Prior to the existence of SPDER, individual IRS organizations were each maintaining their own separate electronic research contracts (often with the same vendor).

In 1999, the Commissioner recognized a need to centralize electronic research contracts to create the capability for all IRS business units to conduct electronic tax law research, foster better collaboration of research efforts across the service and to significantly reduce research costs. On December 22, 1999, the Office of Servicewide Policy, Directives and Electronic Research (SPDER) officially stood up as an organization. The name was subsequently changed to Servicewide Policy, Directives and Electronic Resources. SPDER strategically designs, delivers, and manages a set of tax administration and knowledge tools to enable IRS employees to meet their responsibilities for enforcement compliance, and customer service.

IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98).

Policy Statement 1-3 governs IRS research activities. The guidance in this IRM section conforms with Policy Statement 1-3 establishing the foundation for research in the IRS to improve operations and decision-making through the service.

The Director, Strategy and Business Solutions, is the program manager for SPDER.

SPDER, in a stewardship role, provides oversight of the enterprise strategy for delivering electronic research tools.

Each BU is responsible for authorization and password assistance for accessing electronic research tools including user login and password administration. ID administrators create and maintain IDs. They aid users when called upon.

Electronic Research Oversight Council (EROC) is comprised of representatives from each business unit, including Chief Counsel. The EROC is chartered to provide a strategic direction for the identification and delivery of tax administration tools. This group provides a forum for business unit collaboration on the delivery of research services to employees.

SPDER requires quarterly reports from each electronic tax and legal research service provider documenting access, usage, training, and known issues.

The table lists commonly used acronyms and their definitions:

The following are related resources:

The quality of investigations has direct impact on fair and impartial administration of the tax laws, protection of taxpayer rights, and the collection of the proper revenue. IRS employees commonly use research to determine a defensibly correct conclusion to a tax question.

Expanded access to electronic research improves the quality of cases, assists in the fair application of the laws, and helps front line employees resolve taxpayer questions.

Advantages to using electronic research are:

Access to Electronic Research tools often requires user IDs and passwords.

Instructions for requesting access, as well as links to these tools, are on ReferenceNet.

Managers are responsible for ensuring employees have access to tax administration tools and receive training to use them.

Information on training is on ReferenceNet.

The following types of training are available:

Local contracts may still be required for data that is unavailable from the servicewide contract vehicles. For example, in some states the Department of Motor Vehicles does not sell records to third-party vendors. Local contracts are largely funded by SB/SE; however, these funds are expected to cover all needs for local contracts, regardless of business unit or function.

SB/SE owns the Servicewide contract for credit bureau data.

Under this contract full credit reports are only available to IRS employees working balance due cases. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires this limitation. Credit reports can be a valuable source of information regarding an individual's addresses, assets, financial relationships, and judgment/lien information where available.

Additional details about the Credit Bureau Program and Fair Credit Reporting Act may be found in IRM 5.1.18, Locating Taxpayers and Their Assets and IRM 5.17.6, Legal Reference Guide for Revenue Officers, Summonses.

A servicewide interagency agreement provides IRS employees with Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). Through PACER, users can access case and docket information from federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts, and from the U.S. Party/Case Index.

PACER electronic research service is owned and funded by SB/SE.

Business units are responsible for monitoring usage to ensure IRS employees are using it for IRS work-related purposes and for ensuring costs are within the estimates provided.

If you do not have a PACER ID, you may request one using an online access request Business Entitlement Access Request System (BEARS).

More information on the agreement, funding, point of contact, as well as access to PACER is provided from the ReferenceNet website.

A key component of IRS' standardization of electronic research services is the intent to acquire, at the best value to the government, as much content for an ideal tax and legal reference library as possible through one source. Additional content will be obtained, as necessary, through existing avenues such as Fed link or GSA schedules.

Offices must obtain approval from SPDER before procuring commercial electronic research services, or training for these services