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User Advisory Group – Membership Recruitment – March 2014
1. Composition
Background
User Advisory Group has been in existence for nearly three years (since June
2011). The group has up to 15 members. From the start we have had a list
of the different communities served by The National Archives, and we have
tried to ensure that each of those communities is represented by at least one
person on UAG. In practice of course, some of the UAG members inevitably
have interests in and connections to more than one community.
Looking at the current list of communities (see Appendix) as a whole, it could
be argued that it is weighted too heavily towards people who use our services
at Kew as opposed to remote users of our services. We estimate that there
are approximately 300 online uses of our records for every one production at
Kew, and this is not reflected at UAG. However we know from our experience
over the last three years that people who don't use Kew for their research are,
in general, less likely to be able or willing to attend quarterly UAG meetings.
Recommendations
1.1
We still think that a membership of around 15 people is 'about right'.
Introducing more people than this would make the meetings unwieldy
and more difficult to resource and chair. Reducing the number of
members might mean that some communities are under-represented,
particularly if not every member is able to attend every meeting
(although most UAG members do attend most meetings).
1.2
We should keep the list of 'communities' under regular review to ensure
that it remains broadly representative and does not leave out important
groups. We should continue to seek representatives from all user
groups, making additional efforts where appropriate to attract
candidates to fill vacancies (see more below). We will recognise that
remote users of The National Archives' services are underrepresented
at UAG and use alternative methods, e.g. the user community to
ensure that they still have a 'voice' at The National Archives.
2. Meeting arrangements
Background
UAG meets quarterly, usually on a Tuesday. The start time for the meeting
has been put back to midday to enable users to take advantage of cheaper
travel options. The meeting usually takes 2½ hours with a short break for
lunch in the middle. It is typically attended by at least half a dozen staff
including the chair(s), minute taker and people presenting papers. The timing
of the meetings may influence the type of candidates who are able to serve as
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UAG members, as it is difficult for someone in full time employment to commit
to attend the meetings, unless archives are relevant to their career.
Recommendation
2.1
We think the current arrangements are broadly appropriate. The
impact on staff of holding meetings outside of working hours would be
significant, and when we have tried this approach with User Forum, it
has not noticeably widened the pool of attendees.
3. Rotation of membership
Background
The UAG terms of reference say "Individual membership will be reviewed
annually, with the aim of cycling membership so that approximately a third of
the individuals in the group are replaced each year. The maximum period of
membership for an individual will be 4 years." This is to ensure that different
perspectives can be voiced over time. Although members are expected to
'represent' their communities, it is inevitable that their views will, to some
extent, be based on their own experience of using particular records and
services.
Although there has been some turnover in UAG, we have never yet had five
resignations (a third of the group) within a year and more than half of the
members have now served for nearly 3 years. This suggests that we need to
impose a process for change rather than relying on 'natural' turnover.
Recommendations
3.1
In 2014 we will expect at least one of the representatives of each of the
following communities to step down:
 Academic users
 Map Room users
 On site personal interest
As in previous years, we will ask people to indicate if they are willing to
step down. If we do not get a 'volunteer' from each of the above
communities then we will draw straws to decide which representative
stays on.
3.2
In 2015 we will expect all of the remeaining members who have served
4 years on UAG to step down. This will create four vacancies (in
addition to the vacancies created by any voluntary resignations).
3.3
In view of the high level of commitment shown by current UAG
members, and the relatively low levels of response to our recruitment
campaign for new members last year, it may be counterproductive to
fully enforce the 4 year maximum period of membership from the
current terms of reference. We will amend the terms of reference to
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say that former members of UAG (including those 'forced' to step down
after serving for 4 years) may submit an expression of interest in rejoining UAG for a further period of up to 2 years. However, when the
expressions of interest are evaluated, a priority will be placed on
appointing new members wherever possible.
4. Movement of people between UAG and TNA (and vice versa)
Background
Two members of UAG have joined The National Archives as staff and
immediately resigned from UAG as a result. We have deflected enquiries
about UAG membership from people who have a professional, as well as a
personal, relationship with The National Archives. This is because we don't
want potential conflicts of interest to arise in UAG meetings.
One ex-member of staff expressed an interest in joining UAG during the last
recruitment round. This was discussed with UAG at the December meeting,
leading to the following recommendation:
Recommendation
4.1
Former members of staff who are active archive users will generally be
welcomed as UAG members, particularly if they are members of
communities where other representatives are not available. An interval
of at least 18 months should be allowed to elapse between leaving The
National Archives as a member of staff and joining UAG.
5. Current Vacancies
Background
A vacancy for the County / External Archives representative has arisen in year
due to Paul Dryburgh's appointment as a staff member at The National
Archives. We don't fill such ad-hoc vacancies in-year, preferring (for reasons
of efficiency) to recruit for a group of new UAG members via the annual
campaign in the autumn.
We currently have no Equality and Diversity representatives, despite seeking
candidates to fill these vacancies last autumn.
We received only one application last autumn for the online user vacancy.
That application came from a former member of staff who is now a graduate
student. His expression of interest indicated that he would meet the criteria to
represent either student users or online users, providing users were
comfortable with an ex-staff member joining UAG (see recommendation 4.1).
Our current student representative has pointed out that she will cease to be a
student later this year but will continue to be an online user. Our current
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online user has pointed out that it is difficult for him to attend some UAG
meetings due to the demands of a full time job. He agreed to continue as a
UAG member this year in the light of the lack of applications from other online
users wishing to join UAG in October 2013.
Recommendations
5.1
The vacancy for the County / External Archives representative will be
filled via the normal autumn recruitment process.
5.2
We have a new E&D Coordinator starting work at The National
Archives in March, following an extended gap. We will ask the new
E&D Coordinator to review the recruitment work done to date and try to
identify at least one new Equality and Diversity representative to join
UAG at the earliest opportunity (i.e. from the June meeting if possible).
5.3
If all parties are agreeable, Nell Darby will become the new online
users' representative and Jo Pugh will become the new student users'
representative from the June 2014 meeting. This will enable Andrew
Chapman to step down if he wishes to do so. The decision to bypass
the normal open recruitment process in this case will be an exceptional
one, reflecting the problems experienced with recruiting online users
last year and the fact that Nell has only been a member of UAG for just
over a year.
Timetable
March meeting

Discuss the recommendations above with UAG
members
March - June

Make any amendments required to the
recommendations
Continue to seek Equality and Diversity
representatives (new E&D Coordinator in role)

June meeting


September meeting



If recommendation 5.3 is agreed, this could be the
first meeting for our new student representative
and Nell would become our online representative
We would also hope to introduce at least one new
Equality and Diversity representative (as per
recommendation 5.2)
Deadline for members of UAG to indicate whether
they wish to continue to serve beyond October
2014 or are willing to step down
If no 'volunteers' come forward straws will be
drawn (as per recommendation 3.1)
Agree recruitment campaign which will include as
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a minimum
~ County / External Archives representative
~ Academic user
~ Map Room user
~ On site personal interest representative
October - November

Recruitment campaign
December meeting

First meeting for new representatives
Appendix 1
Current list of communities represented:
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Academic users x 2
Map Room users x 2
On site personal interest x 2
Independent researchers x 2
Family history societies x 1
Local Historians x 1
Online users x 1
Student users x 1
Diversity/inclusion x 2 (vacant since October 2013)
County/external archives x 1 (vacant from March 2014)