6: Strategic Goal 6

We will equip NARA to meet the changing needs of our customers

Other Information:

In this plan, we commit ourselves to expanding records management services to the Federal community and solving the challenges of electronic records in government. We also pledge to make more of our holdings available for examination by the public, and to create new and dynamic ways for researchers to learn about, access, and care for our holdings so they will be preserved for use by generations to come. These are bold commitments, and to fulfill them will require bold thinking and bold ideas. As managers and employees, we must challenge ourselves—and each other—to think proactively about emerging challenges and opportunities, apply new approaches to old problems, and seek out ways to improve and streamline our business processes. And collectively, we must establish ourselves as an organization that seeks excellence, encourages flexibility, and always puts the customer first. It is not enough to make a plan—we must create the staff, culture, and technological infrastructure to support that plan. First and foremost, we must ensure that everyone in NARA understands what is envisioned in this plan and how each of us can contribute to making the plan a reality. This includes not only our regular workforce, but also the countless students, volunteers, contractors, and other partners who contribute their time and energy to NARA programs across the country. For all of these staff, we must create an environment wherein individuals feel connected to the mission and vision of the agency and valued for the contributions they make. In addition, we must ensure that each of us in NARA understands who our customers are and what our customers expect from us. Each of us serves a customer, whether we are providing records management support to Federal agencies, preserving documents, locating service records for veterans, maintaining our IT systems and networks, awarding grants, or processing budget or personnel actions. These customers must always be our first thought—never an afterthought. Moreover, we must continually adapt our policies, practices, and procedures to provide the best possible value and service to our customers. In an environment where change is the rule rather than the exception, we cannot assume that the way we conduct business today will be the way we conduct business tomorrow. We must work with our customers to identify their changing needs and develop creative, innovative solutions. In particular, we must be attentive to our customers’ information technology requirements, and ensure that NARA’s information technology infrastructure is optimized to support those requirements.

Objective(s):

A: Specific Strategies A

B: Specific Strategies B

C: Specific Strategies C

D: Specific Strategies D

E: Specific Strategies E

F: Specific Strategies F

G: Specific Strategies G

H: Specific Strategies H

I: Specific Strategies I

J: Specific Strategies J

K: Specific Strategies K

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