We are pleased to announce that the 2013 Records Management-Self Assessment (RMSA) report is now available here. Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government Paul Wester said, “This is our fifth RMSA and we are very pleased to see real progress being made by agencies. We expect this improvement to continue, especially as agencies continue to work towards achieving the goals in the Managing Government Records Directive.”
Positive trends from this year’s report include:
- This year, 52% of agencies made improvements to their records management programs and increased their RMSA score. This is the first time the number of agencies in low risk exceeds the number in the high risk.
- Agency records management staff have increased the frequency of routine RM evaluations, inspections, and audits.
- Many agency records management staff are participating in the design and development of electronic systems and are working collaboratively with other units on issues related to electronic records.
- RMSA findings and recommendations are consistent with the goals and requirements of the Managing Government Records Directive (OMB M-12-18). We believe that improvement will continue as the requirements of the Directive are implemented and as NARA’s records management oversight activities continue.
We use the RMSA to determine whether Federal agencies are compliant with statutory and regulatory records management requirements, identify positive and negative trends, and areas where further guidance may be necessary. Federal agencies use the RMSA to identify strong and weak areas of their records management programs and the impact of changes they have made since the previous assessment. As a whole, the data can be used to improve records management practices within the Federal Government.
If you have any questions regarding the RMSA please feel free to leave a comment here or send an email to Casey Coleman, the RMSA project lead, at casey.coleman@nara.gov.