The legislation introduced in recent years on the transformation of public records systems pursues the total automation of procedures through tools such as the electronic protocol register, systems of electronic classification and indexing, the transfer of records on paper to digital media, and the formation and management of records in a wholly electronic format.

The dematerialization of records generated through the activities of government bodies constitutes one of the major subjects of discussion with respect to the reorganization of administrative procedures in the digital environment.

The problem can be addressed from a range of viewpoints: in strictly economic terms, with particular attention to reducing the consumption of paper and the resulting decrease in costs and environmental impact; in legal and archival terms, considering the need to overhaul consolidated traditions and administrative procedures and to adapt and harmonize the provisions regarding records management and the impact of computerization; in technical terms, focusing on solutions capable of meeting the required standards of administrative efficiency, effectiveness and transparency and providing all the necessary guarantees as regards the authenticity and integrity of documentation as well as accessibility and safety in the storage environment.

The term “dematerialization” possesses no particular semantic dimension in the sphere of administration and bureaucratic practice. It is seldom used, has no direct synonyms in the archival literature, and has only recently appeared in legislation and provisions regarding records management.

It is, however, a strongly evocative term pinpointing the gradual loss of physical substance on the part of traditionally paper-based government records through replacement with electronic records. It can be regarded as a tendency prompted by the use of ICT to attach increasing importance to the automatic processing of information generated through productive procedures.

Dematerialization can thus be described as the direct result both of the gradual increase in computerized records management in public and private administrative and of the replacement of conventional administrative records with electronic records recognized by recent legislation as possessing full legal value.

Dematerialization offers a real possibility of progress in administrative records systems only when the recent legislative provisions governing electronic records are successfully combined with the more general provisions regarding the management and preservation of administrative documentation and archives. The rules and the practices underpinning the management cycle of computerized records systems – deduced from the traditional tools regulating the life of public-sector archives – provide in fact for the precise application of principles such as protocol registration and marking, classification, archival arrangement, selection and preservation. It appears necessary to combine these procedures with the systematic introduction and application of tools to ensure the reliability of electronic records, first of all the digital signature.

The adoption of ICT can therefore be regarded as doing no more than paving the way for a reduction in the use of paper in that such procedures generally lead to the improved management of information and processes. The assessment of such projects will therefore hinge on quantification of the associated saving on materials and economic benefits together with the primary advantages usually attributed to the use of ICT, including improved productive efficiency, rapidity in the processing and transmission of information, and the possibility of storing and retrieving huge amounts of data.

While ICT provides unquestionable benefits in terms of savings on paper, speed, control over processes, and cutting costs for government bodies and firms, these procedures must be tailored to the various requirements of the public sector and constitute a tool ensuring improved efficiency, transparency and above all effectiveness with respect to the citizen.

The Interdepartmental Working Group on Dematerialization

Made up of representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office and nine ministries, the working group for the dematerialization of documentation through digitization set up by the Minister of Innovation and Technology by decree on 10 November 2004 is coordinated by the CNIPA (National Centre for E-Government).

In accordance with its task of formulating proposals for the relevant ministries, the group will seek to identify, in the light of the most recent provisions, technical procedures and criteria for the preservation in digital format of the various types of administrative records with a view to the gradual replacement of paper-based material. It will also formulate rules for the transmission and exhibition of electronic records so as to guarantee their integrity, legitimacy and provenance, and propose initiatives aimed at rationalizing, modifying or supplementing existing legislation for the purposes of digital records management.

The initial phase of the group’s activities involved preliminary examination of the current provisions and practices adopted in the individual ministries and the results of specific projects underway in certain bodies. The group also held a series of hearings with professional associations and parties representing the ICT sector with a view to ensuring that any new initiatives, provisions and directives have the full support and acceptance of the associations and organizations involved, which has not always been the case in the past.

Efforts have also made to involve representatives of international projects and experts on the major issues regarding records management.

Short and medium-term objectives have been identified with respect to some particular administrative sectors with specific and complex problems.

The primary spheres of action can be summarized as follows:

· identification of possibilities for the immediate simplification of procedures, i.e. the immediate elimination of paper-based documentation that is useless or preserved only by mistake (in relation to current provisions)

· the simplification of provisions, where necessary, in order to eliminate documents requested by administrative bodies but no longer necessary as a result of the introduction of the principle of the circularity of data and the availability of databases

· examination of the feasibility of a reduction in the period of obligatory preservation for certain administrative documents, especially in the case of forms

· assessment of the organizational impact of such initiatives on administrative bodies, also as a result to transition to a wholly digital records system, as well as the management of the half-digital, half-paper system during the period of transition

· making organs of government “control” aware that requests should not be made for whole series of files on paper

· examining the possibility of coordinating efforts in this connection with the regional and local authorities

A further development of the group’s activity regards the creation at the CNIPA of a unit to supply the necessary technical, scientific and legal support through the in-depth study and formulation of the most suitable technical and legislative solutions.

The first considerations to emerge regard the complexity of the subject matter, which is far greater than expected due to the vast range of different situations encountered in the management of administrative records. It has proved reductive and misleading to consider dematerialization solely in terms of the digitization of records. It should instead be viewed as the result of a substantial simplification of processes and procedures and a redefinition of responsibilities in control over the life cycle of administrative records up to the phase of preservation, and hence the upgrading of organizational models and professional profiles. Further points for reflection regard the predominance of legislative problems with respect to the availability of technical solutions, with a framework of provisions subject in some cases to disputes over interpretation and a set of rules that cannot be fully applied.

At the practical level, it appears necessary to launch initiatives designed to increase the awareness of legislators, records creators and the general public in the form of recommendations, guidelines, specific provisions, the definition and circulation of suitable procedures and standards, the formulation of generally accepted rules, the identification of definite and recognized responsibilities, the analysis of costs in relation to objectives and possible or necessary methods, and the training and certification of technical personnel by means of permanent training schemes ensuring the updating of content and teaching methods.

Further developments are connected with the examination of organizational problems regarding the management of electronic records and their integration with administrative structures and practices, especially as regards the definition of responsibilities in the processes of records management with respect to administrative procedures, the spread of best practices developed through analysis of the numerous critical points encountered in the application of recent provisions and the introduction of new management systems such as intranets and web portals, the development of accepted models of classification for homogeneous types of bodies and proposals for the indexing of the items present in classification schemes, the monitoring and assessment of the quality of archival tools in projects of computerized records management (especially manuals), and the appraisal of problems regarding the management of “hybrid systems”, which necessitate the formulation of clear directives as regards plans for dematerialization and preservation.

The primary objectives of the working group and the technical units set up to address specific problems regarding certain particular administrative spheres include the identification of technical procedures and criteria for the disposal digitization of the various types of document, the definition of rules for the transmission and exhibition of documents guaranteeing integrity, legitimacy and provenance, and the formulation of proposals for the rationalization of current legislation through amendment or addition.

Technical Units

Of the ten technical units set up so far, six are of a “transversal “ type (from T1 to T6) addressing aspects common to most of the issues regarding dematerialization, and four of a “vertical” type (from V1 to V4) regarding specific aspects of certain types of administrative documentation.

T1 – Disposal digitization of documents

The task of this unit is to formulate a draft provision, valid for both the public and the private sectors, providing concrete indications for the management and preservation of the various types of document with reference to the code of digital administration and the provisions now in force regarding the classification of documents and archival management.

T2 – Technological aspects of permanent preservation

This unit is concerned with records for which preservation is obligatory for an unlimited period of time. Taking into account such indications as may be provided by consulted parties operating in the sector, it has the task of identifying the media, recording methods, formats and technical solutions to be adopted with a view permanent preservation in digital form while maintaining integrity and authenticity.

T3 – Limitation of publications on paper

It is the task of this unit to provide indications with a view to making official publications (e.g. the official gazette and the deliberations of central and regional authorities) available on websites in a digital version, identical to that printed one, and hence to substantial savings through a marked reduction in the volume of publications printed.

T4 – Reduction of the period of preservation for administrative records

This unit is responsible for assessing the feasibility of reducing the term of obligatory preservation for certain types of administrative documentation, above all in the case of forms, and monitoring the impact of this initiative on the rationalization of administrative procedures and the organization of administrative bodies.

T5 – Preservation officer

This unit is responsible for defining the role of a professional preservation officer and identifying the training required with specific reference to the critical issue of the long-term storage of records and the problems raised by the outsourcing of records management.

T6 – Incentive initiatives

It is the task of this unit to propose initiatives in the sphere of dematerialization serving to stimulate the creativity of individual public offices, above all at the local level. One example would be a National Award for Innovation with a special event of the highest level to promote the prize-winning initiatives.

V1 – Banking records

It is the task of this unit to give concrete shape to the suggestions formulated by the Italian Banking Association as regards the processes for the preservation of banking records.

V2 – Health records

Taking into account such indications as may be provided by consulted parties operating in the sector, this unit is responsible for analysing the document regarding the technical regulations for the preservation of the images and records of digital radiological examinations drawn up by the Association of Radiologists, also with a view to applying the solutions in other areas of medicine.

V3 – Tax records

Taking into account such indications as may be provided by consulted parties operating in the sector, this unit is responsible for harmonizing the provisions of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance as regards records for tax purposes within the new legislative frame of reference.

V4 – Employment records

Taking into account such indications as may be provided by consulted parties operating in the sector, this unit is responsible for proposing amendments to the provisions of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies as regard the keeping and preservation of employment and payroll records within the new legislative frame of reference.

The technical units are to complete their work within the first semester of 2006 with precise proposals for action that will be summarized in a final report.

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The “Dematerialization” of Administrative Records

Maurizio Gentilini