In assessing how best to meet their storage needs, services should consult the guidance on Planning a new record repository, ‘BS EN 16893:2018 Conservation of Cultural Heritage:
Specifications for location, construction and modification of buildings or rooms intended for the storage or use of heritage collections’, ‘BS EN 17820:2023 Conservation of Cultural Heritage: Specifications for the management of moveable cultural heritage collections‘, and the Archive Service Accreditation standard.
The risks identified by our interviewees will not apply to each site or service design under consideration. The following sections consider how to assess the options and consider the risks for each option under consideration.
Assessing the options
When assessing the site options for archive services, there are usually a number of possible approaches and storage sites which could be used to meet the desired objectives. Consider these options thoroughly so that the final decision represents good value for money and the best outcome for the archive collection and the service as a whole. The following options appraisal process is designed particularly for those considering split-site services. It would also be suitable for considering a site for all archive services. The process is based upon an analysis of multiple criteria; a cost-benefit analysis alone is insufficient as the risks to the archive collection need to be considered.
Options appraisal
Options appraisal is a decision making tool which can aid the process of considering options by:
- identifying clear objectives
- identifying a range of options for achieving the objectives
- gathering information about each option
- evaluating all the factors before making a decision
Identifying objectives should include an examination of the needs of your community (as defined in Archive Service Accreditation, for example, governing body or users). This will help you to consider the shape of the service you want to achieve. It will also ensure that shape of the service influences the choice of site, rather than the site influencing the design of the service.
Effective options appraisal will help to answer three important questions:
- Have all the relevant factors been taken into account in deciding what the project should be?
- Should the project go ahead?
- What is the best way to carry out a project?
The scale and nature of a project will influence the level of detail that needs to be built into the appraisal, but there are a number of steps which are essential:
Identify clear objectives – what are you hoping to achieve?
This enables you to decide on the different options available. Your objectives should be specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-dependent. A short, focused list of objectives will become the evaluation criteria for each option. Prioritising your list will let you to decide on weightings if necessary.
Identify a range of options for achieving the objectives
Consider the different ways in which you can achieve the objectives. Start with a wide range of options. Some of these can be ruled out early on in the process to create a shortlist. You should also include a baseline for comparison – usually an option based on doing nothing. This is useful to provide evidence that the project should run. Also include a single site option for comparison.
Gather information about each option
Projects of differing sizes and scopes require varying levels of information to enable you to reach a decision. For most split-site archive projects the information for each option will include:
- how far the option achieves the objectives of the project
- capital expenditure to establish the site for archive storage
- whole-life capital and revenue costs and any projected income
- the staffing requirements/staff time requirements and costs
- how you will manage the facility
- environmental impacts (positive and negative)
- an assessment of the risks to the archive collection
- an assessment of the impact on access to the archive collections, considering the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information legislation where applicable
- the impact of running the facility on the archive service and its efficiency
Be sure to gather enough information on each option to reach a decision. To gain a complete view of the costs of a split-site archive service, include the whole-life costing, factoring in costs in both time and money of running a document retrieval service and the ongoing maintenance costs of the site. For more information about whole-life costing for archives see BS EN 16983 (3.25, 4.1).
Evaluate all the factors before making a decision
Evaluate each of the shortlisted options against the project objectives. List the options in a matrix and score how far each option meets each objective. Assign each objective a weighting factor, based upon its relative priority to the assessment. This helps to ensure that the most important objectives have the most impact on the result of the appraisal. Multiply the weighting factor against the score for each objective. Your matrix may look something like this:
Bring together your options appraisalCreate your options appraisal for decision-makers. This may combine a description of each option, the weighted analysis of the options against the objectives of the project and an assessment of the risks to the collection arising from each option. Consider which is the most appropriate optionThe options appraisal process will provide a framework for highlighting, assessing and analysing the options for your split-site archive service and will help you to choose between the options.
| Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighting factor | Score | Weighted score | Score | Weighted score | Score | Weighted score | |
| Obj. 1: Storage meets BS EN 16893 |
5 | 8 | 40 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 50 |
| Obj. 2: Provide additional storage for 25 years expansion | 2 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 7 | 14 |
| Obj. 3: Reduce rental costs |
2 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| Totals | 18 | 60 | 16 | 41 | 21 | 72 | |