Governance

Governance and management

An inter-disciplinary steering group has been set up to provide support for the project. This group includes members from The National Archives, the academic and archive sectors, as well as those who have worked within charities or have been users of charity archives. The steering group will be supported by three specialist advisors from across the voluntary, legal and civil service sectors.

Our Charity Archives Development Plan incorporates the findings from work undertaken between October 2021 and January 2022 that included:

  • a survey of the steering group members
  • the initial meeting of the steering group
  • feedback from the Charity Archivists and Records Managers Group (CHARM)

The National Archives will act as the secretariat for the Charity Archives Development Plan. This will be managed by Hannah Jones (Sector Development Manager: East and Arts) with support from David Morris (Head of Regional and Networks Team). The Project Sponsor is Tina Morton (Head of Archives Sector Development).

The project will run for 3 to 5 years. The exact length of the project will be dependent on internal and external resources and funding. Membership of the group will be reviewed periodically, with no obligation to participate for the full length of the project. A terms of reference document has been developed for the members of the group. It will be shared with any new members alongside this plan.

A circular poster showing an arrow pointing into a bin with the words 'Keep Britain Tidy'

Image credit: Keep Britain Tidy campaign poster (The National Archives, EXT 1/121)

Resources

A budgeting exercise has been carried out to determine which areas of the plan require funds. The Project Manager will make budget requests internally as part of Archives Sector Development’s annual budget review. The project will also use in-kind support from the steering group and staff at The National Archives (principally the Project Manager). Opportunities for partnership working with other organisations and initiatives in order to support resourcing will be sought, where appropriate.

Reporting

An annual report will be created by the steering group every year. This report will be shared with key stakeholders, the community of interest, and The National Archives’ Advisory Forum and Executive Team. The National Archives will also be responsible for communicating with a group of interested parties known as the project’s community of interest. This Charity Archives Development Plan will be reviewed in January 2023.

Two hands reaching and pulling a grey archive box off a shelf

Image credit: Leonard Cheshire Archive