U.S. Geological Survey Manual

Chapter 100. Planning and Administrative Management Records

Because of the nature of the activities documented in this section, most of these files have a continuing value to the bureau and are vital to the history of the USGS and care should be taken to ensure that they are preserved and transferred according to this disposition schedule.

Chapter 100 Topics	This section provides for the disposition of the following USGS Planning and Administrative Management records:
	101.	Executive Management Files.
	102.	Program Planning, Management, and Evaluation Files.
	103.	Electronic Mail (E-mail) and Word Processing System copies of the planning and administrative management records.

101. Executive Management files include the following records:

101-01	Organizational and History Records. Official organizational documents including reorganizations, narrative histories, and related records.
101-02	Administrative and Management Improvement Plan, Survey, Study, and Project Case Files - Administrative task forces and management team records.
101-03	Program Policy, Direction, and Decision Case Files - major policy decisions, events, and major changes in policy direction.
101-04	Administrative Management Subject Files - general administrative management files.
101-05	Administrative Management Reports - Government Performance Results Act records including USGS Strategic Plans and other administrative management reports.
101-06	Committee and Conference Records - Interagency, international, advisory, and internal.

102. Program Planning, Management, and Evaluation files include the following records:

102-01	Program Mission Files (relating to the primary function of the USGS). Records should be filed under the discipline mission-specific file plan - noted here for informational purposes only. However, until USGS biological program mission-specific records have been scheduled, they should be filed in this section.
102-02	Project Case Files - complete history of projects.
102-03	Project Inventory Files.
102-04	Project Control Files.
102-05	Project Summary Progress Reports.
102-06	Project Source Data Files.
102-07	Laboratory Project Notebooks.

103. E-mail and Word Processing System Copy records for Planning and Administrative Management Records include the following records:

103-01	Electronic copies of e-mail and word processing records created solely to produce the recordkeeping copy and electronic copies of e-mail and word processing records that are needed in addition to the recordkeeping copy for dissemination, revision, or updating.

What files in this section are important or considered permanent USGS records?

•   Files that have a continuing value to the USGS and are vital to the history of the USGS. •   Major policy decision and program direction files. •   Record copies of the bureau Strategic Plans and other high-level bureau performance plans. •   USGS official international, interagency, advisory, or high-level internal boards and committees record copy documents. •   Program mission files. •   Project case files. •   Laboratory notebooks that add significantly to the mission or project case file.

What files in this section are considered temporary USGS records?

•   Copies of organizational and history records. •   Administrative and management improvement plan, survey, study, and project case files. •   General administrative management subject files. •   Copies of administrative management reports. •   Copies of committee, conference, and team records. •   Project inventories, control files, summary progress reports, source data files, and laboratory notebooks.

Questions?	Contact the USGS Records Manager or your discipline or regional Records Liaison Officer.

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100. Planning and Administrative Management Records.

Item No.	Description of Records	Disposition Instructions
101	Executive Management Files
101-01	Organizational and History Records. Official organization charts, narrative histories, studies, and related records that document the internal organization/reorganization and functions of the USGS.
101-01a	Organizational Functions. Documents, created for and maintained at the Director's, Associate Director's, and Regional Director's levels, relating to the establishment of and changes in organization, functions, and relationships of bureau activities. Included are official organization charts, narrative histories, studies, reorganizations, and related records that document the internal organization and functions of the bureau.
101-01a(1)	Record Copy.	Permanent. Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year. Transfer to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 5-year blocks when 20 years old.
101-01a(2)	All other copies and bureau documents created for and maintained below the levels mentioned in Item 101-01a.	Destroy when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed.
101-01b	USGS Histories.
101-01b(1)	History Project Case Files. Narrative USGS histories including oral history projects prepared by USGS personnel, the public affairs officer, or by private historians under contract to the USGS. Some background materials, such as interviews with past and present personnel, generated during the research stage may also be selected for permanent retention. Include oral history interviewee release forms, and any existing transcripts of interviews. Do not include copies of the USGS documents made for convenient reference.	Permanent. Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year in which the project is completed. Transfer paper records to the Federal Records Center (FRC) 5 years after cut-off. Transfer to NARA in 5-year blocks when most recent records are 10 years old (e.g., Transfer the 1990-94 block in 2005). Transfer original or earliest generation recording in appropriate format, and a copy for reference if one exists, directly to NARA when 10 years old.
101-01b(2)	History documents - reference copies.	Destroy when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed.
101-02	Administrative and Management Improvement Plan, Survey, Study, and Project Case Files. Case files documenting cost reduction, personnel use, and other management improvement projects. May include inventories of personnel, forms, or administrative files, workload studies, position management evaluations, administrative task force files, reports and files of other administrative non-committee work groups. Includes management team minutes and reports, safety plans, and volunteer action plans. Exclude program evaluations, audits and reviews, organizational studies, ADP 5-year procurement plans, electronic system documentation, records of streamlining teams and other teams established to review processes and procedures, and reference copies of administrative and management improvement plans, surveys, and projects.	Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year in which plan, survey, study, or project is implemented and completed. Transfer to FRC 3 years after cut-off. Destroy 7 years after cut-off.
101-03	Program Policy, Direction, and Decision Case Files. Case files, arranged by program activity name, containing documentation of major policy and other decisions that are not documented in a mission-related directives case file. These files provide a complete history of major events, approvals, and changes in program direction and other important actions.	Permanent. Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year or if accumulation is limited; cut-off every 5 years. Transfer to FRC 10 years after cut-off. Transfer to NARA 30 years after cut-off.
101-04	Administrative Management Subject Files.
101-04a	General Administrative Management Files. Correspondence of a general nature pertaining to administrative management subjects including the establishment, organization, reorganization, and termination of organizational units; the assignment and reassignment of functions; operational planning; management analyses and surveys; staff-year requirements and usage; and emergency planning.	Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year. Destroy 3 years after cut-off.
101-04b	All other copies. Include any materials received by a USGS office that was not responsible for issuance.	Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year. Destroy when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed.
101-05	Administrative Management Reports.
101-05a	Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) Records. Files produced in performance of requirements under PL 103-62.
101-05a(1)	Records produced by individual program offices for submitting material for inclusion in agency-level strategic plans and performance reports.	Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year. Destroy 3 years after cut-off.
101-05a(2)	Final agency-level Strategic Plans developed for establishment of performance goals, final agency level performance reports, and annual performance plans as related to strategic plan goals, which are submitted to the Department of the Interior, Office of Management and Budget, and Congress. Annual performance plans state goals, objectives, performance indicators, and strategies for accomplishment.	Permanent. Cut-off when superseded. Retire to FRC 3 years after cut-off. Transfer to NARA in 5-year blocks 20 years after cut-off.
101-05b	Other Administrative Management Reports. Bureau reports pertaining to other administrative management areas, not found elsewhere in this schedule.	Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year. Destroy when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed.
101-05c	All other copies. Include any bureau reports received by a USGS office that was not responsible for issuance.	Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year. Destroy when superseded, obsolete, or no longer needed.
101-06	Committee and Conference Records. Files containing directives, correspondence, and reports relating to the establishment, organization, membership, policy, and termination of individual committees and conferences. Arrange alphabetically by subject.
101-06a	Committees. Interagency, international, advisory, and high-level internal committees. Examples: Executive Leadership Team, Regional Leadership Team, and the Geological Survey Geographic Data Committee.
101-06a(1)	Record copy of agendas, minutes, electronic mail (e-mail), word processing records, final reports, and all related records documenting the accomplishments of official boards and committees. Maintained by the office of committee origin.	Permanent. Transfer to FRC 5 years after termination. Transfer to NARA in 5-year blocks 20 years after termination.
101-06a(2)	All other copies of agendas, minutes, e-mail, word processing records, final reports, and related records documenting the accomplishments of committees and teams. Interagency conference materials such as agendas, notes, summary reports, etc. that document the purpose, activities, and results of the conference.	Destroy when 3 years old or when no longer needed for reference.
101-06b	Internal committees and conferences. Records relating to establishment, organization, membership, and any records created by the committee or conference.	Destroy 2 years after termination of the committee, 2 years after the end of the conference, or when no longer needed for reference.

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Item No.	Description of Records	Disposition Instructions
102	Program Planning, Management, and Evaluation Files.
102-01	Program Mission Files.
102-01a	Program mission files, maintained anywhere throughout the bureau, that directly relate to primary functions of the USGS and definitely do not fit within the authorized USGS discipline mission-specific records disposition schedules (geology, geography, and water). For biological discipline mission-specific files, they may be temporarily held here until such time as their mission-specific records disposition schedule is drafted and approved by NARA. Once approved, all biologic records being held in this records series will be reevaluated for placement in the approved biological mission-specific records disposition schedule. Program mission files include, but are not limited to, research in biology, geology, topography, geochemistry, hydrology, geophysics, oceanography, and related sciences; inventorying national mineral, energy and water resources; classification of Federal lands for mineral and waterpower potential; surveying and mapping; publication of maps and reports detailing the results of these activities. This item can only be used with the authorization of the USGS Records Management Officer.	Permanent. Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year. Transfer to FRC 5 years after break. Transfer to NARA in 5-year blocks 20 years after file break.
102-01b	Bureau Director's Files.
102-01b(1)	Paper.	Permanent. Cut-off at the end of the fiscal year. Transfer to FRC in 5-year blocks 20 years after file break of most recent records in block (for example, offer files broken into a 1990-94 block in year 2015).
102-01b(2)	Microfiche copies.	Destroy in agency when no longer needed for current operations.
102-02	Project Case Files. Files reflect complete history of each project and may include copies of contracts or agreements for research services, with modifications, changes, or addenda; project authorization documents; project cards; technical characteristics, test and trial results; computer printouts, drawings, specifications and photographs of designed items; technical and progress reports; notices of completion or cancellation, and any correspondence, planning, reporting or other action or discussion affecting the development of the project. Related records may include computer disks, tapes, and other electronic media and information. Subjects include surveys, investigations, and research covering the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the public domain. Use this disposition unless file is covered more specifically in schedules relating to records of individual disciplines. Copies of records may also be cross-filed in the bureau, discipline, regional, or office budget and accounting files if expenditure or receipt of funds is involved within their area.	Cut-off upon completion of the project. Transfer to FRC 2 years after cut-off. Destroy 30 years after cut-off.
102-03	Project Inventory Files. Consists of lists, card indices, or other media that comprehensively reflect the individual projects administered by the bureau, including management-by-objective files of the disciplines, regions, and the Office of the Director. Documents relate to the process of establishing and reporting on the goals of the bureau and its components, including project and program planning, scheduling, major problems and issues, accomplishments, and related documents and correspondence.	Destroy when 5 years old.
102-04	Project Control Files. Files containing copies of documents also found in mission/project case files, preliminary sketches, drawings, specifications, or photographs that are not of sufficient value for incorporation into project case files. Also, included would be correspondence concerning such administrative matters as travel, conferences, consultations, and any other administrative documents.	Destroy 6 months after project is completed or canceled or when no longer needed for reference, whichever is sooner.
102-05	Project Summary Progress Reports. Reports submitted by project offices to show the status and degree of completion of projects.
102-05a	Copies of reports retained by the submitting office.	Destroy after submission of the consolidated report.
102-05b	Initial reports used in the compilation of consolidated reports where all significant information has been extracted into the consolidated report.	Destroy 1 year after project is completed or canceled.
102-05c	Initial reports used in the preparation of a consolidated report but which contain significant or technical data not fully documented in the consolidated report.	Destroy 1 year after project is completed or canceled.
102-06	Project Source Data Files. Records to collect and assemble project data of a preliminary or intermediate character. Usually generated from experiments or observations of a routine, repetitive nature and used for reference during the conduct of research projects. For machine-readable data, see mission-specific schedules related to individual disciplines, regions, or offices.
102-06a	Data that cannot be used in other projects and have served its usefulness.	Destroy when project final results are published.
102-06b	Data that can be used for revisions, trending, projecting, or collaborative uses for other projects.	Review at 5-year intervals. Destroy when no longer needed.
102-07	Laboratory Project Notebooks. Notebooks or similar records containing technical and scientific data accumulated from conduct of research and development activities, excluding notebooks described elsewhere in this schedule.
102-07a	Information that is duplicated in technical reports or mission/project case files, is routine or is so fragmentary in nature that retention would not add significantly to the project file.	Destroy 6 months after completion of project.
102-07b	Information that adds significantly to mission/project case files.	Include with project file and dispose of in accordance with instructions for the project case file.

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Item No.	Description of Records	Disposition Instructions
103	Electronic Mail and Word Processing System Copies.
103-01	Electronic Copies of Records. Electronic copies of records that are created on electronic mail and word processing systems and used solely to generate a recordkeeping copy of the records covered by the other items in this chapter. Also includes electronic copies of records created on electronic mail and word processing systems that are maintained for updating, revision, or dissemination.
103-01a	Copies that have no further administrative value after the recordkeeping copy is made. Includes copies maintained by individuals in personal files, personal electronic mail directories, or other personal directories on hard disk or network drives and copies on shared network drives that are used only to produce the recordkeeping copy.	Destroy/delete within 180 days after the recordkeeping copy has been produced.
103-01b	Copies used for dissemination, revision, or updating that are maintained in addition to the recordkeeping copy.	Destroy/delete when dissemination, revision, or updating is completed.

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