Appraisal Guidelines for Federal Research and Development Records; Request for Comment, 12502-12503 [05-4940]

Agencies

• National Archives and Records Administration

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 48 (Monday, March 14, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12502-12503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-4940]


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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION


Appraisal Guidelines for Federal Research and Development 
Records; Request for Comment

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of document; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: NARA is seeking public comment on the draft Appraisal 
Guidelines for Federal Research and Development Records. This document 
supplements NARA's Appraisal Policy, which is available on the NARA Web 
site at https://www.archives.gov/records_management/initiatives/appraisal.html. For a paper copy of the Appraisal Policy, contact the 
person listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

DATES: Comments must be received by April 28, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comments by e-mail to comments@nara.gov or 
by fax to 301-837-0319 or by mail to NPOL, National Archives and 
Records Administration, Room 4100, 8601 Adelphi Rd, College Park, MD 
20740-6001

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Allard at 301-837-1477 or via e-
mail at nancy.allard@nara.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Strategic Plan of the National Archives 
and Records Administration (NARA) states that NARA will ensure ready 
access to essential evidence that documents the rights of American 
citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and the national 
experience. The NARA Appraisal Policy (found at https://www.archives.gov/records_management/initiatives/appraisal.html) sets 
out the strategic framework, objectives, and guidelines that the 
National Archives and Records Administration uses to determine whether 
Federal records have archival value. It also provides more specific 
guidelines for appraising the continuing historical value of certain 
categories of records. The draft guidelines at the end of this notice 
concern appraisal of research and development records. NARA developed 
these draft guidelines after conducting a series of site visits to 
Federal agency R&D facilities and consulting stakeholder agencies.

    Dated: March 8, 2005.
Nancy Allard,
Federal Register Liaison.

Draft Appraisal Guidelines for Federal Research and Development (R&D) 
Records

    Research and development (R&D) records relate to the planning and 
execution of basic and applied research in engineering and the physical 
and natural sciences. Basic research seeks to generate new knowledge, 
and applied research uses the results of basic research and applies 
them to the design, development, and testing of new products and 
processes. Agency R&D programs tend to be large in scale, expending 
hundreds of millions of dollars annually and generating voluminous 
records. Records pertain to such research fields as biology, chemistry, 
medicine, physics, materials science, aerospace technology, weapons 
development, computer science, energy development, and environmental 
protection.
    Appraisal of the records requires an understanding of the entire 
R&D business process, including the project/product lifecycle and use 
of outside entities for review or support. Most R&D conducted by or for 
the Federal government follows a standard workflow based on the 
scientific method. The basic steps include formulating a hypothesis or 
statement of need, obtaining approval and/or funding, designing and 
conducting experiments and analyzing results, and disseminating 
findings. Records created and accumulated by these steps can be 
separated into the following categories: program management records 
covering the processes of formulation, selection, and funding; project 
records covering design, collection, analysis, and reporting; and 
dissemination of findings. Types of records found under these 
categories include planning records, project files, procurement and 
financial records, laboratory notebooks, research data, and technical 
reports and similar publications.
    The status and availability of records produced by a project often 
depend upon the funding arrangement. Records of projects funded by 
contracts generally are Federal records and, in conformance with the 
contract requirements, may be maintained by either the contractor or 
the funding agency. By contrast, the primary records of grant-funded 
projects usually are not considered to be Federal records and are 
maintained by the grantee. Recordkeeping for collaborative projects is 
affected by the diversity of funding sources and institutions 
(including non-Federal institutions) involved. Records of collaborative 
projects are thus generally kept by multiple institutions, often with 
no single one maintaining a complete project file. As a result, it may 
be difficult to determine which institution is responsible for the 
records and their disposition.

Appraisal Considerations

     Program management records that document the planning, 
policies, and priorities of research programs usually are appraised as 
permanent. Such records may be maintained by offices with agencywide 
R&D responsibilities, by individual divisions and laboratories, and by 
scientific and technical advisory bodies.
     Technical reports, conference proceedings, and similar 
publications that disseminate the findings,

[[Page 12503]]

methodology, and conclusions of projects are usually appraised as 
permanent and are often maintained centrally by an agency component 
responsible for their collection, management, and distribution. Review 
of a cross-section of such publications can help determine the subject 
matter and scope of R&D projects and thereby prove useful in assessing 
the value of other project-related records and data.
     Project files may include such records as statements of 
work, progress reports, briefing papers and presentations, 
specifications and drawings, laboratory notebooks, research data, and 
environmental and safety information. (Such records also may be 
maintained separate from project files.) The value of project files 
varies across R&D programs, based on such factors as the files' 
organization and content, nature and scope of the research, and extent 
to which project work is documented in other records such as planning 
records and technical reports.
     Because many R&D projects have a very limited focus and 
project records often are voluminous, a very strong justification is 
needed to appraise all of an agency's project files as permanent. If 
selection criteria are to be applied to identify files for permanent 
retention, the agency must devise a practical arrangement for applying 
the criteria to the records and agree to implement it, because NARA 
lacks the expertise and resources to evaluate the files individually. 
For overall guidance on when to apply selection criteria, see the NARA 
Appraisal Policy, Appendix 1--General Appraisal Guidelines--``Is 
sampling an appropriate appraisal tool?'' (https://www.archives.gov/records_management/initiatives/appraisal.html).
     Contracting, procurement and other fiscal records 
generally are appraised as temporary when readily segregable from other 
project records.
     Laboratory notebooks may be maintained separately and 
formally issued and strictly controlled to protect intellectual 
property and patent rights. Notebooks with these characteristics are 
more likely to be appraised as having long-term scientific value or 
permanent value.
     Research data created by R&D projects most often are 
electronic but also may be in another format such as paper or 
photographs. Electronic data generally are maintained separately from 
other project records. Data may be unprocessed (raw) or processed 
(compiled or analyzed) at different levels. Raw data are generated by 
an experiment, whereas processed data consist of raw data manipulated 
to help identify patterns in the data. It is very difficult to 
generalize about the value of processed data as opposed to raw data, 
since they each have their own significance for the research process.
     Generated in large volumes, R&D data commonly have short-
term value because they tend to be narrow in scope and frequently can 
be replicated by a new experiment if necessary. Data may have long-term 
scientific value (or, very rarely, permanent value) when they are 
extremely difficult or impossible to replicate and are potentially 
useful for such purposes as permitting an important experiment to be 
reviewed and validated, supporting new scientific research, or 
providing a legal basis for health-related claims. Data from certain 
fields like medicine and environmental protection are most likely to 
have long-term scientific value.
     For data to be valuable over the long term, they should be 
unique, complete, valid, and accompanied by appropriate metadata. In 
considering these attributes of data, appraisers should consult with 
the relevant scientific experts. Because of the expertise needed to 
perform preservation and reference, data with long-term scientific 
value often are most appropriately maintained by the R&D agencies which 
created them.
     R&D agencies, particularly those involved in environmental 
or health research, may create tissue samples, slides, and specimens 
which are treated by researchers as project records and preserved by 
the agency for long periods at substantial expense. Although NARA 
generally does not consider such materials to meet the definition of 
Federal records, agencies nonetheless need to manage them properly 
because of their importance to R&D programs and potential for long-term 
scientific value.

[FR Doc. 05-4940 Filed 3-11-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7515-01-P