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Part 2 - The context necessary for a handbook of directives
2.1
A structured programme
2.2 Endorsement by the authorities and the
legislative framework
2.3
Setting up the central body
2.4
The other partners
Anyone can bring even the best system to a standstill in less than six months if he does not believe in it. Preparing a handbook of directives will produce the expected benefits only if all the people involved give it their support. As they are at different levels of an organization, it is important that they should be given the basic information needed before a handbook of directives is issued.
The first people to become aware of the problem of records management will need reliable and accurate data to justify undertaking such a programme. This information will be even more valuable to them for determining priorities and convincing sceptics and financial directors. Financial directors will be particularly critical of the project when they come to make the funds available for it whereas the sceptics may question the size of the problem and the advantages of the programme. It is therefore necessary to address the problem comprehensively from the very start and to anticipate its short-, medium- and long-term implications.
At this stage, the matter is in the hands of a small working group, responsible for taking stock of the situation and making a preliminary examination. When consulting the different bodies involved, the group will make an inventory of the documents they hold, particularly the major series. It will focus on critical sectors that are in great need of reform.
This examination will also help to identify the people already involved with these problems and the different types of sectoral solution which may have already been devised and implemented.
Analysis of this primary information will serve as the basis for the preparation of a policy recommendation document, the endorsement of which by the authorities will signal the real start of the operation. In addition to a general review of the situation, the document will contain a description of the tasks, objectives and general structure of the proposed programme, the resources (financial, material and human) required to start it and a timetable for its execution.
2.2 Endorsement by the authorities and the legislative framework
The inclusion of the records management programme on the political agenda is the second stage in the working group's task. It is not enough to recommend a solution; this has to be approved and backed by the highest authorities. The credibility and finances of the programme depend on it.
At this point, the original working group becomes the official initiator which must sell the project to the rest of the organization affected by it. General acceptance of the project is as important as its endorsement by top officials. Although the programme could always be imposed, it will work only if the participants are convinced that there are organizational and economic advantages in it for themselves.
At the same time, the adoption of a legal framework and the main regulations provides the foundation and a legislative context for the programme's legitimization. They express the will of the authorities and demonstrate by their content the nature and extent of the government's commitment. A law expresses a policy and a government's line of action. It is a firm line of action whose permanent quality is much more effective than a series of administrative provisions in countering resistance to change.
The regulations and policies will derive from the law and will clarify the different aspects of this framework. While the law sets out the general principles, the regulations lay down the method of implementation, which the directives develop in detail.
Regulations on records management, as in all matters of organization, ensure consistent and concerted action by the different parties on whom the efficiency and effectiveness of the programme depends.
The allocation of resources is the other necessary factor in developing and implementing the programme. The commitment of the authorities should be expressed by the allocation of human and material resources for these functions, or in other words the allotment of a substantial budget. It should be acknowledged, however, that records management is often fairly low on a government's list of priorities since information is still very frequently underrated as a resource.
It soon becomes obvious, however, that records management does not just involve the adoption of laws and regulations. The resources allocated to the programme will demonstrate the real political will of the authorities. In this connection, the strength of conviction of the people initially in charge of the project is also of vital importance.
2.3 Setting up the central body
Setting up and specifying the work of a central body (as generally foreshadowed in the law) must be one of the first steps taken by a government in implementing an administrative records management programme. This body will provide government leadership in all matters relating to this aspect of the management of information resources.
The authority of the central body should be recognized by other government bodies and its position in the hierarchy should bring it into direct and influential contact with senior policymakers. This is necessary because its role will be to change people's outlook and this will inevitably engender resistance. Opponents may even disregard their commitments in order to block the implementation of the programme or the allocation of resources. In such a situation, the closer the central body is to the decision-makers, the less diluted will be its message, the greater its chances of success, and the firmer its authority.
This factor is very important in view of the tasks of planning, supervision, training and promotion that the central body is constantly called upon to perform. In actual fact, except in the case of semi-current records management, which for reasons of efficiency and economy should be under the direct central control of the central body, this body should aim to delegate to other bodies, limiting itself to an advisory role. It operates at the two ends of the administrative spectrum, initiating parts of the programme in conformity with the priorities selected and monitoring their application to achieve maximum impact or to take corrective action if needed. It must also remain attentive to the other partners involved who have to live with its decisions from day to day.
Even if there is a uniform government records management programme, the problems of each of the departments involved may call for specific solutions within the framework of the programme's principles and bench-marks. As no two administrative units face the same problems, the nature, authority and size of a unit may cause it to adapt government priorities to its own needs.
The role of government agencies is therefore equally important. In applying the law, policies, regulations and guidelines laid down by the central body, each sector will thus have to develop its own internal programme with its own managers and directives. The departmental heads therefore have the task of devising and drawing up internal directives while implementing the government programme in their administrative unit.
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The key to the successful management of structures, resources and people lies in a high degree of collaboration and dialogue, which will lead to the greatest efficiency and integration for the State as a whole.