EDRM is a leading industry organization and thought leader in the e-discovery and information governance domain. Named after the original “E-Discovery Reference Model,” EDRM launched the last version of its companion “Information Governance Reference Model” (IGRM) back in 2012. Now, a decade later, an EDRM Project Team has developed a “new & improved” IGRM that has been approved for public comment. If you are involved in the information governance area, your comments/input on the new model are welcome, prior to the IGRM version 4.1 being finalized.

As a member of the IGRM Project Team (and Chair of EDRM’s Project Trustees) I had the honor and pleasure of working with the diverse team that developed the new model. The revised version was the product of many meetings, excellent ideas contributed by all of the team members, and skillful consensus building by Team leaders Eric Mandel and Lynn Molfetta, following in the footsteps of Eric Sedwick. As noted in the press release, I believe that “The EDRM IGRM Team has succeeded in developing a new and improved diagram that concisely illustrates the basic information lifecycle, and the organizational domains responsible for developing and implementing policies and practices to best balance information value, risks and costs.” I think this model, and the detailed explanations that are still being drafted to accompany the diagram, will prove extremely useful, both for presenters teaching about the basics of sound information governance, and organizations that are undertaking efforts to improve their information governance policies and practices.