Chief Information Officer
IC Technical Specifications
Electronic Records Management
Overview
The Electronic Records Management specification defines detailed implementation guidance for using Extensible Markup Language (XML) to encode electronic records management data. It defines the XML elements and attributes, associated structures and relationships, mandatory and cardinality requirements, and permissible values for representing ERM data assertion concepts using XML within the use of a Trusted Data Format (TDF) Object (TDO) or TDF Collection (TDC).
Electronic Records Management (ERM) is required to control the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records in accordance with legislation such as the Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C 3101, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, and Executive Branch direction. This applies to permanent and temporary records. IC ITE Service Providers shall provide the means to audit, track, and manage disposition information, using agreed upon metadata tags that can be adapted to changing missions and records management practices.
This specification is maintained by the IC Chief Information Officer via the Data Standards Coordination Activity (DSCA) and Common Metadata Standards Tiger Team (CMSTT).
Technical Specification Downloads
Latest Approved Public Release:
- Intelligence Community Electronic Records Management (V2016-JUL - Standalone Package)
- Intelligence Community Electronic Records Management (V2016-JUL - Convenience Package)
- Intelligence Community Electronic Records Management (V2016-JUL - Light Package)
Mission Requirements
Information sharing within the national intelligence enterprise increasingly relies on information assurance metadata (including enterprise data headers) to allow interagency access control, automated exchanges, and appropriate protection of shared intelligence. An enormous amount of data are collected each year by the IC to fulfill missions in protecting the United States. Federal laws govern the way that Agencies must maintain and dispose of data (records) collected in the course of fulfilling Agency missions. Including metadata for ERM within IC data collected or generated by the Community allows for more thorough and timely management of these records.
ERM helps automate the sharing, processing, routing, discovery, and access control of information. ERM enables users to quickly discover information related to FOIA requests, Privacy Act cases and other specialized legal requests, identify documents for mandatory declassification, and respond to other open government initiatives.