THE
NATIONAL DECLASSIFICATION CENTER
Releasing
All We Can, Protecting What We Must 1
National
Declassification Center Prioritization Plan
I.
Background
On
29 December 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13526 (E.O.
13526), creating the National Declassification Center (NDC) under the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and a memo
entitled “Implementation of the Executive Order, Classified
National Security Information.” The following day Archivist of the
United States David Ferriero established the NDC to achieve the goals
of ensuring that records are reviewed in a timely and efficiently,
and making these records available to the public. Once established,
the Acting NDC Director began developing a prioritization plan, in
compliance with section 3.7(d) of E.O. 13526, for the
declassification review and public release of classified records held
by NARA. The plan incorporates the interests of NARA’s customers,
to include researchers, the general public, the media and Federal
agencies, and the Public Interest Declassification Board’s (PIDB)1
recommendation that
records of high public interest receive declassification priority.
The NDC Director will use the plan to prioritize declassification,
and the adjudication of referrals in the Interagency Referral Center
(IRC)2 and
the Remote Archives Capture (RAC)3
programs.
The
plan was developed to ensure that declassification resources are
applied in a thorough and consistent manner, while focusing on those
records of the highest public interest.
II.
Prioritization Method
To
achieve the NDC goal of making declassified records available to the
public, three factors affect how records will be prioritized:
1)
High Public Interest – The NDC will use a variety of sources,
including public input through a variety of social media
technologies, and information about records requested in the NARA
research rooms, and by the public through the Freedom of Information
Act, the Presidential Records Act and Mandatory Declassification
Review provisions of E.O. 135264,
to determine the level of public interest.
2)
Likelihood of Declassification – Factors include complexity of
information, volume of tabs (exemptions, exclusions, referrals) and
age of material. There are a number of lower level classified records
which may lend themselves to quick turnaround, while other records
contain classified information that must be protected under E.O.
13526 and will not result in significant public release.
3)
Resources Required to Complete Declassification – Some Record
Groups (RGs) are have information that must be protected under the
provisions established in E.O. 13526, and contain multiple referrals
to other equity agencies. Addressing interagency referrals is labor
intensive for the NDC and the agencies in the current process.
Performing declassification is more difficult on records with
multiple referrals and would slow down the process. Researcher
interest would determine how these records fit into the
prioritization plan.
|
To
apply these criteria to classified records and develop a balanced
plan, the NDC developed a matrix that places classified records in
one of four categories. The categories are illustrated on a four
quadrant diagram (figure 1). Figure
1
|
|
|
High
Public Interest
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
|
Easy
|
Difficult
|
|
3
|
4
|
|
Low
Public Interest
|
|
|
|
|
The
following definitions were applied to each axis:
• The
horizontal axis represents the likelihood of declassification and the
level of effort required to move records through the NDC to the open
shelf. o
Records
determined to be “Easy” have few referrals and/or have a high
probability of declassification.
o
Records
determined to be “Difficult” contain multiple referrals and/or
have most of the documents exempted under E.O. 13526.
• The
vertical axis shows the level of public interest in the
declassification of the records (as defined above).
Using
these definitions each category (quadrant on Figure 1) was then
defined as:
• Category
1 (High Interest, Easy to process) – 1% of the backlog
• Category
2 (High Interest, Difficult to process) – 90% of the backlog of
Federal records and 100% of Presidential materials referred through
the RAC.
• Category
3 (Low Interest, Easy to process) – 2% of the backlog
• Category
4 (Low Interest, Difficult to process) – 7% of the backlog
Initially
the NDC will devote the majority of resources to the records in
categories 1 and 2, with fewer resources devoted to categories 3 and
4.
Using
this matrix model, NDC placed the classified record groups (RG) and
Presidential materials into one of the four categories. Each RG will
be further subdivided to place each series or collection into one of
the four categories (see Appendix A). The NDC will use this
information to prioritize review of records in the RAC system and the
IRC, and to develop work plans that will focus on the highest
priority records for declassification review and release. In
preparation for discussions with agency partners and the public, the
NDC, in coordination with the Office of Presidential Libraries,
developed the following draft prioritization plan:
III.
Prioritization Plan
Within
the NDC there will be two separate workflows:
• Quality
Assurance review and release of the eligible material within the 408
million page backlog of Federal records cited in the President’s
Memo5;
•
Declassification review and
release of interagency referrals of eligible Federal records through
the IRC, and Presidential records referred through the RAC.
5
In
section 2 of the President’s memo he states “Under the direction
of the National Declassification
Declassification
Review and Interagency Referrals
By
analyzing the goals and deadlines for each of these processes the NDC
has determined that - for Federal records - the primary focus must be
eliminating the backlog. For Federal records, the processing of
interagency Federal referrals will be a secondary focus. This
approach will make the largest volume of declassified records
available to the public in the shortest period of time. The NDC will
concentrate the majority of the declassification review resources on
Federal records that fall into categories one and two of the
prioritization plan, with fewer resources utilized on categories
three and four.
A
similar analysis of approaches to declassification of interagency
referrals, led to the conclusion that the primary focus for these
materials must be processing of interagency referrals. The priority
for interagency referrals will be the high interest Presidential
records in the RAC.
|
Using
input from reference archivists at Archives II and the Office of
Presidential Libraries, the chart below outlines the top
priorities for the backlog and interagency referrals. Backlog
Priorities
(Federal
Records)
|
Interagency
Referral Priorities
(Presidential
and Federal Records)
|
|
Category
1 Records
|
Presidential
Referrals through RAC
|
|
Category
2 Records: High
Interest RGs that
account
for 2/3 of records pulled for
researchers
at Archives II:
• Department
of State
o
RG
59 – General Records of the Department of State
o
RG
84 – Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of
State
• RG
306 – Records of the U.S. Information Agency
• RG
19 – Records of the Bureau of Ships
• Army
(Units in WWII, Korea and Vietnam)
o
RG
407 – Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917
o
RG
472 – Records of the U.S. Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950-1975
• RG
226 – Records of the Office of Strategic Services
• High
level military records
o
RG
218 – Records of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
o
RG
319 – Records of the Army Staff
o
RG
330 – Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
o
RG
338 – Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support
Organizations
o
RG
342 – Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and
Organizations
Category
3 Records
Category
4 Records
|
• Harry
S Truman - Remaining Backlog of Referrals
• Dwight
D. Eisenhower - Remaining Backlog of Referrals
• John
F. Kennedy – National Security Files
• Lyndon
Baines Johnson – National Security Files
• Richard
Nixon o
Erlichman
and Haldeman Staff Member Office Files
o
President’s
Office File
o
Latin
American Country Files
• Gerald
R. Ford – National Security Files
• Jimmy
Carter o
Brzezinski
Materials
o
Jimmy
Carter Presidential – President’s Files – Staff Secretary’s
File
o
NSC
Institutional Files, 1977-81
o
Donated
Historical Material – Mondale, Walter F.
• Kissinger
Collection Scanned at the Library of Congress - Materials related
to China
Federal
Record Referrals
• Federal
Records in the IRC
|
The
annual goals and resource allocations for processing and review of
Federal and Presidential records in the NDC will be approved by the
NDC Director in consultation with Office of Presidential Libraries,
NDC management, agencies participating in the NDC, and the public.
The NDC Director will provide each agency with a list of NDC
priorities to guide their declassification work planning, the volume
of Federal and Presidential records in their review queues under the
NDC, and review deadlines for records under the NDC. Agencies will be
expected to provide a sufficient number of reviewers to meet
established NDC goals, or accept automatic declassification of their
equities as outlined in E.O.
13526.
This
plan sets the priorities for the remainder of the current and next
fiscal years. NDC priorities will be updated at three year intervals,
or as needed based on changing priorities and workloads.
IV.
Public Input
The
NDC is committed to focusing our efforts on those records determined
to be of high public interest. Draft prioritization plans will be
created using NARA experts to identify which records are of high
pubic interest. To ensure NDC prioritization plans meet the needs of
the public, the NDC Director in conjunction with the Office of
Presidential Libraries will solicit public input through a series of
programs using social media tools and town hall meetings. Draft plans
will be made available on the NDC website, and distributed to
archival, historical (both Federal and non-Federal), and public
interest groups through e-mail, and other social media tools. The NDC
will utilize blogs and public forums to collect input on draft plans.
The NDC Director will consolidate all input to create a final version
of the plan, and establish milestones. The final plan, milestones and
quarterly progress reports will be available to the public on the NDC
website.
The NDC will
update prioritization plans as high priority records are declassified
and priorities change. We will continue to use social media tools to
encourage and collect public input for future updates. Through these
efforts we will maintain a plan that strives to meet the expectations
of the public and the President’s vision for an interagency
National Declassification Center.
1
The Public Interest Declassification Board
is an advisory committee established by Congress in order to promote
the fullest possible public access to a thorough, accurate, and
reliable documentary record of significant U.S. national security
decisions and activities.
2
The Interagency Referral Center was
developed in 2006 by NARA as part of the National Declassification
Initiative (NDI). The IRC was a voluntary program that consolidated
review and referral (information within a document that is
potentially classified by another agency) of Federal records in NARA
custody into one central location within the National Archives at
College Park. The IRC is now mandatory and part of the NDC.
3
The Remote Archives Capture Program was
established in 1996 as a joint effort between the Presidential
Libraries and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to facilitate
declassification review and referral of classified Presidential
papers in remote locations. This program digitally scans remotely
located Presidential classified records and makes all twenty-five
year old classified materials available electronically for
declassification review in a centralized location in the Washington,
DC area.
4
Researchers may submit FOIA and MDR requests for records at NARA that
are not yet available to the public.
5 In section 2 of the
President’s memo he states “Under the direction of the National
Declassification Center (NDC), and utilizing recommendations of an
ongoing Business Process Review in support of
the NDC, referrals and quality assurance problems within
a backlog of more than 400 million pages of accessioned Federal
records previously subject to automatic
declassification shall be addressed in a
manner that will permit public access to all declassified records
from this backlog no later than December 31, 2013.”
6
Appendix A – Breakdown of NARA Federal RGs
into Categories
|
Category
1 Record Groups (High Interest, Easy to Process) RG
|
Title
|
Entries
|
Volume
|
|
24
|
Bureau
of Navy Personnel (Deck Logs)
|
14
|
57
|
|
107
|
Secretary
of War
|
1
|
1
|
|
153
|
JAG
(Army)
|
13
|
94
|
|
160
|
U.S.
Army Service Forces (WWII)
|
3
|
3
|
|
226
|
Office
of Strategic Services
|
12
|
13
|
|
260
|
U.S.
Occupation Headquarters, WWII
|
4
|
8
|
|
263
|
Central
Intelligence Agency
|
23
|
178
|
|
272
|
Kennedy
Assassination Commission
|
1
|
1
|
|
273
|
National
Security Counsel
|
37
|
334
|
|
304
|
Office
of Civil and Defense Mobilization
|
2
|
18
|
|
331
|
Allied
Operational and Occupation Headquarters WWII
|
24
|
11
|
|
332
|
U.S.
Theaters of War, WWII
|
4
|
5
|
|
336
|
Chief,
Transportation
|
42
|
429
|
|
337
|
HQ,
Army Ground Forces
|
53
|
133
|
|
359
|
Office
of Science and Technology
|
22
|
878
|
|
472
|
U.S
Forces in Southeast Asia
|
59
|
121
|
|
494
|
U.S.
Army Forces in the Middle Pacific (WWII)
|
1
|
1
|
|
500
|
U.S.
Army Major Operational and Tactical Formations (WWII and after)
|
1
|
1
|
|
2,286
cuft |
|||
|
Category
2 Record Groups (High Interest, Difficult to Process) RG
|
Title
|
Entries
|
Volume
|
|
19
|
Bureau
of Ships
|
393
|
4851
|
|
38
|
Chief
of Naval Operations
|
405
|
5631
|
|
43
|
International
Conferences, Commissions and Expositions
|
23
|
73
|
|
59
|
State
Department
|
1273
|
9434
|
|
60
|
Department
of Justice
|
1930
|
7044
|
|
65
|
Federal
Bureau of Investigation
|
104
|
2073
|
|
72
|
Bureau
of Aeronautics
|
82
|
8393
|
|
74
|
Bureau
of Ordnance
|
34
|
4578
|
|
77
|
Chief
of Engineers
|
121
|
603
|
|
84
|
Foreign
Service Posts
|
1122
|
8152
|
|
92
|
Quartermaster
General
|
21
|
143
|
|
111
|
Chief
Signal Officer
|
88
|
697
|
|
127
|
United
States Marine Corps
|
149
|
1313
|
|
156
|
Chief
of Ordnance
|
148
|
1739
|
|
159
|
Inspector
General (Army)
|
21
|
30
|
|
175
|
Chemical
Warfare Service
|
17
|
139
|
|
181
|
Naval
Districts and Shore Establishments
|
82
|
855
|
|
204
|
Pardon
Attorney
|
1
|
2
|
|
218
|
Joint
Chiefs of Staff
|
179
|
3918
|
|
255
|
National
Aeronautics and Space Admin.
|
7
|
1346
|
|
266
|
Securities
and Exchange Commission
|
1
|
31
|
|
285
|
Commerce
Records Relating to International Commercial Operations (see RG
489)
|
6
|
145
|
|
286
|
U.S.
Agency for International Development
|
945
|
7937
|
|
298
|
Office
of Naval Research
|
130
|
645
|
|
306
|
U.S.
Information Agency
|
212
|
1276
|
|
313
|
Naval
Operating Forces
|
766
|
7560
|
|
319
|
Army
Staff
|
1741
|
17372
|
|
326
|
Atomic
Energy Commission
|
88
|
1322
|
|
330
|
Office
of the Secretary of Defense
|
1299
|
7222
|
|
335
|
Office
of the Secretary of the Army
|
84
|
1030
|
|
338
|
U.S.
Army Operational, Tactical and Support Organizations
|
1927
|
2943
|
|
340
|
Office
of the Secretary of the Air Force
|
171
|
2784
|
|
341
|
HQ
U.S. Air Force (Air Staff)
|
670
|
6971
|
|
342
|
U.S.
Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations
|
581
|
8866 |
|
343
|
Naval
Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
|
446
|
7349
|
|
344
|
Naval
Ship Systems Command (NAVSEA)
|
420
|
6653
|
|
349
|
Joint
Commands
|
67
|
101
|
|
373
|
Defense
Intelligence Agency
|
119
|
662
|
|
383
|
U.S.
Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
|
89
|
321
|
|
402
|
Bureau
of Naval Weapons
|
150
|
4626
|
|
407
|
Records
of the Adjutant General’s Office
|
47
|
292
|
|
428
|
General
Records of the Department of the Navy
|
139
|
1175
|
|
429
|
Records
of Organizations in Executive Office of the President (Federal
Records)
|
32
|
370
|
|
430
|
Energy
Research and Development Agency
|
2
|
5
|
|
434
|
Department
of Energy
|
4
|
114
|
|
449
|
Independent
Counsels
|
189
|
1707
|
|
460
|
Watergate
Special Prosecution Force
|
2
|
4
|
|
518
|
U.S.
Central Command (CENTCOM)
|
128
|
430
|
|
529
|
U.S.
Pacific Command (PACOM)
|
9
|
3
|
|
530
|
U.S.
Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
|
4
|
4
|
|
531
|
U.S.
European Command (EUCOM)
|
39
|
333
|
|
549
|
U.S.
Army, Europe (USAREUR)
|
49
|
208
|
|
550
|
U.S.
Army, Pacific (USARPAC)
|
86
|
318
|
|
151,793
cuft |
|||
|
Category
3 Record Groups (Low Interest, Easy to Process) RG
|
|
|
Volume
|
|
15
|
Veterans
Affairs
|
1
|
4
|
|
21
|
District
Courts
|
1
|
1
|
|
31
|
Federal
Housing Administration
|
1
|
5
|
|
37
|
Hydrographic
Office
|
3
|
103
|
|
39
|
Bureau
of Accounts (Treasury)
|
1
|
7
|
|
40
|
Commerce
|
65
|
383
|
|
48
|
Interior
|
5
|
11
|
|
50
|
Treasurer
of the U.S.
|
1
|
1
|
|
57
|
U.S.
Geological Survey
|
1
|
24
|
|
64
|
National
Archives and Records Administration
|
7
|
26
|
|
70
|
Bureau
of Mines
|
1
|
1
|
|
80
|
General
Records of the Department of the Navy
|
2
|
9
|
|
85
|
Immigration
and Naturalization Service
|
14
|
235
|
|
87
|
Secret
Service
|
5
|
30
|
|
90
|
Public
Health Service
|
2
|
2
|
|
118
|
United
States Attorneys
|
3
|
227
|
|
125
|
Judge
Advocate General (Navy)
|
11
|
25
|
|
131
|
Office
of Alien Property
|
2
|
1
|
|
143
|
Bureau
of Supplies and Accounts
|
1
|
17
|
|
151
|
Bureau
of Forei1gn and Domestic Commerce
|
83
|
164
|
|
166
|
Foreign
Agricultural Service
|
5
|
14
|
|
167
|
National
Institute of Standards and Technology
|
5
|
10
|
|
168
|
National
Guard Bureau
|
1
|
1
|
|
173
|
Federal
Communications Commission
|
3
|
14
|
|
174
|
Department
of Labor
|
9
|
9
|
|
185
|
Panama
Canal
|
2
|
24
|
|
197
|
Civil
Aeronautics Board
|
6
|
30
|
|
203
|
Chief
of Finance (Army)
|
5
|
10
|
|
216
|
Office
of Censorship
|
2
|
3
|
|
220
|
Temporary
Committees, Commissions and Boards
|
18
|
91
|
|
227
|
Office
of Scientific Research and Development
|
1
|
1
|
|
237
|
Federal
Aviation Administration
|
19
|
190
|
|
242
|
Collection
of Foreign Records Seized
|
5
|
7
|
|
257
|
Bureau
of Labor Statistics
|
||
|
303
|
National
Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development
|
1
|
5
|
|
307
|
National
Science Foundation
|
1
|
1
|
|
311
|
Records
of the FEMA
|
2
|
9
|
|
333
|
International
Military Agencies
|
47
|
288
|
|
361
|
Records
of the Defense Logistics Agency
|
2
|
7
|
|
368
|
Heritage
Conservation and Recreation Service
|
1
|
1
|
|
375
|
Bureau
of Economic Analysis
|
6
|
8
|
|
377
|
U.S.
Travel and Tourism Administration
|
1
|
2
|
|
378
|
Economic
Development Administration
|
2
|
1
|
|
389
|
Provost
Marshal General
|
1
|
1
|
|
396
|
Office
of Emergency Preparedness
|
6
|
14
|
|
406
|
Federal
Highway Administration
|
1
|
1
|
|
412
|
Records
of the Environmental Protection Agency
|
1
|
9
|
|
417
|
National
Telecommunications and Information Administration
|
15
|
104
|
|
420
|
Records
of the Overseas Private Investment Corp.
|
7
|
56
|
|
425
|
Financial
Management Service
|
1
|
19
|
|
432
|
Economic
Stabilization Programs
|
1
|
1
|
|
469
|
U.S.
Foreign Assistance Agencies
|
16
|
91
|
|
489
|
International
Trade Administration
|
13
|
46
|
|
490
|
Peace
Corps
|
10
|
45
|
|
509
|
Department
of Defense Inspector General
|
6
|
29
|
|
2,422
|
|||
|
Category
4 Record Groups (Low Interest, Difficult to Process) RG
|
Title
|
Entries
|
Volume
|
|
51
|
Office
of Management and Budget
|
68
|
330
|
|
56
|
Department
of the Treasury
|
166
|
1118
|
|
71
|
Bureau
of Yards and Docks
|
17
|
201
|
|
112
|
Records
of the Surgeon General (Army)
|
67
|
697
|
|
287
|
Publications
of the U.S. Government
|
1
|
4
|
|
289
|
Naval
Intelligence Command
|
46
|
369
|
|
291
|
Federal
Property Resources Service
|
1
|
53
|
|
333
|
International
Military Agencies
|
47
|
288
|
|
334
|
Interservice
Agencies
|
319
|
600
|
|
345
|
Naval
Electronic Systems Command (NAVELEX)
|
72
|
394
|
|
346
|
Naval
Ordinance Systems Command (NAVORD)
|
23
|
385
|
|
347
|
Naval
Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP)
|
5
|
11
|
|
353
|
Interdepartmental
and Intradepartmental Committees (State)
|
8
|
88
|
|
357
|
Maritime
Administration (MARAD)
|
6
|
39
|
|
364
|
Office
of the U.S. Trade Representative
|
18
|
260
|
|
371
|
Defense
Information Systems Agency
|
209
|
702
|
|
374
|
Defense
Nuclear Agency/ Defense Threat Reduction Agency
|
157
|
1225
|
|
384
|
Chief
of Naval Material (NAVMAT)
|
30
|
85
|
|
385
|
Naval
Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC)
|
2
|
11
|
|
411
|
General
Accounting Office
|
2
|
1
|
|
456
|
Defense
Mapping Agency
|
166
|
814
|
|
476
|
Bureau
of Export Administration
|
116
|
498
|
|
526
|
Naval
Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)
|
5
|
36
|
|
544
|
U.S.
Army Material Command
|
555
|
1702
|
|
546
|
Continental
Army Command (CONARC) (modern)
|
124
|
542
|
|
547
|
U.S.
Army Forces in Alaska
|
10
|
34
|
|
548
|
U.S.
Army Forces in the Caribbean
|
35
|
58
|
|
551
|
U.S.
Army Military District of Washington (MDW)
|
3
|
3
|
|
552
|
Military
Traffic Management Command (MTMC)
|
14
|
18
|
|
553
|
U.S.
Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)
|
30
|
66
|
|
554
|
General
HQs, Far East Command, Supreme Commander Allied Powers, &
United Nations Command (FECOM, SCAP, UNC)
|
185
|
803
|
|
555
|
U.S.
Army Forces Command (FORCECOM)
|
4
|
4
|
|
11,439
cuft |
|||
END
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