Functional Analysis of Alabama Government

Table of Contents

Introduction	1
Methodology	1

The Functions of Government	2

Economic Development 	

Client Services 	
State Government Health and Social Services

Stewardship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 	

Administrative Support Operations 	
State Government Financial Management
State Government Human Resources Management
State Government Property, Facility, and Resource Management

Public Advocacy 	

Glossary of Terms 	

Function/Organization Matrix - State Government 	

Introduction
 
To document government, we must first understand what government does.  Gerald Ham, in his pivotal work, “The Archival Edge,” declares that while government has become the primary instrument of social and economic policy, government archives have failed to react to this role and alter collecting policies accordingly.  Total disorganization of state, county, and municipal records, the sheer magnitude of the records problem, and narrow appraisal criteria are named as partly responsible for archives's failure to respond to government's role.  While it is utopian for an archivist to believe we can document every activity of government, it is feasible to set reasonable goals for documenting key areas of government activity.

The solution lies in studying government as a whole - its functions, its activities, and its organization.  Our focus for too long has been the individual agency, and much of the interconnectivity between agencies has been lost to our view.  This is a result of a reactive stance to our outreach into government.  In order to shift our focus, we must take a step back, analyze government, and design a methodology that will successfully identify the archival records of government.  With this approach must come the realization that when we preserve records resulting from one activity, it probably means that records of another activity will not be preserved.  But, with careful study and selection, we can ensure the documentation of key activities and issues that we are currently missing.

A functional analysis of government supports the examination of all its activities, and therefore, encourages the documentation of the full multiplicity of activities that make up modern organizations.  With a functional understanding of government, the Alabama Department of Archives and History, hereinafter referred to as the Archives, can select wisely from the abundance of records to ensure the identification, preservation, and accessibility of archives.

Methodology

The development of a complete understanding of government must encompass analysis at several levels.  Identification and analysis of the principal functions of government is the first step.   Sources for this study include the Code of Alabama 1975, the Alabama Government Manual, the 1901 Constitution, financial documents, audit reports, annual reports, Alabama's State and Local Governments by David Martin, and Alabama Government and Politics by James Thomas and William Stewart.  Professional literature provides the background for the development of the methodology.

Within this paper, the major functions of government are identified and defined as the first step in identifying the archival records of government. Further research produces a breakdown of each function into its component subfunctions, processes, and activities.  In addition to continued reference to the sources mentioned above, this phase of research includes conducting numerous interviews with representatives of state agencies and with members of the academic community who study state government. Once identified, these subfunctions, processes and activities will be analyzed and appraised to determine their potential archival value and concentration of archival records. Linked to their corresponding record keeping requirements, they can be used to describe records of both short-term and long-term retention.  Long term records will be analyzed to identify those archival records that the Archives wishes to target for acquisition.  Such decisions will be based on changing policies and laws, staff assessment of current and long-term governmental trends and policy development, further consultation with agency representatives, and reference to traditional practice in appraisal of government records.  For example, financial records kept for audit purposes are traditionally not considered long-term records, while meeting minutes and correspondence of a department head are. While we hope to avoid blind adherence to tradition, such guidelines are useful in separating the huge volume of short-term records from those we wish to acquire.

Beneath this level will be an analysis and appraisal of the organizations performing each function of government. Such a process  will result in a Records Disposition Authority (RDA) for each agency that provides the agency with disposition guidelines for all of its records.  The object of the current study, however, is to prioritize work within each major function of government and across state government. The work plans that are a product of the study prioritize the work within each function.   They will target those agencies maintaining the archival records documenting the diversity, complexity, and size of the function. The final phase of the project will develop a one-year plan for work across state government.  This plan will be revised annually and serve to focus the proactive work of the division.  The work plans will prioritize agencies for work not only within the appraisal and acquisitions programs, but also with the government information locator project, the descriptive program, and training program.  

By analyzing our work, both in appraisal and description, and by studying the department's holdings of archival records and agency record keeping systems, the division can define levels of adequate documentation for a function over the course of history.

The Functions of Government

A discussion of the functions of government must necessarily begin with a definition of the term.  A function is defined as all activity directed at carrying out a mission/mandate for an organization or entity. The functions listed below have been defined for use within the aforementioned methodology for identifying the archival records of government while providing for the disposition of temporary records.  Government performs these functions in order to serve the purpose of government: to provide necessary services to its citizens; to maintain and protect a positive quality of life and healthy environment; and to shape the future of Alabama.   Figure one consists of a functional decomposition of Alabama Government.  This figure delineates eight over-reaching functions that government performs for its constituents.  These functions are:  

Economic Development.  Includes all marketing and promotional strategies and activities for both industry and agriculture in the state, travel and tourism activities, identification of markets, sales management, and the analysis and reporting of these activities.

Client Services.  Includes all service related activities affecting and improving education, cultural development, health, and welfare of the citizens and communities of Alabama. Also includes the creation and authentication of the vital records which provide the basis for the identity and rights of the individual citizen.

Regulation. Includes the development of regulations, application and licensure, appeals, compliance monitoring, and corrective processes.

Stewardship.  Includes the state’s activities in the maintenance and preservation of cultural property held in the public trust.  This property includes the archives, museum and library holding of the state, and state lands.  The state lands are often used for recreational purposes, such as state parks, but also may be preserves for native flora and fauna.

Administrative Support Operations.  Includes management of the state’s financial systems, property, information and telecommunications network, and human resources.  The management of federal resources and advisory and planning activities are also included in this area.

Public Advocacy.  Includes representation of the interests of the public before all bodies whose activities affect the citizens of Alabama.

Policy and Statute Development.  Includes the drafting, analysis, interpretation, and passage of legislation, regulations, and government policy.

Law Enforcement and Emergency Powers.  Includes law enforcement activity and emergency authority in the event of disaster or danger to the health and well-being of the citizens of the state.  The enforcement powers of the courts are included here.

These functions are not mutually exclusive.  The very nature of government precludes such a delineation.  What these functions show are the interconnections between all government agencies.  Far from being a flat hierarchical structure, Alabama government is a mass of intertwined agencies and activities.  As stated here, the functions are based on research into the sources identified earlier.  The following chapters, each discussing in depth one of the functions of government, serve to justify and verify these delineations.  Changes and alterations to the functions will occur as necessary when identified by staff.

The following chapters break down these eight functions into their component subfunctions, processes and activities and  identify potential sources of archival documentation. 

Glossary of Terms
of TermsAdequate Documentation
Adequate Documentation
Title 36, Chapter 12 of the Alabama Code of 1975 provides for the accountability of public officials by requiring them to “make and accurately keep in and for their respective offices or places of business all such books or sets of books, documents, files, papers, letters and copies of letters as at all times shall afford full and detailed information in reference to the activities or business required to be done or carried on by such officer. . . .”  From this code citation derives the following definition of accountability:  accountability provides evidence that government carries out its responsibilities, and that its decisions, actions, and transactions are consistent with and supportive of legislation, regulation, policy, procedures, and best practices.  In order for an organization to be accountable, it must adequately document its activities.

There are different levels of adequacy -  adequacy for fiscal accountability, adequacy for legal accountability, and adequacy for historical accountability.  The levels of legal and fiscal documentation are designated by an agency based on the risks and penalties involved should an activity not be documented.  For example, Agency A may choose not to document its financial transactions knowing the penalties it will pay during the conduct of an audit.  Of course, this is not a responsible or wise decision for Agency A to make.  Decisions about the level of risk involved and the determination of the level of documentation needed to protect against these risks should be made in conjunction with a full knowledge of the record keeping requirements of the agency and how these requirements affect the legal, fiscal, and historical documentation of an organization. 

Adequately documenting an organization or function throughout the course of history requires selecting from the myriad of records created to find the key documentation.  Focusing on the key documentation not only provides the appropriate accountability but at the same time limits the volume of records which must be preserved to an amount which can be effectively maintained and accessed.  Such documentation is not necessarily created/maintained by the entities responsible for performing a particular function.  An example of this is the documentation of the election process maintained in the Office of the Secretary of State.  That documentation is created by the local governments actually coordinating the election process.  In order to adequately document those functions and activities creating/maintaining archival records, we must : 1) identify the archival records of government, and  2) analyze departmental and agency holdings within those functions to determine their strengths and weaknesses and the presence of archival records.

Function

A function consists of all activity directed at carrying out a mission or mandate for an organization or entity of government.  An organization can have only one primary function but may perform many others in a secondary or tertiary capacity. Eight functions  have been defined for use within the appraisal methodology for identifying the archival records of government while providing for the disposition of temporary records.   
Subcategory

Because of their complexity and diversity, some functions of government cannot be adequately analyzed and described without further delineation.  A subcategory is a large section of a function that because of the complexity and diversity has been separated from analysis with the other subfunctions. Two of the functions of government (client services and administrative support operations) have been subdivided to include categories.  (Administrative Support Operations function of government, human resources management/financial management/property management subcategories)  In every case, the subcategory constitutes a subject matter division within the function of government.

Subfunction

A subfunction is a breakdown of the functions of government into groups of processes and activities that are representative of the department or state level of government.  

Process

A process is a series of actions that bring about an end result.  A series of processes forms a subfunction.
Archival Records (state government definition)
Archival Records (state government definition)
Archival records constitute the archives of the State of Alabama and warrant transfer to the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH), as the custodian of government archives, for preservation for and access by the citizenry of the state. The archival records of an agency provide the ‘adequate documentation’ required by the state to fully describe over time the functions of the agency.

Short-term Records

Short-term records are those records requiring a retention of less than five years after creation to meet all applicable state and federal requirements.  Many of these records are routine administrative support documentation that are warranted for eventual destruction under the General Disposition Authority.  Others require only a short-term retention to meet statutes of limitation, audit, and federal requirements.  Records of short-term value are held for what is considered to be their active life in the office.  They would not normally be considered for off-site storage but should be disposed of once their active life is over and all fiscal, legal, and administrative requirements are met.

Long-Term Records

Long-term records are records for which a legal, fiscal, or administrative need persists beyond five years, but that are not considered archival. Low-cost storage of these records is encouraged as a cost-efficient manner of maintaining the original record for the required length of time.  Conversion of these records to another medium is also an option.  Once the records are determined to be of no further use to the agency and have met all the legal, fiscal, and administrative requirements of the agency, they should be destroyed.