Setting the scene, Marc Fresko of Inforesight Limited explained that there are at least 25 “standard” specifications for electronic records management systems around the world – but only two are international. The two international specifications are the DLM Forum’s “MoReq” specification and the ICA’s “Principles and Functional Requirements for Records in Electronic Office Environments”. He argued that the world only needs one specification – a good one, and pointed out that the DLM Forum has already established a comprehensive governance regime for MoReq.

As a first step, Jon Garde invited the ICA to form a special interest group to provide expert input to the DLM Forum’s new MoReq2010 project; he also invited ICA members to join the DLM Forum at its next meeting, in Madrid later this month.

Jon explained that, at a minimum, the MoReq2010 and ICA specifications should be compatible – there is no benefit to the user community in having incompatible specifications – and that eventually they might converge.

At the same conference, Richard Blake, from The National Archives (UK), also a member of the DLM Forum’s Executive Committee, later spoke about collaboration between the DLM Forum and the ICA. He said that the DLM Forum has “considerable technical resources which it can make available” for collaboration with the ICA, and highlighted that “the DLM Forum is very concerned to ensure that MoReq is evolved to always remain up to date, valid and usable”. He also pointed out that ”the other area where we can work together very closely is on the development of training materials”, describing the DLM Forum’s desire for academically certified training and emphasising that “there is no advantage in the two organisations either duplicating what the other is doing or being in competition – our work is congruent, and we would prefer to work together.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Presentation slides, graphics and interviews
Copies of the presentation slides used by Marc Fresko and Jon Garde, with re-usable graphics, can be downloaded from the MoReq Collateral site, at http://tinyurl.com/DLM-ICA-call. Interviews with Marc Fresko and Richard Blake can also be downloaded from the MoReq collateral site at http://moreq2.eu/press-a-web.

DLM Forum
The DLM Forum (http://dlmforum.eu) is a not for profit Foundation that is dedicated to the study, standardisation and implementation of document, records and information lifecycle management. Established by the European Commission in 1997, it is a membership organisation open to all. Its members include most of the National Archives from the European Union, software companies and consultancies with interests in document lifecycle management, and other experts. The DLM Forum is known mainly for MoReq and MoReq2 (see below). Its next meeting will take place in Madrid (Spain) on 25th/26th May (details on website).

International Council on Archives – ICA
The mission of ICA (http://ica.org) is to promote the preservation and use of archives around the world. In pursuing this mission, ICA works for the protection and enhancement of the memory of the world and to improve communication while respecting cultural diversity. ICA is the professional organisation for the world archival community, dedicated to promoting the preservation, development, and use of the world's archival heritage. ICA has a global network of more than 1,400 institutional members in 190 countries, making it truly international.

Inforesight Limited
Inforesight (http://inforesight.co.uk) is an independent consultancy specialising solely in Information Management. Based in the UK, its client base extends more widely, across continental Europe and the USA. Inforesight is a member of the DLM Forum, and its Managing Director, Marc Fresko, was the Project Director for the MoReq and MoReq2 initiatives (see below).

European Conference on Digital Archiving
The 8th European Conference on Digital Archiving, ECA2010 (http://www.bar.admin.ch/eca2010/index.html?lang=en), was organised in Geneva by the ICA on April 28 - 30. Some 650 delegates from all over the world gathered to exchange ideas, to debate current challenges, and to present specific solutions.

MoReq, MoReq2, MoReq2010
MoReq – short for Model Requirements for Electronic Records Systems (http://moreq.info and http://moreq2.eu) is a de facto European standard specification for electronic records management systems. The current version, MoReq2, was published in 2008 and is already the subject of at least 16 translation projects. Although European, it is influential far beyond its borders, being used not only throughout Europe but also as far afield as the Brazil, Canada, the Peoples Republic of China, Korea, and Russia. The DLM Forum recently announced the MoReq2010 project, which will develop a more easily implemented subset of MoReq2 requirements.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact Marc Fresko
+44 20 8645 0080,
marc.fresko@inforesight.co.uk

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