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Managing capacity and resources

How can we manage capacity and resources to archive our project?

Timescales vary across large cultural infrastructure projects, with lead-in times being shorter for some than others. Local authority archive services vary in capacity too: a county record office may have a team of qualified archivists; other areas, such as London boroughs, may only have one qualified archivist on staff.

Identifying how the archive service can be supported will be a critical part of the planning process. You can help ensure it has appropriate capacity and resources to archive the large cultural infrastructure project in addition to maintaining its collections management and public service responsibilities. This might be achieved through utilising part of the large cultural infrastructure project’s funding or finding additional funding from internal sources or an external funder. Securing additional appropriately qualified staff will make a big difference.

In addition to staffing, having the technical capacity and infrastructure to safely receive and process digital archives is a critical factor for success, as we noted above when discussing formats. The challenge of digital archives is an exciting one, entailing new methodologies, new terminology, new perspectives and new opportunities to engage audiences in innovative ways.

Using the large cultural infrastructure project as a catalyst to progress digital preservation work within the archive service is strategically useful. It will help the local authority to be equipped to meet its statutory responsibilities for archives into the future, and it will support good governance. It will also provide reassurance to individuals and communities who may wish to deposit digital archive collections with the service.

Two areas where your influence will be especially crucial is supporting the business and/or funding case for appropriate capacity and resources, and as an advocate for the archive service with colleagues, such as those in information technology and information governance, to help it embed digital preservation. Presenting the large cultural infrastructure project as a means to progress archive service development as a whole can extend the value of the archive service’s involvement far beyond the duration of the project.

Supporting Archive Service Accreditation

How can this work help with Archive Service Accreditation?

The Archive Service Accreditation standard, the UK standard for archive services, defines and recognises good practice by archive services. Through consideration of organisational health, collections and stakeholders and their experiences the standard requires services to demonstrate a commitment to a programme of continuous improvement. The National Archives assumes local authority archive services would be working towards service improvement within the framework of Archive Service Accreditation, if not currently able to submit an application; for those services that are Places of Deposit for public records, an application is expected. As a senior decision-maker you are well-positioned to champion the service’s needs as it progresses on its Archive Service Accreditation journey, and to help the archive service articulate how its work aligns with the strategic priorities of the local authority.

Supporting the large cultural infrastructure project is an unparalleled opportunity to develop and enhance the archive service in three key areas relating to Archive Service Accreditation:

  • The service’s collection development policy will reflect the desire to work closely with communities, so the collections are more representative of the communities they serve. A large cultural infrastructure project offers the chance to build these relationships for everyone’s mutual benefit.
  • Developing the skills and technical infrastructure to receive and preserve digital archives means that the service can evidence its digital preservation progress.
  • Creating an archive of the large cultural infrastructure project increases the profile of the service and serves to demonstrate its relevance to a wider range of audiences, both within the local authority and externally.

Archives and legacy

Isn’t this part of the legacy stage?

Creating an archive of the project will be a key visible legacy. But in a similar vein to the monitoring and evaluation work this needs to be planned from the outset. If the archive is only considered at the end of the project delivery, there is a significant risk that key content will be lost or overlooked.

Previous City and Borough of Culture project teams have reflected on the impact and loss of knowledge as members leave the team as the project winds down. Access to systems and documentation may also be impaired, for example logins/passwords may no-longer work. Another consequence of only thinking about the archive at the end of the project is that the archive service will not have had the opportunity to develop relationships with communities, making any collection of other material from those who partnered or participated in the project much more challenging.

Selling the idea of a potential retrospective exhibition in 2027, the archive service in Hull in 2017 actively collected objects as well as records that would help tell the story of City of Culture. Physical objects can trigger recollections from visitors, many of whom are likely to have supported, participated or attended the events being remembered. A rich archive of the large cultural infrastructure project will complement and enhance understanding of such physical objects – another reason to ensure that archiving is something that is planned from the outset of the project.

By collecting during the project, the archive service at Hull could also see that the archive would feature stories that were previously known only to the creative team, as plans for programming and events changed before delivery. In a similar way, by collecting from the outset, your archive service will be able to demonstrate in future exhibitions and engagement how plans evolved to what audiences then experienced – something that will immediately spark their curiosity.

By championing the archive service’s place within the project’s planning, delivery and legacy from the start, and by articulating its capacity and resources needs with colleagues, you will help to ensure that it can then tell the story of your large cultural infrastructure project in future decades. At the same time, you will be bolstering the resilience of the service to be able to collect and preserve other archive material in line with sector standards and as part of the council’s statutory responsibilities.