Macroappraisal, the next frontier: An approach for appraising large and complex government institutions

Archival Science

Volumn 5, Issue 2-4, 2005, Pages 261-283

  Badgley, Kerry ^a   Meunier, Claude ^a  

^a Library and Archives Canada   (Canada)

Author keywords

Archival appraisal; Case studies; Library and Archives Canada; Macroappraisal

Indexed keywords

EID: 33749020807     PISSN: 13890166     EISSN: 15737519     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10502-005-9016-9     Document Type: Article

References (28)

1. Formerly the National Archives of Canada
2. At the time of writing, the formal agreement for the disposition of the records between LAC and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is being negotiated.
3. Much of the information in this section is taken from Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Performance Report for the Period Ending March 31, 2003 (Ottawa: Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 2003),
4. and Annual Reports for various years.
5. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 2002-2003 Estimates: A Report on Plans and Priorities (Ottawa: Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 2003), p. 2.
6. An MYDP is an agreement signed by the client institution and LAC broadly identifying the target of the Records Disposition Authorities and the order of priority for the different RDA targets. It bears noting that a Memorandum of Understanding, which will better define the obligations of client institutions under the Library and Archives of Canada Act, has recently replaced the MYDP.
7. Records Disposition Authorities are the instruments by which the Librarian and Archivist of Canada conveys his/her consent to the disposition of the records of the Government of Canada. There are two broad categories of Records Disposition Authorities: Institution Specific Disposition Authorities and Multi-Institutional Disposition Authorities that apply to all federal institutions covered by the Library and Archives Canada Act. For the purpose of this article, unless otherwise noted, when we refer to "Records Disposition Authority" or RDA, we are actually referring to Institution Specific Disposition Authorities.
8. Business Line, as per Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Lexicon for ResultsBased Management and Accountability,
9. means: "a mechanism for aligning collective effort and resources to Strategic Outcomes across a department's internal organizations. In smaller agencies, business lines may be synonymous with organizations but in larger, more complex departments, business lines are not likely to be organizationally based. Business lines function as forums for setting direction, ensuring coherence in program delivery, establishing clear accountabilities for results across internal organizations, tracking and reporting on performance and providing a shared context for allocating resources to results." Available at 〈http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/eval/pubs/RMAF-CGRR/rmafcgrr05_e.asp 〉 (consulted 21 June 2005).
10. Although a function does not necessarily equate a business line (used in the DFO Estimates Part III - Report on Plans and Priorities), in this case, the business lines of DFO fundamentally satisfy LAC definition of a function:
11. "Any high level purpose, responsibility, task or activity which is assigned to the accountability agenda of an institution by legislation, policy or mandate." (Library and Archives Canada, MultiInstitutional Disposition Authority 2001/002, Common Administrative Records related to the Real Property Management Function, Part 3.2 Appendix II, Profile of the Real Property Management Function of Institutions subject to the National Archives of Canada Act, available at 〈 http://www.collectionscanada.ca/information-management/ 06040126_e.html 〉 (consulted 22 June 2005)).
12. As Director of the Records Disposition Division at the National Archives of Canada, Terry Cook wrote a number of papers and guideline documents in the 1990s. He also wrote several scholarly articles on the subject, one of the more famous being "Mind Over Matter: Towards a New Theory of Archival Appraisal," in Craig L. Barbara (ed.), The Archival Imagination: Essays in Honour of Hugh A. Taylor (Ottawa: Association of Canadian Archivists, 1992).
13. See, as well, his "What is Past is Prologue: A History of Archival Ideas Since 1898, and the Future Paradigm Shift," Archivaria 43 (Spring 1997): 17-63.
14. For some interesting international perspectives on macroappraisal, see John Roberts, "One Size Fits All? The Portability of Macro-Appraisal by a Comparative Analysis of Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand," Archivaria 52 (Fall 2001): 47-68.
15. As Chief of Appraisals and Special Projects, and now Director of Government Archives Division, Richard Brown wrote on the appraisal strategy and methodology of the National Archives of Canada and on the recasting of its Records Disposition Program. He, too, has written extensively on the subject in academic journals, and is perhaps best known for his "Macro-Appraisal Theory and the Context of the Public Records Creator," Archivaria 40 (Fall 1995): 121-172.
16. Other significant works on macroappraisal include Brian P.N. Beaven, "Macro-Appraisal: From Theory to Practice," Archivaria 48 (Fall 1999): 154-198,
17. and Catherine Bailey, "From the Top Down: The Practice of Macro-Appraisal," Archivaria 43 (Spring 1997): 89-128.
18. "Appraisal Methodology: Macro-Appraisal and Functional Analysis, Part A: Concepts and Theory" by Terry Cook, revised and edited by Richard Brown, Judith Roberts-Moore, with the Government Records Disposition Program Review Committee, and approved by the National Archivist of Canada (2001), available on the Web at 〈http://www.collectionscanada.ca/06/061101_e.html 〉 (consulted 21 June 2005).
19. OPI refers to the federal government institution to which the authority, responsibility, and accountability to perform a particular function on behalf of the Government of Canada has been specifically assigned by legislation, policy, or mandate.
20. It should be noted that one of the authors (Badgley) co-presented a paper (with Sean Darcy) at a recent Association of Canadian Archivists' meeting that was critical of macroappraisal theory, arguing that it represents more of an administrative approach than it does a theory. The point here is not to offer another critique of the approach. Rather, it is to focus on some of macroappraisal's positive features.
21. This RDA is functionally-based and, given that Coast Guard is soon to be re-established as a stand-alone agency, it was determined that the best approach was to leave it as is.
22. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Management of Government Information policy (1 May 2003) states that each institution must designate a senior executive to be accountable for implementing this policy and informing the Treasury Board of the appointment. Available at 〈 http://www.tbs-sct. gc.ca/pubs_pol/ciopubs/TB_GIH/ mgih-grdg_e.asp 〉 (consulted 21 June 2005).
23. DFO is implicated in at least twelve pieces of legislation at the federal level and over eight fisheries-related Acts at the provincial level.
24. The appraisal process was a lengthy and complex one, and for space considerations is not addressed in this paper. It is, however, the subject of a forthcoming article by Badgley.
25. The Regional Operations program of Library and Archives Canada is a network of federal records centres across the country, providing secure and economical management of dormant and essential government records on behalf of all eligible federal government departments and agencies.
26. See E.P. Thompson, "The Poverty of Theory or An Orrery of Errors," in his The Poverty of Theory Other Essays (New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1978).
27. For a good description of this methodology and its impact on Canadian historiography, see Bryan D. Palmer, The Making of E.P. Thompson: Marxism, Humanism, and History (Toronto: New Hogtown Press, 1981), pp. 65-82.
28. Owing to space considerations, the theoretical side of this project is much more complex than is presented here and will be addressed at length in the forthcoming article by Badgley.