National Archives Publishes Customer Research Agenda
Press Release · Friday, January 27, 2023

Washington, DC

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has posted its Customer Research Agenda.   

A draft Customer Research Agenda was open for public review and comment in October 2022. “We’re grateful for the feedback we received during the public review and comment period. The information our customers and stakeholders shared helped better focus and finalize the agenda. The document truly reflects the agency’s commitment to learn more about its customers prior to making improvements to services,” said Maria Carosa Stanwich, Chief of Staff.  

NARA’s approach to service improvement includes three steps: discover, design, deliver. The Customer Research Agenda is a set of questions that will be used during each discovery phase. The feedback collected from the questions will deepen NARA’s understanding of its customers to improve design, service delivery, and overall customer experience. “We right-sized the agenda by focusing on what it is, how we will use it, and what we need to learn from our current and future customers to improve services,”  said Stephanie Bogan, Chief Customer Experience Officer.  

NARA developed its Customer Research Agenda to guide the agency’s approach to better understanding the wants, needs, and expectations that individuals, organizations, and communities have when interacting with its services. In alignment with agency-wide efforts to expand NARA’s reach and access, the Customer Research Agenda also explicitly focuses on helping NARA understand how the agency can expand access and participation. NARA’s goal is to ensure that its services are available to all, including groups that have been historically underserved, disadvantaged, or excluded.

“By focusing our research on the overall quality of NARA services, the process of obtaining services, and the people providing services, we will build a comprehensive understanding of the agency’s customers that will enable us to make service improvements that are driven by their voices,” said Nick Bloom, Human-Centered Design Specialist.

The Customer Research Agenda is an important step toward achieving NARA’s Strategic Goal 2: Connect with Customers. These efforts also support government-wide initiatives to improve federal customer experience and service equity as represented in the President’s Management Agenda, Executive Order 13985, Executive Order 14058, and the Office of Management and Budget’s A-11 Circular §280.