The International Records Management Trust was a United Kingdom-based charity, established in 1989 by Dr Anne Thurston, OBE, to develop new strategies for managing records and information. It closed in 2019. Its aim was to provide consultancy services, training and education and research into

records management Records management, also known as records and information management, is an organizational function devoted to the information management, management of information in an organization throughout its records life-cycle, life cycle, from the time of ...

across the world. Its work emphasised the importance of managing records as a basis for protecting civil and human rights, reducing poverty, controlling corruption, strengthening democracy, promoting economic and social reform, improving services to citizens, and demonstrating accountability and transparency. The IRMT was based in London and governed by a board of trustees. Its work was supported by a team of over 60 practicing professionals drawn from the public and private sectors and from academic institutions worldwide.

Research

The IRMT's research and deve lopment programme focused on the transition to managing records and information in the electronic working environment. The research findings are available internationally through the IRMT website and are used as the basis for developing education and training programmes. The Trust also worked in applying them practically. The most recent research addressed is 'Fostering Trust and Transparency in Governance: Investigating and Addressing the Requirements for Building Integrity in Public Sector Information Systems in the ICT Environment.'

Consultancy Services

The IRMT worked with local policy makers, stakeholders and records professionals to develop and implement and sustainable legal and regulatory records and information management frameworks, policies, systems, procedures and facilities, in the paper or the electronic environments, either at the central or local level or in relation to particular functions. It focused particularly on records projects that affect citizens' rights, entitlements and welfare, for instance projects that contribute to accountability and anti-corruption measures, by strengthening records relating to the management of land, finance, human resources, or the judicial process. Projects have been delivered successfully in over 30 countries, including, for instance,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

and

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Training and Education

The two major IRMT initiatives in this area are The Management of Public Sector Records Study (MPSR) programme and the Training in Electronic Records Management (TERM) programme. These were prepared with the aim of supporting countries where professional educational tools in the field of records and information management are hard to obtain. All such material is made available internationally, free of charge in hard copy and through the IRMT website.

Fundraising and Partnerships

The Trust was funded mainly through national and international development agencies, including the U.S.,

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and U.K., the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

and the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

. Professional partners include the

International Council on Archives The International Council on Archives (ICA; French: ''Conseil international des archives'') is an international non-governmental organization which exists to promote international cooperation for archives and archivists. It was set up in 1948, wi ...

and

ARMA International __NOTOC__ ARMA International (formerly the Association of Records Managers and Administrators) is a not-for-profit (charitable) membership association for information professionals, primarily information management (including records management) ...

References

External links