ARMA International Educational Foundation

The Foundation has developed a Research Agenda to help focus and provide context, direction and priorities for research and development efforts in records and information management, as well as information governance.
The emphasis of research and development initiatives is in areas where information professionals need new strategies, products, and tools right away to deal with the implications of information technology and other issues. The approach is pragmatic: identify a problem or issue, review best practices, look at actual records and information settings, carry out analysis, develop solutions or recommendations, bring a report or other product to completion in a timely fashion, and widely disseminate the results.
The current Research Agenda is as follows:
Privacy: Research projects that examine various aspects of privacy and/or information security, including, but not limited to:
• Protecting personally identifiable information with the "right to be forgotten,” comparing global views of privacy to the U.S. perspective
• Examining the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and its requirements as they pertain to metadata
• Regulatory updates – US and non-US (including the European Union’s pending GDPR requirements)
Risk Management and Mitigation: Research projects that examine various information-related risks and ways to manage and mitigate them, including, but not limited to:
• Risk mitigation/business continuity strategies for records
• Risk assessment and tools
• Risk reporting and corrective action tools
• Evaluating the practice of defensible disposition of legacy data
• Managing records in the Business Continuity Plan
Information Governance: Research projects that address different aspects of information governance, including, but not limited to:
• Managing mobile devices and the information they contain
• Managing social media use in different organizations
• Maintaining data maps in different organizations
Information Security: Research projects that address the deficiencies in current means of information security, including, but not limited to:
• Measuring the use of encryption and the extent of its impact on managing information
• Hacking – Implementing a multi-layer security system to prevent intrusion (technology and record creator/holder participation and compliance)
• Losing information through security breaches – how to recover and prevent recurrence
• Cybersecurity best practices – technology updates, how to prepare, etc.
Technology/Emerging Trends: Research projects that examine popular technology uses from the perspective of sharing new insights and pointing out potential risks and benefits and/or what new technology might be on the horizon, including but not limited to:
• Cloud computing and managing records in the "cloud”
• Managing records generated by using mobile devices
• Defining and working with Big Data
• Business intelligence/Artificial intelligence
• Current challenges and implications of managing information created, shared and used via social media
Standards and Best Practices: Research projects that examine the relevant standards and best practices that are developed and used by information governance practitioners, including, but not limited to:
• US and non-US information governance standards: comparison and implications
• Determining information governance best practice
• Productivity and ROI
• Using standards and other measurements as IG program assessment tools
Litigation Readiness and Discovery: Research projects that address various aspects litigation readiness, including, but not limited to:
• Analyzing litigation readiness program elements as practiced by different organizations/industries
• Predictive coding
• Current trends in implementing and managing legal holds
The budget for each research project is $5,000 plus $500 in administrative costs.