Coalition and co-creation: the genesis of Archive Service Accreditation

Abstract

The recent creation of Archive Service Accreditation as a new standard for UK archives (2008–2013) is a major development in the archive and museum sectors, involving strategic and professional bodies across the home nations. This article explores the making of the new standard, revealing its close relationship with the UK’s long-running Museum Accreditation standard and the debate and deliberation that went into building a complementary scheme. The article revisits the original aims of Archive Service Accreditation, setting the context and chronology for the standard’s development during a time of major change for the archive and museum sectors. The innovative co-creation approach to writing the standard is explored, reflecting how this process shaped subsequent approaches to archives developments and what it revealed about professional worldviews. Most importantly, the article discusses key decisions and areas of difference which shaped the eventual approach to the standard, highlighting those areas of discussion which emerged through co-creation and the learning from Museum Accreditation in the design of the programme. The implementation of Archive Service Accreditation in the years following co-creation allows for a long view, reflecting on where areas of debate remain and which elements of Accreditation have become core to archive work.