Administrative Manual September, 2011 AMS 10.11 Management of Records 1 Policy Rationale 1 Records are critical to the delivery of World Bank Group (WBG) programs and services. They enable the WBG to hold itself accountable to its own policies, as well as to commitments made to clients, stakeholders, and partners. Records also support management oversight in the conduct of audits, reviews, and reporting. 2 Complete, accurate, authentic, reliable, and accessible records are necessary to document WBG activities and to serve as authoritative sources of evidence and information. Records support decision-making, the analysis of trends, and the conduct of both unit-specific and WBG- wide functions and activities. They are valuable in capturing the institutional memory of staff and in orienting new staff. Records that document the legal basis, origin, development, and organization of the WBG can, as archives, have lasting historical significance to the WBG and to civil society. 3 All staff are responsible for documenting their activities and decisions and for applying records management directives and procedures in the performance of their duties, as stated in this AMS. Unit Managers are responsible for the effective and well-coordinated management of records throughout their units. The WBG Chief Archivist has the authority to issue directives concerning records management roles and responsibilities to support this policy. 4 This policy sets out the WBG’s requirements and procedures for managing its records and defines staff responsibilities. It is supplemented by Management of Records: Procedures. 2 Scope 5 The policy applies to all WBG records, wherever located and by whomsoever held, which are or have been created or received in the course of WBG business by staff, including consultants, as defined in Staff Rule 4.01, as well as by contractors. Staff and contractors are responsible for following this policy when creating or using WBG records. 1 Definition of Records 6 Records are a particular type of recorded information, created or received in the conduct of WBG business and in pursuance of its legal obligations. They document WBG policies, decisions, processes, activities, and transactions, and preserve its institutional knowledge. Regardless of their form or medium, records are a distinct and essential component of the WBG’s information assets. 3 Statement of Policy Capture of Records 7 Records must be accurate, authentic, reliable, complete, and accessible, and they must have integrity if they are to perform their role in documenting WBG policies, decisions, processes, activities, and transactions, and in serving as trusted sources of information to support future decision-making. If these qualities are to be ensured, then records (regardless of their form) must be managed in WBG systems that comply with records management requirements. 8 The WBG Chief Archivist, in consultation with relevant parties, is responsible for designating WBG business systems as being compliant with records management requirements. Standard shared network drives, individual hard-drive space, and individual electronic mail accounts do not comply with these requirements. 9 Records that must be captured and managed in WBG approved records management systems are those that meet any of the following conditions:  are likely to require action, follow-up, or a reply from the WBG  provide evidence of policies, processes, activities, and transactions of the WBG  provide evidence of key decisions that will be of value to WBG staff when making decisions in the future  are original records related to WBG business that do not exist elsewhere. 10 Not all records need to be captured and managed. Some records are not required to document or provide evidence of WBG policies, processes, activities, and decisions. Examples of records that do not need to be captured include:  drafts that do not provide evidence of key decisions  information that has been received and used as a reference or for which many copies are available  personal records or documents kept only for convenience where no action is taken  information accumulated that has no work-related content or evidentiary value. 2 11 Staff should not file personal records in records management systems. Any personal records, including email, kept in these systems will be subject to WBG rules and regulations. 12 Where records are created or received in paper form, they should be captured and preserved in paper form, in order to protect WBG legal obligations. Paper copies of born-digital records that have already been filed in an approved electronic management system need not be retained unless there is a mark-up or handwritten annotation. Classification of Records 13 Records must be classified as specified in AMS 6.21A Information Classification and Control Policy and the Classification Handbook for Restricted Information. The originator must indicate the classification level (Official Use Only, Confidential, or Strictly Confidential) assigned to restricted information for records in all media. Otherwise, records are considered to be Public, and will be made available according to AMS 1.10 Policy on Access to Information. Appraisal, Retention, Disposition, and Destruction of Records 14 The WBG Chief Archivist, in consultation with relevant parties, establishes retention and disposition schedules for records in relation to the functions that they support. The WBG Archives Unit appraises records to determine their final disposition as ‘permanent’ or ‘temporary’ (destroy after a fixed period). Retention and disposition rules are described in General Records Schedules (GRS) for common and administrative functions across the WBG and Records Retention and Disposition Schedules (RRDS) for specific functions. 15 Records must not be destroyed unless destruction is approved under an authorized schedule. Unauthorized destruction includes deleting, altering, or corrupting WBG records or impairing their accessibility or readability. 16 Electronic records captured in approved records management systems will be retained or systematically and securely deleted based on approved retention and disposition schedules that are applied by the systems. 17 In the case of paper records, staff must take active steps to apply retention and disposition schedules. When paper records reach the end of their retention period in the office, staff should destroy them or transfer them to the Archives. In country offices, the records that have a final disposition of destroy must be destroyed on site. Duplicate copies and information that does not have evidentiary value may be destroyed when no longer needed. 3 Ownership and Custody of Records 18 WBG records are WBG property. Staff do not have intellectual property rights to the records that they create in the course of their employment unless there is a pre-existing copyright or a written agreement with the WBG. As a general rule, staff must not use WBG records for non-WBG business. WBG records must be kept securely until they are captured then transferred to the Archives or destroyed in accordance with the applicable retention and disposition schedule. For more information on Copyrights and Intellectual Property please see AMS 14.50 Formal Publishing in paragraph 15, plus Staff Manual Principle 3.2, and the World Bank Statement of Copyright and Intellectual Property. 19 Individual units maintain custody of their active records until such time that they are either transferred to the Archives or destroyed in accordance with approved records retention and disposition schedules. The WBG Archives has custody and control over access to records over 20 years old. Transfer of Records’ Custody 20 The custody of records must be transferred in the following circumstances:  The GRS or RRDS indicates the required action: The custody of records is transferred according to the retention and disposition specifications described in the GRS or RRDS.  A function, project, transaction, or activity is transferred to another unit, concluded or terminated: Depending on the circumstances, records may be transferred to a successor unit, captured in an approved institutional records management system, and/or transferred to the WBG Archives.  Cessation of employment or end or termination of contract: Staff or contractors must hand over any WBG records in their custody to their successor, to their supervisor, or to the WBG Archives prior to their departure. They may not retain, give away, or remove from WBG premises any records, including those they created or received during the performance of their duties, other than personal records, as defined in Section 5.  A report is completed: WBG staff must submit completed reports to the Internal Documents Unit (IDU) if they are not already captured in official processes or workflows.  At the IFC, a paper record is created or received: Project-related paper records created outside of IFCDocs or received from clients, partners, or other parties must be scanned to IFCDocs, then sent to the IFC Information Center, which is the official repository for such records. Shared unit files are not recommended for project-related paper records. All electronic project-related records must be filed in IFCDocs. Other designated document repositories at IFC include Legal Records and Official Documents. 4 Responsibilities 21 WBG Staff, Consultants and Contractors must:  document their processes, activities, and decisions as indicated in Section 3  abide by records management directives and procedures  capture records in approved records management systems, ensuring that metadata are correct  comply with all requirements for security classification of records, as specified in AMS 6.21A. Failure to comply may result in disciplinary proceedings pursuant to Staff Rule 8.01. 22 Unit Managers must ensure that:  staff document their processes, activities, and decisions as indicated in Section 3  records created by consultants and contractors hired in their unit are captured in approved records management systems  staff comply with records management directives and procedures by conducting regular audits of the integrity, quality, and completeness of records created and captured by the unit  WBG records are accurate, authentic, reliable, complete, and accessible, and have integrity while in the custody of the responsible unit  electronic business systems used in the unit are compliant with records management requirements  ensure that staff comply with all requirements for security classification of records, as specified in AMS 6.21A Information Classification and Control Policy for restricted information and AMS 1.10 Policy on Access to Information for public information. Failure to comply may result in disciplinary proceedings pursuant to Staff Rule 8.01. 5 23 WBG Chief Archivist:  defines records management directives, procedures, and requirements, and provides WBG units with advice, guidance, and support in complying with this policy  issues policies, directives, procedures, and requirements to support the proper management of WBG records  evaluates WBG owned electronic business systems against records management requirements to determine whether they are compliant  in consultation with relevant parties, authorizes retention periods and final disposition of WBG records by issuing and updating the General Records Schedules (GRS) and the Records Retention and Disposition Schedules (RRDS). 24 WBG Archives Unit:  leads the development of WBG records management strategies  provides WBG units with advice, guidance, and support in complying with this policy  facilitates the establishment and maintenance of records management systems  appraises records  drafts and issues records retention and disposition schedules ; destroys records according to approved schedules  implements administrative holds on destruction as defined by business needs  periodically reviews records management practices in WBG units  facilitates transfer of records to the Archives  provides training in records management  manages the WBG offsite institutional repository  in conjunction with units, prepares guidelines for commonly required records for standard WBG instruments for use in sample audits  provides reference, research, and internal and public access to records in accordance with approved policies. 6 4 References 25 Staff and contractors should be able to demonstrate compliance with policies and guidelines associated with this policy including: AMS 1.10 Policy on Access to Information AMS 1.12 IFC Policy on Disclosure of Information AMS 1.13 MIGA Policy on Disclosure of Information AMS 6.20 Information Security AMS 6.20A Information Security Policy for Information Users AMS 6.21A Information Classification and Control Policy AMS 10.00 Information Management AMS 10.30 Web Publishing AMS 12.00 Information Technology Governance AMS 12.10 Electronic Messaging Services AMS 14.50 Formal Publishing Enterprise Metadata Standard Specification General Records Schedule (GRS) IFC Procedures: Records Management for Advisory Services InfoKit: Manage Information INT Policy on Disclosure of Information Management of Records: Procedures Records Retention and Disposition Schedules (RRDS) Staff Manual Principle 3.2 Staff Rule 8.01 World Bank Statement on Copyright and Intellectual Property 5 Terms Used in This Policy 26 For the purpose of this AMS, the following terms apply: Appraisal The process of determining the value of records for further use, for whatever purpose, and the length of time for which that value will continue. Business Systems The combination of technology, data, and people that processes data (capturing, storing, retrieving, communicating, transforming) to support one or several WBG business purposes. Disposition Final destruction or transfer of records to WBG Archives as determined by their appraisal. 7 8 Document Information or data fixed in some medium, which may or may not be considered in whole or in part a record. See Record. Information The meaning given to the representation of facts, concepts, or instructions recorded in a formalized manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by human or automated means. The ‘representation of facts, concepts, or instructions’ is otherwise called ‘recorded information’. Records are a form of recorded information. Information Management The coordinated management of an organization’s information based resources, including its information holdings and investment in technology. Metadata Data describing the context, content, and structure of records and their management through time. The preservation of the record with its associated metadata is necessary to maintain the integrity of the record. Types of metadata include technical/structural, administrative, descriptive, preservation, and use. Personal Records Records, in any format or media, accumulated by WBG staff or contractors that are not used in the conduct of WBG business. They typically relate to the private life or interests of the person who owns them or arise from the professional and personal pursuits of the individual outside of WBG business. They may include personal copies of records previously disseminated for public information or personal copies of correspondence directly related to the terms and conditions of employment. Records Records are a particular type of recorded information, created or received in the conduct of WBG business and in pursuance of its legal obligations. They document WBG policies, decisions, processes, activities, and transactions, and preserve its institutional knowledge. Regardless of their form or medium, records are a distinct and essential component of the WBG’s information assets. Records Management Requirements Records management requirements comprise both management and functional requirements that ensure that records created and captured in a WBG business system are accurate, authentic, reliable, complete, and accessible, and they have integrity for as long as required. Management requirements pertain to policies, procedures, and rules; the assignment of accountability; and the integration of records management considerations at every stage of the systems development life cycle. Functional requirements pertain to what the system must support (i.e. its functionality) to ensure the effective capture and management of records. 9 Records Management System An electronic business system that reflects management and functional requirements that ensure that records created or captured in the system are complete, accurate, authentic, accessible, and reliable for as long as required and that they have integrity. Management requirements pertain to policies, procedures, and rules; the assignment of accountability; and the integration of records management considerations at every stage of the systems development life cycle. Functional requirements pertain to what the system must support (i.e. its functionality) to ensure the effective capture and management of records. Retention The continued storage and maintenance of records for as long as they are needed until their disposal according to their administrative, legal, financial, and historical value. World Bank Group (WBG) All five institutions collectively: IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA, and ICSID. 6 Additional Information and Support 27 This policy is supplemented by Management of Records: Procedures. 28 Contact the World Bank Group Archives for more information: archives@worldbank.org or ext 32000. 10