11. Documentation and archival

All reports, documentation and correspondence should be archived, and backed up on more than one source. Saving information to a DVD on a periodic basis, as well as backing up to a hard drive, can save data when there is a computer breakdown or a hard drive failure. Paper archival may be useful as an added protection, but security is a concern where sensitive information is involved. While CARE is non-political, a negative interpretation of seemingly innocent information could have unforeseen consequences.

It is important to have a comprehensive daily record of operational details, not only for lessons learned and standard accountability purposes, but also in case a later after-action report or analysis needs to be made into how a particular situation evolved.