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Summative Evaluation of the National Archival Development Program

Library and Archives Canada
Evaluation of the National Archival Development Program
Key Stakeholders Interview Guide

The National Archival Development Program (NADP) was designed to complement the new mandate of the Library and Archives Canada (LAC), and the shifting priorities of the archival community. The five-year program (from 2006/07 to 2010/11) provides contribution funding to archival institutions for projects, and to the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) for administrative and capacity-building tasks.

LAC is conducting a summative evaluation of NADP, and has hired PRA Inc., an independent research firm, to conduct this research. An important element of this evaluation is to interview individuals from the four different stakeholder groups, who have been associated with the program. This includes representatives from Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Council of Archives, Provincial/Territorial (P/T) Archival Councils, and program recipients (including municipal, academic and private institutions).

This interview should take 45 minutes to an hour, and will be bilingual. With your permission, we will tape-record it for the purposes of note-taking. All tape-recordings will be erased at the end of the study. Everything you say in the interview is confidential; we will not quote you in our report or associate your name with any comments you make.

We realize that you may not be in a position to address some of the questions. If you cannot answer a question, please let us know. Additionally, your participation in this interview is voluntary and you may withdraw from the study at any time.

Introduction

1. Please introduce yourselves, and briefly describe your involvement with NADP since 2006.

Rationale and relevance

2. Based on your experience, are roles and responsibilities of various NADP stakeholders (LAC; CCA; Provincial/Territorial councils; and program recipients [including municipal, academic and private institutions]). clearly defined? Please describe how you anticipate these roles and responsibilities to evolve in the future.
3. Could you elaborate on the specific role of federal, provincial, and territorial governments in supporting archival activities? Is the level of support provided appropriate?
4. Recently, Library and Archives Canada introduced the Modernization Initiative (www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/modernisation/index-e.html) to adapt to an increasingly digital information landscape, and to ensure that LAC remains relevant to Canadians. The initiative involves “developing a new framework based on three pillars of documentary heritage: acquisition, preservation and resource discovery” (LAC, 2009).

   How, in your view, does NADP support this initiative and its objectives? How could it better support the initiative? Please provide specific examples.

Performance

5. Please discuss the extent to which NADP has been successful in achieving the following objectives from 2006-2011. (Please see Appendix A for a breakdown of activities for each objective.) What have some of the challenges been in achieving these objectives?

   Objective 1	Improving access to Canada's archival heritage through the national catalogue
   Objective 2	Increasing awareness and broadening use of Canada's archival heritage
   Objective 3	Increasing representation in Canada's archival heritage of Aboriginal Peoples and under-represented ethnocultural groups.
   Objective 4	Building the capacity of archival networks to undertake strategic and developmental activities.
   Objective 5	Building the capacity of archival institutions to preserve Canada's archival heritage.

6. Can you identify some of the lessons learned from NADP to date? How do you anticipate that these lessons will inform the future direction of the program, and of LAC in general?
7. To your knowledge, what unintended outcomes (positive or negative), if any, has the program had?
8. In your view, is NADP the most cost-effective way of supporting archival institutions in Canada? Taking into account the program's limited resources ($9M over five years), could the program's intended results be better achieved through alternative means?

Conclusion

9. Do you have any final thoughts on NADP?

Thank you for your participation.

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