Model Employed at NASS for Scheduling Statistical Records

Model Employed at NASS for Scheduling Statistical Records Amanda Pomicter, Records Liaison Steve Pollard, Agency Records Officer

Overview o o About the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Scheduling Model Employed Appraising Census of Agriculture Records formerly covered by Census Bureau, Dept. of Commerce Training and preparing to implement the updated comprehensive schedule

About NASS o o o National Agricultural Statistics Service Highlights “Statistical Arm” of the USDA, representing 1 of 17 agencies 1, 300 staff distributed among Headquarters and 46 Field Offices

Scheduling o o o Gained Senior management buy-in Cost savings motivated decision to update comprehensive schedule Senior manager asked to serve as Records Management Team Lead - 40 + years of organization knowledge and experience - Provided in-depth analysis of business functions and workflow (RM PHD)

Scheduling - Timeline Draft Reviewed by NARA March 2006 Records Management Team Formed – Jan. 2005 Senior Management Buy -in Gained Late 2004 Schedule Drafted Schedule Submitted for Federal Register Publication – April 2007 NASS Finalized Revisions Late 2006 Archivist Signed October 16 2007

Census of Agriculture Records o o Census of Agriculture transferred to NASS in 1997 Records appraised during scheduling process NARA recommended changing a series disposition from temporary to permanent based on value of records to researchers Obstacles encountered

Training o o o Updated Records Maintenance and Disposition Manual Presented at agency conferences to train key staff on the new manual Created Records Management Resource intranet site accessible to all agency employees

Preparing for Implementation o o o Meet regularly to update senior management of schedule status Tie implementation responsibilities to specific individual's job performances Have manual/file plan approved as agency policy

Contact Information o q Amanda Pomicter, NASS (202) 690 -8127 amanda_pomicter@nass. usda. gov Steve Pollard, ARS (202) 720 -3359 steve. pollard@ars. usda. gov