Release of 2013 SAO Annual Report

We are pleased to announce we have completed a review of the 2013 SAO (Senior Agency Official for Records Management) Annual Reports. The results have been issued in an Executive Report available here (.pdf). The Managing Government Records Directive  issued in August 2012, requires all agencies to submit to NARA an annual report outlining their progress toward implementing the provisions of that guidance.

Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government, Paul Wester, said “The Directive called for the establishment of an SAO for Records Management which was an important recognition that records and information management needs top management support to be successful. This inaugural report is an important baseline for Federal records management programs and will be a useful tool for agencies to learn from each other.”

Our office received 107 reports. Generally the reports revealed that agencies are:

• Working toward managing all email in electronic format by the end of 2016,
• Interested in the use of the Capstone approach for managing email,
• Beginning to explore and develop ways to manage permanent electronic records in electronic format by the end of 2019,
• Deploying cloud services for their email, administrative functions, and some mission-related activities,
• Concerned about their budgets,
• Also concerned about other challenges including information technology issues, staffing, training, lack of standards, and conflicting priorities
• Requesting assistance from NARA including additional technical and policy guidance, site visits/consulting, and training.

If you have any questions about the SAO Annual Report process, please leave a comment or contact Lisa Haralampus, NARA Records Management Policy Team, at lisa.haralampus@nara.gov.