The value statement, or evaluation section, of each class is the most important part of the appraisal report. It is essential in providing justification for the disposal actions of your public records. This will be read not only by your organisation’s staff, but by the Chief Archivist and the general public when it goes through the Intention to Dispose public process. Statements must be clear to all interested parties.
Helpful tips when writing the value statement…
Tip ONE: Two important factors to take into account for appraisal when writing the value statement:
The Archives New Zealand Appraisal Statement
Outcomes of internal and external consultation during the Appraisal process
These will inform your decisions, not only within your organisation but in a wider context. The influence of contemporary events and public interest in certain records may also guide your decisions to an extent but should not be the sole justification for retaining public records.
Tip TWO: the Appraisal Statement describes six criteria which should guide your value statements. However, only five of these criteria are relevant for records to be archived. The first criterion, Business value, should only be used for records which will have a disposal action of ‘destroy’, those records which hold value for business purposes but are not of long term value.
The criteria are:
- Business value
- Accountability
- Rights and entitlements
- Legitimacy of authority
- Te Titiri o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi
- Knowledge
Tip THREE: make links between your records and the appraisal criteria clear. Here is a good example, ‘the stakeholder relationship management records are recommended for retention as public archives as they demonstrate accountability by [agency] in how it works with other agencies’. It is not explicit enough to state that ‘the records meet the following criteria’ followed by a list of Archives New Zealand appraisal criteria, if there has been no previous justification.
Tip FOUR: some useful questions to prompt discussion or trigger ideas for the value of particular records are in the Appendix of the Appraisal Statement. These raise issues relating to all of the appraisal criteria and help the decision making process.
Tip FIVE: look at other recently published disposal authorities on Archway. You can compare value statement styles which have already been approved. Ask us for guidance on some good examples.
If you have comments or questions about this process please feel free to comment on the blog post or contact Archives New Zealand at rkadvice@dia.govt.nz
Next time: Appraisal Process: Part Four – Drafting process, including internal and external consultancy advice.