1. Pacific Civil Registrars Network
Records Management
Pacific Civil Registrars Network
Workshop 1-3 October 2018
Lillie Le Dorré

2. What is a record?
The International Standard on Records Management defines a record as:
Information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organisation or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business.
Organisations should create records whenever they carry out their business.
The International Standard on Records Management defines a record as:
Information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organisation or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business.
Records are produced in ‘the transaction of business’
The notion of ‘transaction’ that we’re discussing here is very broad; broad enough to cover actions that that take place in our personal lives as well as those that are taken in work contexts.
Because records are produced ‘in the transaction of business’, they are each unique
Records are kept as ‘evidence’ and ‘as an asset’ about, or for, business or personal transactions
Example to illustrate this – a fisherman applies for a licence to fish. To do so, he must complete an application form, which results in a record being created. To complete the licence application, he must also pay a fee. The fishers would then expect a government official to supply them with a document, such as a receipt or the licence, showing that they had paid the money. This becomes the proof that the transaction took place, and enables them to go fishing. The government official would also need to document the processes that took place—and this would become the official government record of the transaction.
After a record has been created, it is then stored or maintained so that it can be easily found when it is needed again. For example, if fishers need to produce their fishing licences for some reason, but their licences have been lost, they would expect to be able to get a copy of each licence from the government. The government should then be able to quickly find the original application form and a record that the licence had already been paid for, so that a copy of the licence could be supplied.

3. Anything can be a record
Comes back to transactions
A photograph of your grandparents at your wedding is a record as the transaction is documenting a personally significant event

4. Key characteristics of a record
Reliability
Trusted as a full and accurate representation
Created at the time
Authenticity
Proven to be what it purports to be
Integrity
Complete and unaltered
Usability
Can be located, retrieved, presented and interpreted
Metadata
Data about data
Provides the information needed to retrieve and present the records
A reliable record is one:
whose contents can be trusted as a full and accurate representation of the transactions, activities or facts to which they attest; and
which can be depended upon in the course of subsequent transactions or activities.
Records should be created at the time of the event to which they relate, or soon afterwards, by individuals who have direct knowledge of the facts, or by systems routinely used within to conduct the transaction.
An authentic record is one that can be proven to
be what it purports to be;
have been created or sent by the agent purported to have created or sent it; and
have been created or sent when purported.
Business rules, processes, policies and procedures which control the creation, capture and management of records should be implemented and documented to ensure the authenticity of records.
Records creators should be authorized and identified.
A record that has integrity is one that is complete and unaltered.
A record should be protected against unauthorized alteration. Policies and procedures for managing records should specify what additions or annotation may be made to a record after it is created, under what circumstance such additions or annotations may be authorized, and who is authorized to make them. Any authorized annotation, addition or deletion to a record should be explicitly indicated and traceable.
ISO (2016)
A useable record is one that can be located, retrieved, presented and interpreted within a time period deemed reasonable by stakeholders.
A useable records should be connected to the business process or transaction that produced it. Linkages between records that document related business transactions should be maintained.
Metadata for records should support use useability by providing information that may be needed to retrieve and present them, such as identifiers, format or storage information.
Metadata for records should depict the following:
Business context;
Dependencies and relationships among records and record systems;
Relationships to legal and social contexts;
Relationships to agents who create, manage and use records.
We will discuss metadata in a future session

5. Why keep records? Good governance Legislative requirements Efficiency
Protecting the government’s interests
Protecting the community’s interests
Governance is the way in which an organisation arranges its processes and structures so that it can make decisions, carry out its work and monitor progress.
Good governance means making sure the office or agency is organised and does its work in a way that is efficient and accountable, and complies with relevant laws and regulations
Legislation – freedom of information, open government, public service act
Keeping good records helps and organisation or government to organise information about its actions and decisions. This can make it easier to find the information when it is needed, which will help the organisation or government agency work more efficiently
Helps to protect the government by proving what actions it has taken. If records are maintained to back up what has happened, other people – including a court or auditor – may not believe the government’s position if someone claims that something different happened
Helps to protect the whole community by protecting the information that the government has about other people. Governments should always act for the benefit of their citizens, but if they do not keep and use information carefully, they can actually cause harm to the people they are supposed to help.
Organisations and government agencies can considerably reduce the effort required to work towards good governance and good recordkeeping if a leader such as a chief executive officer, director-general or agency head provides motivation and support.

6. What is records management?
“field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records” ISO (2016)
Recordkeeping then is the processes and systems an organisation uses to make sure that records are created, can be found quickly and easily, and that they are preserved for as long as they are needed
Records management is not an end in itself. It is a vital component of business activity and, in a broader sense, a cornerstone of the effective functioning of organisations and society at large over time.

7. Benefits of records management
Supports the goal of getting the right information to the right people at the right time
Reduces clutter and streamlines workflow
Quick and easy retrieval
Enhances transparency in governance
Good records management practice supports the goal of getting the right information to the right people at the right time.
Knowing which documents and information should be retained, why they are retained, and how long to retain them reduces clutter and streamlines workflow.
Well organized and managed information is quickly and easily retrieved when required.
Awareness of the requirement to retain records to support actions and decisions enhances transparency in governance.
Organisations need to develop specific strategies to ensure that their activities are documented. Record creation and record keeping must be part of the organisational culture and should be the collective responsibility of staff at different levels in an organisation

8. Who is responsible for records management?
Everyone!
You may have a records manager or officer in your team who are responsible for the development and implementation of a records management programme but
Everyone who works in government (or in any other organization that keeps records) has a role in records management, because everyone has some involvement with records in some aspect of his or her work.

9. Your responsibilities
As a government employee, you need to ensure you:
make records of what you do
capture your records in locations approved by your agency
give your records meaningful titles
handle and store records appropriately
Only destroy, delete, alter or remove records if you have appropriate authorisation
Take care to prevent records being lost or damaged
Check security and access controls on records and ensure they are managed appropriately

10. Key components of recordkeeping
Creation
Control
Use
Disposal
Key components of recordkeeping
Creating
Organisations need to have in place processes to make sure records are created
In the Civil Registration setting, a procedure or process that might be in place is the use of forms and alphabetical filing by year.
Controlling
Organisations need to have systems for controlling their records so that they can be managed efficiently and found again when they are needed.
CR – when a completed form is handed to the Civil Registration officer, there might be a procedure to help that person know what to do with the completed form, e.g., it might be placed in a particular file for actioning.
The naming of that file might be controlled by a system that is comprised of a list of words that are appropriate to use.
Using
Organisations need to have rules about how their records are used so that it can find the records when they are needed, and also to make sure that only people who are allowed to see government information have access to the files.
A department might have a rule which all staff must follow that says all files must be kept in a file registry, and not in a staff member's office. When staff need to see a file, there might be a procedure about how the registry clerk keeps track of who has the file. For example, the registry clerk might need to record the date, file name and number and who the file has been given to into a list, book, register or computer program.
Here in Fiji, the Registrar is legally required to create indexes of the original register books of births, deaths and marriages, and any person on application in writing is entitled, on payment of the prescribed fee, can request a search of the indexes and receive copies or extracts.
Disposing
Organisations need to follow rules about how long they keep their records, so that files are kept for as long as they are needed by the department, the government or the public.
There may be a legal requirement to keep certain records for a period of time. There are also records that are very important or have significant historical value. When records are no longer needed for legal reasons or business needs, then a decision might need to be made what to do with them. If they are important records, they may need to be transferred to an archive for further safe-keeping and preservation. If they are not important, then the decision will need to be made whether or not to destroy them. Having a system in place to know how long records need to be kept for legal or business requirements is very important for good governance and accountability.
In Fiji – any person who wilfully destroys or injures, including making an unauthorised entry in, any register book, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to fine of $400, and/or imprisonment for two years.
Other legislation will be at play too – usually something like a Public Records Act - in Fiji this is Chapter108 of the Laws of Fiji – Public Records.

11. Creation The act of documenting events, activities and decisions
Make or keep a record when you need to show:
what happened, when it happened and who was involved
what was decided or recommended and by whom
what advice or instruction was given
the order of events or decisions
Information is created every time someone in your agency writes an , drafts a brief, writes a report or records minutes, adds data to a spread sheet, makes a film or sound recording or takes a photo.
This information is created as part of a specific business process, and needs to be managed so that it can be searched, shared, reused and repurposed, and increasing its value to your agency. It needs to contain specific information to make them complete, accurate and reliable.
In the paper world it involved writing by hand, or typing, and possibly validating it in some way – for example, with a seal or a signature.
In the digital era creation happens when documents are saved onto the system, hard drive or mobile device.
Organisations need to have processes in place to make sure that records are created. A procedure might be in place for when a person wants to apply for a fishing licence. The fisher may need to complete an application form and take it to the government for processing. When the fisher completes the form, a record is created. Organisations can have tools like forms, or rules that make sure staff put documents in files, to make sure that records about their activities are created.

12. Control
Organisations need to have systems for controlling their records so that they can be managed efficiently and found again when they are needed.
CR – when a completed form is handed to the Civil Registration officer, there might be a procedure to help that person know what to do with the completed form, e.g., it might be placed in a particular file for actioning.
The naming of that file might be controlled by a system that is comprised of a list of words that are appropriate to use.
When the fisher hands the completed application form to the government department, there might be a procedure to help the government clerk know what to do with the completed application form. For example, the record might need to be placed into a particular file. The naming of that file might be controlled by a system which is a list of words that are appropriate to use. The list of words might include other types of licences that are issued by the government, such as driving, hunting and shopkeeper licences. So an appropriate name to call the file where the fishing licence is kept might be Licences—Fishing. If the government also processes driving licences, that file might be called Licences—Driving. If there was ever a need to find the original fishing application form, then the file titling system makes it obvious which file the application should be in: it will be in the file called Licenses—Fishing, and not the file called Licenses—Driving.

13. Use
Rules about how records are used so that only those who are allowed to see government information have access to the files
Here in Fiji, the Registrar is legally required to create indexes of the original register books of births, deaths and marriages, and any person on application in writing is entitled, on payment of the prescribed fee, to request a search of the indexes and receive copies or extracts.
A department might have a rule which all staff must follow that says all files must be kept in a file registry, and not in a staff member's office. When staff need to see a file, there might be a procedure about how the registry clerk keeps track of who has the file. For example, the registry clerk might need to record the date, file name and number and who the file has been given to into a list, book, register or computer program.

14. Disposal
The range of processes associated with implementing retention, transfer or destruction decisions.
By systematically managing information and records through disposal, organisations can meet their statutory obligations as well as support their business needs.
Records are kept for:
Legal requirements
Historical or archival value
Unauthorised destruction can result in penalties for individuals or organisations
Organisations need to follow rules about how long they keep their records, so that files are kept for as long as they are needed by the department, the government or the public.
There may be a legal requirement to keep certain records for a period of time. There are also records that are very important or have significant historical value. When records are no longer needed for legal reasons or business needs, then a decision might need to be made what to do with them. If they are important records, they may need to be transferred to an archive for further safe-keeping and preservation. If they are not important, then the decision will need to be made whether or not to destroy them. Having a system in place to know how long records need to be kept for legal or business requirements is very important for good governance and accountability.
In Fiji – any person who wilfully destroys or injures, including making an unauthorised entry in, any register book, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to fine of $400, and/or imprisonment for two years.
Other legislation will be at play too – usually something like a Public Records Act - in Fiji this is Chapter108 of the Laws of Fiji – Public Records.

15. What is an archive?
The word ‘archive’ means a record that has been selected for preservation because of its value as long-term evidence of an organisation’s actions and decisions. ‘Archive’ can also mean the place where records that have long-term value are kept.
The archivist is the professional who assesses, collects, organises, preserves, maintains control over and provides access to information or records that have been determined to have long-term value.
When records are no longer required to be kept by an organisation or government department for everyday operations, one option is to destroy them. However, those records that have historical research value should be transferred to an archive.
Archivists have an important role to work with organisations to ensure that valuable records are preserved for future use. They should be involved in deciding what value records have and how long they need to be kept. Archivists can also advise government departments and other organisations on the best way to manage records so that they are:
created when they are needed
stored correctly so that they are protected from damage and misuse
easily found when they are needed
preserved for as long as they are needed.

16. Recordkeeping Requirements
To make sure that they can work efficiently and be accountable, organisations need to identify their recordkeeping requirements. That means understanding:
what files or other records they should be making
how long they should keep the records that they need
who should and should not have access to the records
what format the records need to be in.
Government departments and organisations need records to do their work efficiently and to make sure that they can be accountable for their actions. Being accountable means being able to prove what actions we have taken and explain why we acted the way that we did.
To make sure that they can work efficiently and be accountable, organisations need to identify their recordkeeping requirements. That means understanding:
what files or other records they should be making
how long they should keep the records that they need
who should and should not have access to the records
what format the records need to be in.
A recordkeeping requirement is a need to keep evidence of the organisation’s actions and decisions. Recordkeeping requirements are usually documented in rules, procedures or other guidelines that show that an organisation might need to create, keep, provide access to or deal in some special way with a file or other type of record.
By identifying their recordkeeping requirements, government organisations can make sure that they:
comply with the law, by having and giving access to records that the law says they must have
operate efficiently, by making sure that records that are needed to complete all the steps in a process are created and passed on to those staff who need them
account for their actions, by keeping records for long enough to allow ministers, auditors, the parliament and sometimes the public, to review and understand their work.

17. Discussion
What are some of the recordkeeping requirements of your organisations?
Identify some examples of each and state whether they relate to laws / government policy / organisational needs / public expectations
What are some of the recordkeeping requirements of your organisations.
Identify some examples of each and state whether they relate to Laws / government policy / organisational needs / public expectations