SCOTTISH ARCHIVES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

GRANTS SCHEME

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This ROAME Statement sets out: the Rationale and Objectives, procedures for project Appraisal; and arrangements for Monitoring progress and for Evaluation of a scheme for funding activities which will contribute to the development of public sector archives. It establishes the justification for the scheme and links it to the need for improved standards. The statement assumes an annual grant of £250,000 and sets the priorities for the three years from 2007/2008, which would give sufficient time and investment to enable substantial improvement within the sector.

1Rationale

1Archives have a key role to play in the new cultural landscape in Scotland. They provide the bedrock for our understanding of the past, showing us – and future generations- how we come to be what we are as a nation, a community or an individual. The aim of the scheme is to fund value-added, development activity to enable the sector to play its full part in the new emerging cultural strategy for Scotland.

2Public sector archives require specific help to build capacity, to enable them to realise their full potential, to contribute to key Scottish Executive agendas, such as promoting access to Scotland’s cultural heritage; encouraging community and personal identity; social inclusion, education and learning; economic development. The scheme will focus on key priorities and will reflect areas where added investment can make a real difference.

3 The current archives legislation covering public sector bodies does not define the proper arrangements to be made for the preservation and management of their records. New definitions of proper arrangements are currently being devised by the NAS. In addition we are looking to adapt the Self Assessment Toolkit which has recently been piloted in England and Wales, to benchmark services against the UK National Standard for Record Repositories. By using these developing archives standards and performance indicators to quality assure the process, the scheme should be a conduit for improving standards within the sector.

2Objectives

1The scheme will not fund any activity which constitutes the core activity of the service. The primary objective is rather to provide additional funding to support and develop public sector archives, enabling them to improve standards and levels of provision, and thereby contributing to the overall effectiveness of the sector.

2The programme will have two strands: a Main Grants Scheme (£5,000-£50,000) and a Small Grants Scheme (£500-£2,000), which will be used to provide investment funding in projects which will increase and improve access to archives; raise standard of care for archives; encourage innovation; and facilitate partnerships.

3.1The Main Grants Scheme will provide funding for larger, more ambitious projects that benefits eligible archives services. Funding is provided for up to 85% of the total project cost, excluding VAT. Matching finding must be financial. Main grants will be offered for the following categories:

Objective - Development & Innovation

  • Undertaking strategic research, such as an options appraisal or feasibility study for a capital project
  • Audience development work, such as market research or the preparation of an audience development plan
  • Marketing: activities or resources that contribute to the marketing of the applicant archive service. Applicants should be able to prove the rationale for pursuing a particular project, e.g. a recommendation in an audience development plan
  • Innovative developmental projects: projects must be innovative to the applicant archive service and represent genuine service development

Objective – Stewardship of Collections

  • The purchase of specialist equipment or packaging. Applicants should prove that the equipment or packaging is specialist and that it does not form part of the core activity of the archive service
  • Undertaking specialist preservation or conservation work.
    Applicants should:
  • demonstrate the significance and value of the collection(s)
  • specify the benefits derived by users from access to the collection(s)
  • identify the reason for choosing the collection(s); for example, linking the project into the conservation priorities of the archive service

Objective - Developing Capacity in Learning and Resource Discovery

Subsidised Posts:

The scheme will subsidise new long-term posts to carry out non core activities, where a local and strategic need can be identified. There will need to be a commitment for the post to become permanent. Failure to comply with this undertaking will require the funding to be returned in full. The funds will require a level of financial commitment by the employer which must be demonstrated from the outset. The level of grant aid may be awarded either on a tapering basis i.e. 70/50/30% for a three-year subsidy or 50% in each of the years.

The following are identified as priorities:

  • Posts which support any of the following 3 areas: Learning, Education and Access (i.e. audience development) where the appointment will assist in the development and/or delivery of an education, learning and/or access policy, will work towards compliance with Standard for Access to Archives, will extend the services/activities of the service and will support innovation
  • Conservation posts where the appointment will enable the archive service to develop and/or implement a preservation strategy and work towards compliance with BS5454 and the National Archives Framework of Standards.
  • Cataloguing posts where the appointment will enable the cataloguing of major, un-catalogued collections. Applicants should demonstrate the significance and value of the collection(s), the benefits derived from cataloguing it/them and the reason for selecting this collection(s) e.g. as part of the archive service’s forward plan or as an identified priority for cataloguing following a survey of un-catalogued collections

Project posts – finite appointments should address a specific need.

Support can be given to projects that involve short-term contract costs, particularly in the following categories: learning, education, access, cataloguing, or conservation

  • No archive will be allowed more than one assisted post at any one time
  • Archives must allow 12 months between completing one assisted post (the grant aided period) and applying for further posts.

In each instance, the applicant should clearly demonstrate the reason for the application, prove the need to undertake the work, demonstrate the benefit from undertaking the work and indicate how the work will be evaluated and progressed following the completion of the project.

3.2The Small Grants Scheme will offer grants of between £500 and £2,000. Grants can be offered up to 100% of the total project cost, excluding VAT. Grants will be offered in the following areas:

  • Undertaking the National Preservation Office’s Preservation Assessment Survey, as part of the first step in developing an overall conservation/preservation strategy for the archive service
  • Project planning grant in respect of projects eligible for main grant
  • Marketing
  • Leadership programmes
  • Training
  • Conference bursaries. Successful applicants for conference bursaries will be required to submit a conference report. Priority for conference bursaries will be given to first time attendees
  • Arranging and holding workshops, seminars and events
  • Purchase of equipment
  • Purchase of specialist packaging
  • Undertaking specialist preservation or conservation work
  • Preparation of specialist resources for users

4Project Appraisal

The allocation of funding will be determined by a project’s ability to deliver measurable and effective quality improvement. A Grants Panel will be appointed by the SCA to assess the applications, which will be judged against the following criteria:

  • the project’s fit against the vision, aims and objectives of the scheme
  • compliance with relevant standards and best practice
  • how the project will contribute to the archive service’s strategic forward planning
  • the feasibility of the project and the ability of the applicant to demonstrate measurable impact on the quality of services
  • whether the project represents good value for money
  • level of grant requested (also taking account of annual budget)
  • evidence of successful completion of earlier projects (including administration)
  • the merits of partnership applications
  • the needs of smaller archives services
  • equitable allocation across the sectors

5Monitoring

5.1The SCA will be responsible for monitoring both individual projects and the overall scheme.

5.2In terms of the individual projects, the SCA will be responsible for:

managing the decision-making process (Grants Panel )

ensuring that the funded projects meet objectives

ensuring that progress is reported and the results of projects are disseminated to a wide audience

monitoring expenditure, ensuring projects are within agreed budgets and recalling funding if objectives are not met

developing project proposal (with agreed timelines and milestones), financial reporting, project reporting forms

monitoring through a nominated officer and taking place at intervals agreed for each project, but not less than six-monthly intervals

full summary of all projects on an annual basis

5.3The SCA will monitor progress of the scheme on a regular basis. An annual report will be compiled, detailing:

  • number of archives services who have submitted projects
  • number of projects accepted/rejected and summary of each, including funding
  • total funding allocated
  • comments on the process and implementation of the scheme and any constraints to implementation
  • details of seminars/ proposed seminars
  • progress towards overall objective

5Evaluation

5.1 Formal evaluations will be carried out for each project by the relevant archives service and submitted to SCA for scrutiny and acceptance within three months of the completion date of the funded project. SCA may measure impact over a longer period following the funding to capture sustainability issues. External evaluation by others may take place in some circumstances where there are concerns or lessons to be learned about the impact and success. The project evaluation reports will cover:

the extent to which the funded project has achieved its objective/s

the effectiveness of the funded project at delivering measurable outcomes

an assessment of the quality of the project and impact of the project

additional findings or secondary outcomes which can be usefully shared

recommendations for SCA, the Scottish Executive and public archives services

5.2 The SCA will be responsible for evaluating the overall effect of the scheme against the objectives detailed in the rationale. The evaluation will include an analysis of the impact of the funding with respect to the original aims and objectives, an account of the total resources deployed, and a judgement on the value for money of the scheme. The evaluation will look at the following:

evidence of measurable quantative and qualitive improvements

appropriateness and alternatives – the suitability of the scheme for achieving its goals, and the relevance of the scheme to current policy needs and future policy concerns.

the process and implementation the scheme and any constraints to implementation.

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SCA/29March 2007