Arkivverket has been commissioned by the Ministry of Culture to prepare a proposal for new archive regulations, and therefore invited to an input meeting on February 13 to get input to the work. The meeting was chaired by Elisabeth Harlem Eide, who is also leading the legal process. Special advisor Anne Mette Dørum from Novari was invited to the meeting. Anne Mette also participated in the Archives Act Committee, which presented a proposal for an archives act in 2019. The other participants represented Arkivforbundet, Kommunearkivinstitusjonenes digitale ressurssenter (KDRS), Norsk Arkivråd, NTNU, OsloMet and Arbeiderbevegelsens arkiv og bibliotek.
At the meeting, the Norwegian National Archives particularly wanted to discuss the scope and delimitation of the archiving obligation, requirements for information systems and requirements for technical descriptions of information systems.
The approach of the Norwegian National Archives is that they will create regulations that to a small degree say how the public sector should organize itself in order to comply with the Archives Act and regulations. Instead, the National Archives will focus on what it is desirable to achieve with the various provisions through a more function-based approach to what is to be done. There will also be fewer mandatory provisions (shall provisions), and a greater part of the assessment responsibility will be transferred to the organization itself (risk-based approach). Detailed technical requirements will be replaced by reference to international, national or National Archives Agency standards. Digdir's approach to regulating standards will be a starting point for further work on the provisions on standards.
The National Archives' supervisory activities will focus more on whether the organization has made the necessary risk-based assessments and documented them.
It was a good and constructive meeting. At a general level, all the representatives felt that the National Archives' approach to the regulatory work is both wise and correct. All participants generally agreed with the more topic-oriented discussions. The perception is that the National Archives listened well.
-"I think that the regulatory work does a good job of meeting the needs of the municipal sector, and carries forward the intentions of the Archives Act Committee," says Anne Mette.
The way forward is tentative:
- The legislative proposal will be presented to the Storting in spring 2024
- Proposal for new regulations will be sent for consultation after the legislative proposal has been submitted to the Storting
- The new Archives Act and new regulations will enter into force simultaneously on January 1, 2025.
-"It may be another transition for many in the public sector when the archive regulations can no longer be read as a recipe for how things should be done. At the same time, this is the right way to go, and in accordance with other regulations that place responsibility on the individual organization through a risk-based approach. I am absolutely certain that the National Archives will produce many good guides that support the new archiving regulations," concludes Anne Mette.
Pictured are: From left: Erland Ferrer-Pettersen (Arkivforbundet), Elisabeth Harlem Eide (Arkivverket), Liv Heidi Siljebråten (Norsk Arkivråd), Jorunn Bødtker (Norsk Arkivråd), Helga Hjorth (Arkivverket), Karianne Midtbø-Nilsen (Arkivverket), Synne Stavheim (Arkivverket), Anne Mette Dørum (Novari) Photo: Anja Vestvold, Norsk arkivråd
