Abstract

The scale of research and development (R&D) investment is increasing to strengthen national competitiveness through technological innovation, leading to an increased interest in investment efficiency. In records management, the National Archives of Korea has been leading the national research and development project since 2008. Accordingly, this study analyzed R&D projects in records management regarding implementing organization, performance or outcomes, and subjects, targeting 111 National Archives of Korea contract research projects from 2008 to 2022. The analysis showed that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were the most likely to conduct research, the majority of the research outcomes were academic publications, and there were some discrepancies between the reported performance in research and the actual performance. In terms of research subjects, the most common type of records are paper or print documents, establishing an electronic management system among the National Archives’ works. In terms of the frequency of keywords in the records management process and research projects, it was found that research was mainly conducted on “preservation.” Meanwhile, only 10 cases, or 9% of the 111 projects, were found to be relevant in terms of utilizing big data and developing intelligent technologies related to digital transformation. Therefore, the effectiveness of the R&D project must be improved through follow-up management of the results even after the research project is completed. In addition, in terms of research topics, it was identified that aside from “preservation,” studies focusing on “transfer,” “classification,” “evaluation,” and “collection,” as well as research that responds to digital transformation, are needed.