Decide your overall approach
You should begin by deciding how you will use your outcomes framework, the type of framework you want and who you will involve in developing it.
Decide who you need to provide with evidence
Think about who you need to provide evidence to about the contribution of archives to local outcomes.
For example, is it commissioners of specific services such as children’s services or health, councillors or Board members who are interested in the ‘big picture’? Perhaps it’s colleagues in another department such as adult social care or an external organisation or funding body?
Choose to create either a generic framework or theme-based framework(s)
Think about how you will use your outcomes framework to help you decide which approach to take.
Use a generic framework to give a broad overview of how your archive contributes to local priorities and covers a number of policy themes. This is also a good approach as part of a service review, or in preparing for Archive Accreditation, as it will capture the totality of your contribution.
Or develop a theme-based framework to show in more detail the contribution archives make to outcomes under one or more specific policy themes, such as health and wellbeing, stronger and safer communities or learning and education. They will be most useful if you want to influence decision makers or potential partners in another sector or service area.
Plan who will lead and be involved in the process
Decide who to involve in developing your framework and how you will manage it. Creating the framework will need some dedicated time. Who will lead the process? Will the framework be developed as part of a team meeting or separate outcomes planning session? You may decide to task an individual or small project group.
If you work in a local authority you may decide to draft the framework through a session involving councillors and officers from different services or by involving service commissioners. Think about whether or how to involve your corporate policy and performance unit, scrutiny boards and representatives from relevant local strategic partnerships for example.
If you work for other organisations you may want to involve strategic decision-makers in developing your framework e.g. the Vice Chancellor, departmental heads, directors, or Board of Trustees.
Also consider whether you want to focus solely on the work of your service or whether it would be beneficial to work with others.
For example, if you are part of a broader cultural service, then it may be appropriate to develop a team framework.
You may want to involve external partners from voluntary organisations such as community archives or residents’ associations, to encourage them to adopt the framework or you may need them to help provide evidence and data.
Once you have decided which approach will be of most use, follow the remaining stages to develop your outcomes framework. You will need to repeat them for each policy area if you are creating more than one theme-based framework.