The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) launches A sustainable future for our digital assets , a new Strategic Plan for 2022 – 2027 today, alongside an accompanying program of new activities for the next 12 months.
Following a series of consultations with the DPC board, Member organizations and Supporters, the DPC’s new Strategic Plan focuses on building a thriving, collaborative and supported digital preservation community equipped and empowered to work together towards a sustainable digital legacy.
“2022 marks the DPC’s 20th Anniversary,” explains William Kilbride, Executive Director of the DPC. “The DPC’s founding manifesto identified it as the consequence and locus of concerted action among members to address shared digital preservation challenges. Our story has been defined by the challenges our members have faced as well as the value they have derived from collaboration as a community. DPC will continue to be the outcome and locus for such concerted action for as long as this is required, and our new Strategic Plan establishes how we will do that for the next 5 years at least.”
Reflecting the considerable international growth and diversification of the Coalition’s membership, and recognizing that digital preservation is a global challenge that is most effectively met by a community scaled to the challenge, the DPC’s Strategic Plan sets out five strategic objectives:
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Community: by offering a warm welcome to all agencies and individuals with an interest in digital preservation and providing an efficient and effective platform for meaningful and sustained professional exchange.
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Advocacy: by working towards a climate of public and institutional policy which is better informed and better inclined towards digital preservation.
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Workforce Development: by providing opportunities for our members to acquire, develop and retain competent and responsive workforces that are ready to address the challenges of digital preservation.
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Good Practice: by supporting our members towards greater maturity in digital preservation through knowledge exchange, continuous improvement, horizon scanning, advice on standards, authoritative publications, and engaging and informative events.
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Accountable, Sustainable and Dynamic Governance: by maintaining and enhancing our organizational functions and structures to ensure good governance.
The new Strategic Plan supports the DPC’s ongoing program of activities which is encapsulated in a new Prospectus for 2022-2023 , also released today.
With a membership around the world, the DPC’s program of activities is accessible across multiple time zones and geographies; presenting digital preservation topics specified by its members. Highlights include the celebration of the Digital Preservation Awards during the 18th International Conference on Digital Preservation (iPres 2022) which the DPC proudly hosts in its hometown Glasgow on 12-16 September 2022.
A focal point in the DPC's activities remains the online training offerings, while a program of briefing days will cater for different time zones, providing insight and advice on ‘Digital Preservation and Cyber Security,’ as well as ‘Metadata Standards,’ ‘Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning’ and ‘File Format Identification.’
The widely read series of authoritative and accessible Technology Watch Reports will continue investigations into the latest topical and technical issues encountered by DPC Members, with a report on ‘Preserving Digital Art’ planned for release within the year, with updates planned for the first editions of ‘Preserving Geospatial Data’ and ‘Digital Forensics and Preservation.’
The DPC will also continue to make a suite of resources freely available to support the entire community in their digital preservation activities. These include the ever-popular Digital Preservation Handbook which will begin a process of revision this year, while more translations of the DPC Rapid Assessment Model will enable practitioners around the world to model their digital preservation maturity. An update to the Digital Preservation Business Case toolkit will also be made available in 2022, providing a guide to writing a business case for digital preservation activities.
An international charitable foundation and advocate for digital preservation, the Coalition helps its members around the world to deliver resilient long-term access to digital content and services through community engagement, targeted advocacy work, training and workforce development, capacity building, good practice and standards, and through good management and governance. Its vision is a sustainable future for our digital assets.