Main Things to Remember about the Peacekeeping Operations Retention Schedule (PORS)
What a Retention Schedule Looks Like
Retention Schedules and Actions Procedures
Other Relevant Toolkit Sections
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Main Things to Remember about the Peacekeeping Operations Retention Schedule (PORS)- Retention schedules are a comprehensive instruction covering the disposition of records to assure that they are retained for as long as necessary based on their administrative, fiscal, legal and historic value.
- The Peacekeeping Operations Retention Schedule (PORS) is mandated for use in all peacekeeping missions and replaces all previous retention schedules used in missions.
- PORS is the sole authority for the disposition of UN records in missions.
A retention schedule is a comprehensive instruction covering the disposition of records to assure their retention for as long as they have administrative, fiscal and legal or research value.
Assessing records to decide how long they need to be kept is a key element of recordkeeping, together with procedures to ensure those decisions are acted on. The tool for managing record retention is the retention schedule. All UN Missions are required to implement the Peacekeeping Operations Retention Schedule (PORS)
, the ARMS approved retention schedule for peacekeeping operations records. It has been developed by ARMS after extensive consultation with DPKO and is formally approved by OLA and OIOS.
PORS is based on a functional analysis of mission operations, management and support and comprises records retention and disposal instructions for the 20 primary functions of UN field missions plus a separate schedule for the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) and the Office of the Director or Chief of Administration (DOA/COA). Each function is subdivided into record series. A record series is a group of records that relate to the same activity and therefore have the same retention period and disposal action. PORS links to the Taxonomy for Recordkeeping in Field Missions of UN Peacekeeping Operations
which includes a mapping of the taxonomy functions to the retention schedules.
Retention schedules are invaluable tools for helping you manage your records. They have the following benefits:
- They provide an agreed and consistent standard, across UN departments, missions and offices, on the value and retention of records
- They help limit the number of records held in primary office space and on servers, thereby economizing on storage costs and freeing up storage areas for newly created records or other purposes
- They facilitate information storage and retrieval by identifying redundant or unnecessary records for disposal (the less material there is to search through, the quicker the search)
- They allow the destruction of records in the mission area, saving the shipping costs to New York and the ARMS storage costs
- They ensure records which need to be kept in the longer term are identified and protected
- They identify potential archival records for regular transfer to ARMS, thereby protecting valuable historical material
Retention schedules include:
- Schedule number – a unique ID for each class within the schedule
- Record series title or subject
- Transfer instructions for the originating office
- Destruction instructions
- Notes
- Source – the principle authority for the disposition instruction
- Whether or not the schedule is active and the date it commenced
The first part of the Finance retention schedule from PORS is included below.
The use of PORS should be the prime responsibility of your records management officer who is responsible for the disposition of all mission records and the documenting of all records disposals. You must follow PORS by retaining your records for the length of time specified and ensuring that they are accessible for the entire retention period. Retention periods relate to groups of records i.e. record series and apply to information contained in records regardless of media: paper, computer disk/tape, or other format. You should not have to review retention periods at the individual document or file level.
It is best to set up a regular cycle, at least annually, for reviewing your records. You should aim to identify those records which are due for action and carry out that action. You will be carrying out one or more of the following actions:
- transferring records to local semi- active storage (the local archive )
- destroying records
- transferring records to ARMS (either the interim archive or permanent archive )
The section Transferring Records to UN ARMS in this Toolkit gives detailed guidance on transferring records to ARMS. The guidance is also applicable to records which you transfer to your local archive. The section Destroying Records of this Toolkit gives guidance on how to destroy those records which ARMS has agreed you can destroy yourself.
Each Mission should develop a set of procedures to ensure they are implementing PORS effectively. Procedures should be based on the guidance in this section of the Toolkit. If you need more advice or help, contact ARMS staff. Use the checklist at the end of this section to ensure you have a system that conforms to ARMS standards.
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Checklist: Implementing Retention Schedules
Retention schedule and retention action procedures must include the following: Regular review of the records in file stations and on shared and personal drives to identify records due for retention action Regular review of the office's records and retention schedule to ensure that the schedule covers all record series and retention periods and actions remain appropriate Implementation of record transfer and destruction according to ARMS standards and guidance |
Other Relevant Toolkit Sections
- Section 15 Transferring Records to UN ARMS
- Section 17 - Destroying Records
- Peacekeeping Operations Retention Schedule (PORS) (ARMS, 2006)
- Taxonomy for Recordkeeping in Field Missions of UN Peacekeeping Operations (ARMS, 2006)
- Request for Records Disposition Authorization Form
Interim archives: w here ARMS keeps records which will not be kept permanently as part of the UN Archives. Such records will ultimately be destroyed.
Local archive: where a mission keeps records which are not needed on a day to day basis but which still need to be retained.
Permanent archives: the records and storage facility where UN Permanent archives are kept in the custody of ARMS staff.
Retention Schedule: a comprehensive instruction covering the disposition of records to assure their retention for as long as they have administrative, fiscal, legal or research value.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is a retention schedule?
A retention schedule is like a timetable for records. It sets how long you and ARMS need to keep them at the various stages of their life. It also specifies what should happen to them, for example transfer to other storage, an archive or destroying them. It is organized according to record series, because all the records in a series will have the same value, or put another way, will need to be kept for the same amount of time once the file is closed.
How do I get a Retention Schedule?ARMS have developed the Peacekeeping Operations Retention Schedule (PORS) for use in all peacekeeping missions. Other parts of the UN should contact ARMS staff.
How does ARMS decide for how long records should be kept?The ARMS team are experts in recordkeeping and have experience and professional training to draw on in consulting with the offices about the records they create and in deciding how long the UN needs to keep its records as well as which should be kept permanently in the Archives. ARMS take the following into consideration:
- Administrative value (means that the record is necessary for conducting day-to-day business)
- Fiscal value (whereby the records establish an audit trail by documenting money received, managed or spent)
- Legal value (means that the records document the rights or responsibilities of the United Nations, or its staff)
- Research value (the records are important for the information that they contain about the United Nations and its activities and are valuable for future programme and policy analysis and documentation of the Organization's institutional memory)