To better serve our customers nationwide, in FY 2000 we need to focus on two critical areas:

• reducing the response time for requests for veterans' records
• improving our research room services.

One of our biggest challenges is to reduce the response time for requests for veterans' records. At the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis we are in the midst of a multi-year business process re-engineering project to bring the average response time on requests for modern military service records from several weeks to six days. We will accomplish this by using teams that will handle requests from start to finish instead of the current assembly line approach and we will use information technology to help us track and process requests. During FY 2000 we will track customer satisfaction and cost per request and from this baseline information develop performance objectives that address increasing the quality of the process in addition to the decrease in cycle time. In FY 2000 we will implement a new order fulfillment and tracking system that will help improve service on 18th- and 19th-century military service records at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.

We also will continue to make process improvements in our research rooms, train staff in customer service principles, employ customer service teams, modernize and upgrade research room equipment, and add research room staff and adjust hours of service to make it easier for more people to use our services. Many of these improvements are critical for us to be able to meet customer service expectations for the opening of the 1930 census in April 2002. We release a decennial census every ten years — 72 years after the original census was completed. This requires at least four years of preparation so that all microfilms rolls, available indexes, and adequate equipment and staff are available on opening day and during the years of increased research activity that typically follow.

Key external factors Unexpected increases in records holdings or public interest in groups of records can significantly increase workloads, response times, and wear and tear on public use equipment. Preparations for the National Archives Building renovation may result in a decrease in public programs and services offered there.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting System.

Long Range Performance Target 2.2. By 2007, 50 percent of customer contacts for NARA information and services are made electronically.

Outcome Greater access to NARA information and services for more people.

Significance Until the mid 1990s, requests to NARA for information and services were limited to two means: oral (by telephone or in person) and written (correspondence). With the advent of the Internet and other electronic means of communication more people get faster access to NARA information. Electronic access facilitates communications with our customers, especially those who cannot visit one of our facilities. Internet access to our descriptive information and on-line copies of our holdings also provides customers with direct access to materials 24 hours a day.

Means and Strategies Our web site provides the most widely available means of electronic access to information about NARA, including directions on how to contact us and do research at our facilities, descriptions of our holdings in an on-line catalog, digital copies of selected archival documents, electronic mailboxes for customer questions, comments, and complaints, an automated index to the John F. Kennedy assassination files, electronic versions of Federal Register publications, on-line exhibits, and classroom resources for students and teachers. We are continually expanding the kinds and amount of information available on our web site (see Target 2.3) and evaluating and redesigning the site to make it easier to use.

We also have two electronic request systems: the Centers Information Processing System for requesting and tracking Federal agency recalls of records center holdings and an On-line Registry System for requests from the National Personnel Records Center. In addition, we offer to all customers our Fax-on-Demand system, which transmits facsimile copies of selected informational publications and press releases to people calling the system's phone number.

Key external factor We must be able to successfully convert all non-Y2K-compliant automated systems or the agency will experience an interruption in providing customer service via these systems.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting System.

Long Range Performance Target 2.3. By 2007, 100 percent of NARA records holdings are described at the series or collection level in an on-line catalog.

Outcome Researchers will find the information they need about our archival holdings in one convenient location.

Significance The Archival Research Catalog is one cornerstone of the nationwide, integrated on-line information delivery system that will educate citizens about our organization, facilities, services, and holdings. This system also will extend opportunities for educational uses of documentary material, make available digital copies of high-interest documents, and contain an on-line ordering capability. It will expand access to information and further our attempts to bring NARA to more people everywhere, whether to the remote Internet user or to those planning to visit one of our facilities. The conversion of existing collection and series level descriptions to this on-line catalog is the most critical element of this project, because it will allow users, for the first time, to use computers to search our vast holdings, including those in the regional archives and Presidential libraries. Moreover, users can perform these searches at home or wherever they have access to the Internet rather than having to travel to one of our facilities.

Means and Strategies In the Strategic Plan we outlined an electronic access strategy: (1) we will continue our development of a nationwide, integrated on-line information delivery system that educates citizens about our facilities, services, and holdings and makes available digital copies of high-interest documents; and contains an on-line ordering capability; (2) we will build a practical, affordable automated system for tracking and using records throughout their life-cycle. The Electronic Access Project is laying the groundwork for the future development of this life-cycle system (see Target 4.5). The project will result in an on-line "card catalog" of all our archival holdings nationwide, including those in the Presidential libraries and regional archives. In FY 2000 we will design and develop the Archival Research Catalog and approve it for final testing. We will also provide access to the NARA Information Locator at all our sites, enabling the public to view copies of our most popular and significant manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings, maps, drawings and other documents. Users will be able to search the descriptions in the system by title, subject, date, or other keywords.

In addition to making available descriptions of holdings and digital images of archival materials on-line, we soon will be accessioning high volume and high demand electronic records from the Department of State, the Executive Office of the President, and others. We would like to make these records available through the Archival Research Catalog, but we currently have extremely limited capability to make electronic records accessible electronically to researchers. Researchers must access electronic records by purchasing copies of physical files. They cannot search on-line for specific records nor can they retrieve such records on-line. We will conduct a requirements and design study and will develop a prototype system aimed at enabling researchers to access electronic records on-line through the Archival Research Catalog.

Key external factor We must be able to successfully convert all non-Y2K-compliant automated systems.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system and quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 2.4. By 2004, NARA will assist Federal agencies in their efforts to review systematically and declassify records in NARA custody by annually (a) reviewing and declassifying 100 percent of records more than 25 years old for which NARA has been granted declassification authority, and (b) identifying and making available for agency review records in NARA's custody that require review by the originating agency.

Outcome More records are declassified and made available to the public.

Significance Executive Order 12958 requires the declassification of material 25 years old unless specifically exempt. The requirement is ongoing and in 2001 the Government will be expected to release documents created and classified in 1976; in 2002, documents created and classified in 1977; and so on. The Government protects millions of classified documents at great expense, including more than 298 million pages in NARA's Washington, DC, area facilities and 24 million pages in Presidential libraries. The majority of these documents more than 25 years old no longer require classified protection and can and should be accessible to citizens.

Means and Strategies We must be able to collect and safeguard information about our classified records in a technologically current, reliable, and sustainable system. We will address this problem concurrently in Washington and in the Presidential libraries. In FY 2000 we will acquire a database management system currently used by the State Department and will convert our existing system for tracking withdrawn items to the State Department's ORACLE-based system. In FY 2001, we will add scanning and storage capabilities to the system procured in FY 2000. This will allow us to electronically scan requested documents, input data about the documents, redact documents, and provide redacted copies of scanned documents to researchers. Ultimately, other agencies may be able to use the image files of the documents in question to check for their own equities.

Presidential libraries will use agency guidelines where available to review and declassify materials. For the remaining classified materials, we will continue our partnership with the Central Intelligence Agency to scan classified materials for distribution to agencies with equities in the documents. In FY 2000 we will continue review and preparation for scanning of appropriate pages from the 600,000 classified pages of the Ford Administration and the 2.5 million pages from the Carter Administration, the first of which must be released in 2002. Of the 3.1 million pages at the Ford and Carter libraries, we estimate that 2 million will require agency review.

Key external factors Concerned about possible disclosure of atomic energy information, the Congress passed the Kyl Amendment last year, compliance with which will require that we conduct almost all declassification through page-by-page review. (In FY 1998, declassification by survey accounted for 85 percent of the pages reviewed.) Congress also passed the Lott Amendment requiring that we re-review up to 200 million pages of records already released to the public to ensure that no Restricted Data and Formerly Restricted Data was inadvertently released.

The Nazi War Crimes Act and other special declassification projects also will reduce the amount of declassification that can be accomplished with existing resources. Instead of examining entire records series for declassification, an estimated one-third of our declassification staff will be required to examine individual withdrawn classified documents to determine their relevance and coordinate their declassification with the appropriate agencies under the Nazi War Crimes Act.

We have partnered with several agencies that are providing declassification support. The CIA must continue to provide technical support to enable the review of documents by other agencies. The State Department must review its equities in Presidential library materials if they are not to be automatically declassified. Other agencies with equities must take prompt action on reviewing and declassifying documents.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system and quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 2.5. By 2007, 100 percent of Presidential records transferred to NARA are inventoried and processed so that they are readily identifiable for requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) at the end of the five-year post-Presidential period specified in the Presidential Records Act. At the same time, 10 percent of records of a two-term President or 15 percent of records of a one-term President are open and available for research.

Outcome The preparation and gathering of inventories will enable the timely processing of these Presidential records for the opening of at least 10 percent of the Presidential records in 2006 and ensure NARA's responsiveness in the interim to special access requests and legal requests for the records.

Significance The Presidential Records Act (PRA) requires Presidential records to be available for FOIA requests five years after the President leaves office. Five years after the last two Presidents left office, significantly less than 10 percent of their records had been opened, largely because of the absence, on the Presidents' departures, of NARA staff trained to accomplish the exacting reviews required under the PRA and FOIA. The addition of staff in FY 1999 and the continued training and increases of staff before the close of President Clinton's administration will ensure that his Presidential records are available in accordance with the Act in a more timely fashion than his predecessors' records. Also, the inventory of Presidential and Vice Presidential records will provide basic intellectual control and facilitate access to the records in the immediate post-Presidential period and enable the transfer of the records from the White House to a NARA-operated storage facility.

Means and Strategies We estimate that the current Administration will have more than 50,000 cubic feet of Presidential and 15,000 cubic feet of Vice Presidential records. To ensure the preservation of these records for informational, archival, and legal purposes and to prepare for the transfer of Presidential and Vice Presidential records to our custody, we will work with White House and Vice Presidential staff to account for Presidential records, in all formats, held in Presidential, First Lady, and Vice Presidential staff offices and other file locations. With the approval of Presidential and Vice Presidential representatives, We will prepare some inventories, define requirements and facilitate preparation of other inventories by White House staff, and gather inventories prepared throughout the Administration by White House staff. We also will provide archival guidance and advice to the Presidential and Vice Presidential staffs on the recordkeeping and disposition requirements of the PRA. We will add two senior level archivists to assist in the transfer and provide for the continued management of these Presidential and Vice Presidential records. These two archivists, along with other staff trained in FY 1999, will form an experienced archival team to provide for access and management of these new Presidential records.

Key external factor We have no legal responsibility for the records of the President and Vice President until the end of the Administration. Our access to current Administration records to prepare them for transfer to us is at the discretion of the Administration.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system and quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 2.6. By 2002, 100 percent of Office of Federal Register publications are available upon publication in both traditional formats and on-line.

Outcome We improve ready access to Federal Register publications.

Significance The information published within the Federal Register system is essential to the life, health, safety, and defense of the citizens of the United States and of its governmental, business, and social systems. Informing citizens of their rights and legal responsibilities was at the heart of the establishment of the Federal Register system and improving our capability to do this remains a critical ongoing responsibility.

Means and Strategies Technological developments in the publishing world have expanded publication options available for Federal Register materials, while developments in consumer technology have increased the number and the availability of public access points to published materials. Meanwhile, Federal agencies have rapidly increased their ability to operate in an electronic information environment. The resulting possibilities for enormously increased access and for significantly improved operational efficiencies demand that taxpayer-financed publishing systems, like the Federal Register system, incorporate the new technologies. As on-line Federal Register publications assume primacy among available formats, surveys of users show that users are demanding that we employ the capabilities of new technologies to provide more frequent revisions of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and better reference tools for using the publications. At the same time the Federal agencies that submit documents for publication want us to permit the much less expensive electronic submission of documents. And the Government Paperwork Elimination Act requires agencies to develop the capacity for electronic commerce by 2003.

We will conduct a process improvement study of office operations that will examine the following elements: electronic submission of documents from Federal agencies; electronic review, editing, and scheduling of those documents for printing; enhanced electronic formatting of materials for printing, distribution, dissemination, and archiving in electronic formats; use of automation to create more user-friendly search and retrieval tools for publications in electronic and printed formats; and more timely electronic codification of CFR amendments published in the daily Federal Register. We will begin this study in FY 2000 and complete it in FY 2001. From this study we will define requirements for an electronic system covering all phases of preparing Federal Register publications for issuance which we will begin to implement in FY 2002. In addition, we must continue our successful partnership with the Government Printing Office and involve GPO officials in planning. We also must partner with the private sector where the knowledge of technological advances and of the field of document management is greatest, to ensure that we install new processes and technologies that will keep pace with the ever-increasing speed of change in information management.

Key external factors We do not control the volume of work for which we are responsible or the timing of submissions. We do not print or distribute our publications and we depend on GPO to provide common hardware and software for publishing. GPO also controls the process by which our publications are put on-line on GPO Access. Significant additional resources would be required were this support from GPO decreased or withdrawn. Successful government-wide electronic commerce remains dependent upon the resolution of issues surrounding government-wide digital signature standards and an electronic public key infrastructure.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system and quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 2.7. By 2006, all architectural barriers preventing disabled Americans from having equal access to the Charters of Freedom are removed and the Charters of Freedom are appropriately re-encased to ensure their continued preservation.

Outcome All the Charters of Freedom are fully accessible to the public and their continued preservation is ensured.

Significance We are legally entrusted with the care and preservation of this country's founding documents — the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights. Having been encased nearly fifty years ago, the technology that was utilized is now out of step with modern conservation practices. Our conservators and outside experts have concluded that the deteriorating encasements must be replaced to ensure the continued preservation of the documents for the American people.

Means and Strategies We have partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and our Advisory Committee on Preservation to design the most technologically advanced and safest encasement for the Charters of Freedom. The design addresses issues of security, strength of the encasement, temperature, humidity, light, air pressure, and flexibility for incorporating new protective measures in the future.

The plan to re-encase the Charters of Freedom offers us the opportunity to evaluate the condition of the current encasements, to perform any necessary document conservation measures, and to fully document the condition of the Charters. A sample of the interior gas will be extracted before the old encasements are opened and the old encasement components will be retained for further analysis. Before re-encasement, each page will be examined to ensure its stability for long-term exhibit. Finally, each page will be photographed to facilitate the preparation of facsimiles and publications, and to add to the permanent conservation files. The prototype encasement was developed and tested in FY 1999 and fabrication of encasements is scheduled to be completed in FY 2001.

The Charters of Freedom cannot be displayed in their new encasements, however, unless we renovate the National Archives Building (see Target 3.1). The renovation of the National Archives Building is essential to the preservation and protection of the Charters of Freedom and the other holdings in the building. The current HVAC system requires upgrading to meet archival standards for the preservation of the textual holdings in the building. The renovation also will modernize the mechanical, electrical, and fire safety systems so that they meet current regulations and standards. It will retrofit the rotunda area so that the Charters of Freedom can be displayed in their new encasements. Renovation will bring the building and the document displays into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, enabling all Americans to view the Charters of Freedom and use the research rooms. Adding chemical filtration of the air and tighter temperature and humidity controls will upgrade the records storage areas to meet archival standards for textual records. Finally, renovation will add sufficient exhibit and public use space to accommodate the increasing number of visitors to the building.

Key External factor Continued Administration and Congressional support of the National Archives Building renovation project is necessary to ensure that the new encasements are secure and accessible in the Rotunda.

Data source Quarterly reports to the Archivist and reports to the NARA Advisory Committee on Preservation.

Long Range Performance Target 2.8. By 2007, 90 percent of all NHPRC-assisted projects produce results promised in grant applications approved by the Commission.

Outcome The public gains wider access to the entire range of records on which depends the understanding of American history.

Significance National Historical Publications and Records Commission grants help archivists, editors, and historians nationwide broaden public access to non-Federal records, thus complimenting NARA's own mission. Toward this end, the NHPRC works to ensure completion of documentary projects on America's founding era; strengthens the nation's archival infrastructure through collaboration with the states; and provides leadership in funding research and development on preserving and making accessible important documentary sources in electronic form.

Means and Strategies The Commission achieves its goals and results largely through a competitive grants program open to non-profit organizations, state, local, and tribal governments, and (in a limited number of cases) individuals. Grants projects are submitted and supported by applicant institutions and organizations that provide a significant portion of the total project costs (usually 50 percent or higher). Most applications submitted by individuals, as opposed to organizations or institutions, are for fellowships for which the Commission currently makes only two awards annually. The projects are usually directed by a permanent member of the applicant's staff. Each project submits a proposal to NHPRC for up to a three-year grant, which is evaluated based on specific relevant criteria specified in the Commission's general program guidelines. Each application includes general goals and specific objectives, a detailed budget, a work plan with project schedule, and products that will be produced. Grants are reviewed and evaluated by peer reviewers, staff, and the Commission (and in some cases by state historical records advisory boards) and are awarded usually on an annual competitive basis. Each grant must submit regular narrative and financial reports and a final report with copies of products produced by the project. Commission staff monitor the projects through this regular reporting as well as through individual contact as necessary. Commission staff also monitor relevant professional reviews of the products of its grants as found in professional journals and reports to professional meetings. Projects are currently evaluated at the close of the grant period as to whether they have submitted evidence of the satisfactory completion of the project along with the necessary copies of products.

Key external factor The NHPRC rigorously evaluates grant applications on the basis of the relevance of projects to the NHPRC's strategic objectives and the ability of applicants to produce promised results. Nonetheless, results ultimately depend on those applicants rather than on staff of NARA or the NHPRC.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system.

Definitions

1. Written requests: requests for services that arrive in the form of letters, faxes, e-mails, and telephone calls that have been transcribed. Excludes Freedom of Information Act requests, personnel information requests at the National Personnel Records Center, Federal agency requests for information, fulfillment of requests for copies of records, requests for museum shop products, subpoenas, and special access requests. Return to text.
2. Federal agency reference request: a request by a Federal agency to a records center activity requesting the retrieval of agency records. Excludes personnel information requests at the National Personnel Records Center. Return to text.
3. Customer contacts: requests from customers from all sources, except records management requests, requests for information on NHPRC grants, administrative requests such as for information about jobs, contracting, or volunteering, and visits to the Federal Register public inspection desk. Return to text.
4. Electronic contacts: requests from customers through computers. Return to text.
5. NAIL: NARA Archival Information Locator, on-line catalog that is the prototype for ARC.
6. ARC: Archival Research Catalog, future NARA-wide on-line catalog.
7. EAP: Electronic Access Project, project that maintains NAIL, builds ARC and digitized 120,000 images. Return to text.
8. Equity holding agency: the agency that classified information in a document, whether or not it created the document. In the absence of declassification guidelines, only the equity holding agency can declassify the information in the document. Return to text.
9. Inventory: a listing of the volume, scope and complexity of an organization's records. Return to text.
10. Intellectual control: the acquisition and creation of documentation required to access the informational content of records. Return to text.

STRATEGIC GOAL 3:
All records will be preserved in appropriate space for use as long as needed.

Long Range Performance Targets

3.1. By 2006, 100 percent of NARA holdings are in appropriate space.

3.2. By 2007, 80 percent of the identified at-risk materials in NARA holdings are appropriately treated or are housed so as to retard further deterioration.

3.3. By 2007, 97 percent of electronic records in NARA holdings are managed and preserved in accordance with applicable voluntary consensus standards, regardless of their original format.

FY 00 Resources Required to Meet This Goal: $93,700,000; 347 FTE

Budget Linkage: pages 14-16, 23-26

Long Range Performance Target 3.1. By 2006, 100 percent of NARA holdings are in appropriate space.

Outcome We greatly increase the chances of records being available to future generations of researchers.

Significance Providing appropriate environmental storage conditions is the most cost-effective means to ensure records preservation. We currently provide appropriate environmental storage conditions for only 21 percent of its more than 5.8 million cubic feet of archival holdings. Several regional facilities have severe quality problems, including backlogs of needed repairs and renovations, and existing Presidential libraries need upgrades in environmental conditions. "Appropriate space" includes, however, not only appropriate environmental storage conditions for all of our current and future archival holdings and space sufficient in quantity for current and future temporary records holdings, but also space that facilitates researcher access to records and other NARA services, such as exhibits.

Means and Strategies We have undertaken a multi-pronged approach to ensuring our holdings are in appropriate space. Our new state-of-the-art facility in College Park, MD, provides appropriate storage conditions for the permanent headquarters records of most Federal agencies as well as modern records of national interest. It also has excellent researcher and staff amenities. The National Archives Building in Washington, DC, has been the focus of several engineering and architectural studies to determine how best to renovate the building to be suitable for records, staff, and researchers. For future Presidential libraries, we are developing new facility standards to ensure Presidential records and artifacts are appropriately preserved. In addition, many older libraries are undergoing renovations and systematic upgrades. Regional archives were the focus of a major space planning initiative in 1998-99 that over the next several years will result in more and better space for regional records. Finally, our new reimbursable program for records center records will give us the flexibility we have previously lacked to procure the appropriate space for Federal agency records in our physical custody.

In FY 2000 we will complete 90 percent of the renovation design for the National Archives Building, fully fund the construction quality management services for the project, and initiate two smaller construction projects that need to be completed before award of the full renovation construction contract planned for FY 2001. The two construction projects include demolition of shelving and steel decking in six tiers and construction of office space in part of the currently inaccessible moat area on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the building. We also will need to move approximately 210,000 cubic feet of records currently in the National Archives Building to the National Archives at College Park and 35 to 45 NARA staff members now stationed downtown, along with their files, supplies and equipment. Another 300,000 cubic feet of records will need to be moved and consolidated within the National Archives Building to make room for work in various areas.

Key external factors With the continuous accessioning of new material, the percent of holdings in appropriate space will decrease until we begin to procure more space. Public, Administration and Congressional support for our space planning activities is vital to develop and implement proposed plans.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system and quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 3.2. By 2007, 80 percent of the identified at-riskmaterials in NARA holdings are appropriately treated or are housed so as to retard further deterioration.

Outcome The most at-risk materials are appropriately preserved according to degree of risk, value and use for current and future generations of researchers.

Significance Providing public access to records for as long as needed requires that we first assess the preservation needs of the records, provide storage that retards deterioration, and treat records at high risk for deterioration. The records most in need of preservation attention include textual records documenting military service of 20th-century veterans, as well as those that provide a broad audiovisual history of the United States from the 1930s to the 1960s. Unless we take action, we will lose some of our documentary heritage of the New Deal, the Great Depression, World War II, and the post-war years.

Means and Strategies We must preserve textual and non-textual records holdings. In FY 1999 we implemented a risk assessment program to perform necessary preservation actions on all new textual accessions in the Washington, DC, area. In FY 2000 we will implement risk assessment procedures for new accessions in Presidential libraries and in the regional records services facilities' archival operations. The non-textual records holdings include motion pictures, audio recordings, video tapes, still photography, aerial photography, microfilm and other microforms, and maps and charts in a variety of formats and sizes. Duplication of these records onto longer lasting film stock and reformatting obsolete audio and video formats preserves the images and information and facilitates reference access, but the cost is prohibitive. In FY 2000 we will seek to retard further deterioration of acetate-based, non-textual records by housing them in cold storage facilities. Cold storage greatly slows the rate of deterioration; it buys time for some materials while others that are in high demand receive preservation treatment. In addition to cold storage, we will undertake a variety of preservation actions, including holdings maintenance and preservation duplication, for prioritized, selected records where heavy reference use or technical problems dictate making new copies.

Key external factors Unusually large increases in new at-risk records, increases in cost of leasing cold storage space, and growing or shifting public demands for the use of at-risk records could delay achievement of performance targets. Limitations on the availability of appropriate cold storage facilities will impact the Presidential libraries' ability to address audiovisual holdings' requirements.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system and quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 3.3. By 2007, 97 percent of electronic records in NARA holdings are managed and preserved in accordance with applicable voluntary consensus standards, regardless of their original format.

Outcome More electronic records are preserved for future generations of researchers.

Significance We have accessioned and are preserving more electronic records than any other government archives in the world. All citizens count on us to ensure that our heritage in electronic form is preserved for as long as needed. But even as the world leader we still lack the capacity to accommodate our current backlog of files and the exploding volume of electronic data files that Federal agencies transfer to us. We must expand the capacity of our current preservation system, research options with public and private sector partners to establish a more robust system, and accommodate an increasing number of routine electronic accessions in a variety of media and in a number of file formats.

Means and Strategies To deal with the complex challenges we face in preserving and managing electronic records we are taking a dual approach. First, we must extend and expand our existing systems that handle electronic records processing because that is the only means we have currently of controlling these records. Thus, preserving document image files and Presidential files will depend in the short-term on changes to our existing systems.

The second approach we are taking, however, is to invest in research and development projects through the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. With their help we are discovering new ways to look at managing and preserving electronic records within a comprehensive and stable architecture that will be infrastructure independent, scalable, modular, and extensible. More research and development must occur, but we are hopeful that we will have an electronic records archive that will preserve any kind of electronic record in a format that frees it from the computer system that created it and will allow us to respond to reference requests in ways that meet customer needs. Our plan is to complete the research, development, prototype, pilot, and operational implementation by 2004. At that time we would phase out our existing electronic records systems.

Key external factors The results of existing and future research and development into electronic records preservation may change the requirements for an electronic records preservation system.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system and quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Definitions

1. Appropriate space: (1) appropriate environmental storage conditions for all of NARA's current and future archival holdings, and (2) space sufficient in quantity for current and future temporary records holdings. Return to text.
2. At-risk: records that have a media base near or at the point of deterioration to such an extent that the image or information in the physical media of the record is being or soon will be lost, or records that are stored on media accessible only through obsolete technology. Return to text.
3. Accession: a record or records whose legal custody is transferred to NARA. Return to text.
4. Managing and preserving electronic records involves four steps: (1) identify files and recording formats, and determine physical readability of the media; (2) produce a complete copy of the files on archival preservation media; (3) create an audit trail record to guarantee data integrity; and (4) manage files to ensure continued readability. Return to text.

STRATEGIC GOAL 4
NARA's capabilities for making changes necessary to realize our vision will continuously expand.

Long Range Performance Targets

4.1. By 2002, 100 percent of employee performance plans and appraisals are linked to strategic outcomes.

4.2. By 2002, the percentages of people in protected classes employed and recruited NARA-wide match the percentages of people in national PATCOB categories, the latter of which will vary annually due to civilian labor force changes, and NARA will especially focus on increasing the numbers of people in protected classes to be included in pools of applicants for positions in Grades 13 and above.

4.3. By 2003, all NARA employees have staff development plans that are linked to NARA's strategic goals and all employees are engaged in training and development in accordance with those plans.

4.4. By 2007, NARANET will provide a 95 percent effective computer and communications infrastructure.

4.5. By 2007, NARA has developed and implemented modules of an automated records life-cycle system that will support the inventorying, scheduling, appraising, accessioning, maintenance, use, declassification, and preservation of records.

FY 00 Resources Required to Meet This Goal: Goal 4 supports goals 1 through 3. Resources required are included in the totals for those goals.

Long Range Performance Target 4.1. By 2002, 100 percent of employee performance plans and appraisals are linked to strategic outcomes.

Outcome With employee performance plans directly linked to strategic plan goals, NARA staff will see the importance of their roles vis-a-vis the Strategic Plan.

Significance A new agency performance appraisal system will change our organizational culture by systematically linking employees' individual performance with our performance as an agency. Specifically, linking employee performance appraisals to the Strategic Plan will demonstrate to staff their real investment in the plan's success.

Means and Strategies Our Human Resources Services Division, in coordination with Staff Development Services, will develop and provide training for managers on how to implement the new agency performance appraisal system within their units. The division also will oversee the implementation to be sure the system is applied consistently throughout the agency. In addition, both divisions will inform staff about the new system and foster improved communication between managers and staff throughout the appraisal process.

Key external factors Protracted negotiations over implementation issues with our Union, AFGE Council 260, would delay implementation of the new system.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system and quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 4.2. By 2002, the percentages of people in protected classes employed and recruited NARA-wide match the percentages of people in national PATCOB categories, the latter of which will vary annually due to civilian labor force changes, and NARA will especially focus on increasing the numbers of people in protected classes to be included in pools of applicants for positions in Grades 13 and above.

Outcome Our workforce will reflect more accurately the diversity of American society as a whole.

Significance A diverse workforce brings to our agency employees who possess a rich variety of viewpoints and qualities drawn from their own experiences. Workforce diversity suggests a work environment philosophy that recognizes the value of these contributions. Promoting and valuing workforce diversity creates a work setting where all employees may develop to their full potential. For us to reach our full potential ? to achieve our vision and carry out our mission ? we must be a place where diversity is valued as an essential ingredient in making this an efficient and dynamic organization.

Means and Strategies A setting where workforce diversity is promoted and valued requires the full involvement of employees from different races, national origins, genders, ages, religions, physical abilities, and family structures. Training in diversity is a critical step for creating an understanding of the value of diversity and ensuring its integration into our organization. By additionally continuing on-going efforts regarding expansion of recruiting techniques, collection and analysis of pertinent personnel management data, and implementation of a professional development program, we will continue to make systematic progress toward achieving the long-range performance target for levels of representation of protected classes.

Key external factors Budgetary concerns, including FTE ceilings and other personnel action freezes, may limit the opportunities to recruit and promote individuals, whether or not these individuals are in a protected class. Whether applicants fill out the voluntary form providing information on PATCOB categories affects what we know about our recruitment pools.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system. NARA tracks employee percentages of PATCOB categories in a semi-annual report to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 4.3. By 2003, all NARA employees have staff development plans that are linked to NARA's strategic goals and all employees are engaged in training and development in accordance with those plans.

Outcome NARA managers will be more knowledgeable about GPRA requirements and better prepared to draft staff development plan modules that include elements linked to strategic goals.

Significance To build a comprehensive professional development program by 2003, we need to develop, test, refine, and implement several types of training requirements modules for supervisory, core, and job-specific competencies and other skills areas, linked to accomplishment of our strategic goals. FY 1999 will be the second year of work toward building this professional development program.

The development of instruction for supervisors and managers is a primary focus early on in this entire process, since it is our managers who are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the agency's work is accomplished and services are delivered efficiently and effectively by our employees. Defining the core knowledge, skills, and abilities that all employees should have to meet common organizational needs in such areas as customer service, information resources management, and oral and written communications (and linking these skills areas where applicable to our strategic goals) is another critical first step.

Means and Strategies We must educate our managers about GPRA requirements so that they are able to draft staff development plan modules for job-specific competencies and link our strategic goals to development plans. In FY 1999 Staff Development Services tested and refined a curriculum of courses for managers and employees that began to address this educational need. In FY 2000 three-quarters of our managers and supervisors will be trained in how to support our strategic plan by linking staff members' development plans directly with our strategic goals. Also In FY 2000 staff will begin attending new courses in the universal and supplemental competencies that are aligned to our strategic goals.

Data source Quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Long Range Performance Target 4.4. By 2007, NARANET will provide a 95 percent effective computer and communications infrastructure.

Outcome Information about NARA and our holdings are accessible to customers 24 hours a day in a manner that meets customer service expectations.

Significance NARANET is the information technology infrastructure on which our administrative and mission activities are accomplished electronically. NARANET is a wide-area-network that connects the entire agency internally and connects the agency to public and government customers via the Internet. NARANET enables NARA to create, maintain, retrieve, analyze, and share agency information and provides the internal network backbone needed to support all NARA electronic access systems initiatives, including the current Electronic Access Project and the future life cycle systems. NARANET connects approximately 2,500 staff members who use personal computers and the public who access our information via the Internet approximately 650,000 times a month. NARANET is increasingly being used by our external customers to access and request information about the agency and our records holdings. Reliable performance of NARANET is essential to ensuring that customer expectations can be met.

Means and Strategies A 95 percent effective computer infrastructure means: the network is available to users 99.7 percent of the time; user services are delivered within established parameters 95 percent of the time; and services to the desktop are delivered within established timeframes 90 percent of the time. Because of technology changes in both hardware and software, NARANET components either rapidly become obsolete or cannot be maintained efficiently. Generally this means that twenty to thirty percent of the components must be replaced or upgraded each year. To achieve the necessary level of performance, we must acquire new hardware and software to support a 15 percent annual growth as well as cyclically maintain the minimum levels on existing systems.

Key external factor Diversion of resources to ensure a successful conversion of hardware and software systems to accommodate the Y2K problem in computers may affect our ability to achieve the targeted level of NARANET performance.

Data source Performance Measurement and Reporting system. We use the existing Spectrum network management system and problem incident reports to produce data regarding network availability and reliability. The current Help desk management system and customer surveys collect user support data. In addition, information technology staff conducts periodic system/network tests on service delivery to individual workstations. We intend to expand and enhance the capabilities of the Spectrum network management system, providing additional detailed performance and availability data, especially for networks outside the Washington, DC, area. Also, NARA will replace the current Help Desk management system with a new system which will allow us to gather additional and more accurate information about our user support services.

Long Range Performance Target 4.5. By 2007, NARA has developed and implemented modules of an automated records life-cycle system that will support the inventorying, scheduling, appraising, accessioning, maintenance, use, declassification, and preservation of records.

Outcome Services to the public and Federal agencies are improved because we are able to manage our information resources more efficiently and effectively.

Significance A nationwide, electronic system that supports the effective management of Federal and Presidential records throughout their life cycle will produce significant benefits for both the Federal Government and its customers. It will save money, reduce records loss, and make it easier for the Government to retrieve records for itself and for the public.

Means and Strategies We need to build a practical, affordable automated system for tracking and using records throughout their life cycle. This system will integrate and make available information gathered about records during the process of creation, scheduling and appraisal, maintenance in records centers, destruction or archival accessioning, preservation, and continuing use. It is not advisable, nor do we have the resources, to develop the life cycle system as a single, large application. Rather, we will develop and implement the life cycle system in modules that provide more rapid implementation at lower cost with less risk. We have identified eight life cycle modules: Description and Reference, Appraisal and Scheduling, Acquisitions and Accessioning, Customer Registration, Ordering and Circulation, Preservation, Declassification, and Space Planning. The Archival Research Catalog is the Description and Reference module. In FY 2000 we will design and develop ARC and approve it for final testing (see Target 2.3). The second module of the life cycle system, Appraisal and Scheduling, supports the front-end of the records management process which has been identified as critical to the success of our Strategic Plan. The existing business processes use a combination of paper-based systems that are inefficient and several technology applications that are not integrated with each other or with our other applications. In FY 2001 we will begin to develop an Appraisal and Scheduling module of the life cycle system that will support the recommendations of the scheduling reinvention study (see Target 1.1). This method of re-engineering a process followed by developing and implementing the appropriate information technology will be used for each of the ensuing life cycle modules until the system is complete. This modular development process will provide for timely benefits to our customers while reducing risks and costs.

Data source Quarterly reports to the Archivist.

Definitions

1. Protected classes: classes of people as defined in guidelines from the Equal Opportunity Commission: women, minorities (African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives), and disabled individuals. Return to text.
2. PATCOB: Professional, Administrative, Technical, Clerical, Other and Blue Collar occupations used to categorize the Civilian Labor Force data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Return to text.
3. Applicant: job applicants who have reached a point in the hiring process where NARA has found them to meet the basic qualifications for the position. Return to text.
4. Staff development plan: a plan to provide and enhance an employee's knowledge, skills, and abilities, and to improve performance in his/her current job and of duties outside his/her current job in response to organizational needs and human resource plans. Return to text.
5. universal competencies: the areas of knowledge and the skills that every NARA employee must have in order to perform effectively within the agency (e.g. Serves Customers and Sets and Seeks Goals). Return to text.
6. supplemental competencies: important areas of knowledge and skills that large numbers of NARA employees must have in order to perform their tasks but that are not universally needed across the agency (e.g., Builds Effective Teams). Return to text.
7. NARANET: a collection of local area networks installed in each of 32 NARA facilities that are connected to a wide area network at Archives II, using frame relay telecommunications, and then to the Internet. NARANET includes personal computers with a standardized suite of software. NARANET was designed to be modular and scalable using standard hardware and software components. Return to text.
8. User Support Services: help desk services which include problem resolution, answering questions regarding hardware and software, providing technical support, and updating users' access to the system. Return to text.
9. Service Delivery to the Desktop: delivery of information to the users' personal computer, especially concerning e-mail and NARA's intranet. Return to text.
10. Records life cycle system: an automated system for tracking and managing records from creation through maintenance, use, and disposition. Return to text.
11. Life cycle of records: the stages of a record — creation, scheduling and appraisal, maintenance in records centers, destruction or archival accessioning, preservation, and continuing use. Return to text.