Stewardship and Custodianship of the NZGLS Standard

38 The stewardship and custodianship criteria of the Policy Framework for Government-held Information[CAB (98) M22/27 refers] have been used to define responsibilities and accountabilities for the maintenance of the standard. My recommendation is that the State Services Commission (SSC) acts as steward, and Archives New Zealand acts as custodian.

39 This will require the SSC and Archives New Zealand to develop a memorandum of understanding and service level agreement covering the roles and responsibilities of both the steward and the custodian. These roles involve:

Role of Steward (SSC)

• responsibility for setting the standards for discovery-level metadata;
• responsibility for maintenance and ongoing development of the standard (outsourced to the custodian with the responsibility remaining with the steward);
• responsibility for setting the terms and conditions under which the custodian will operate; and
• responsibility for funding the costs of both stewardship and custodianship.

Role of Custodian (Archives New Zealand)

- administration and chairing of the NZGLS working group(s);

- administration of NZGLS compliance processes;

- maintenance of the NZGLS Manual and other documentation;

- development of supporting guidance and tools (in conjunction with the working group);

- representation of the NZGLS on Dublin Core and AGLS co-ordinating bodies;

- provision of training; and

- management of requests for changes to the NZGLS Standard.

40 Public sector organisations contributing metadata to the NZGLS will have the right to be involved in any future changes of the standard that are proposed.