How to compile an appraisal

report

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How to compile an appraisal report

Contents
Part A

Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2

What is an appraisal report? ................................................................................................ 2

Macro-appraisal principles at The National Archives ........................................................... 3

Stages in drafting an appraisal report .................................................................................. 4

Roles and responsibilities .................................................................................................... 6

Part B

Instructions for compiling an Appraisal Report .............................................................. 7

Executive summary .................................................................................................................... 7

Section 1

Background information .......................................................................................... 9

Section 2

Material transferred to The National Archives in the past ..................................... 10

Section 3

Analysis of types of records .................................................................................. 10

Section 4

Proposals for The National Archives selection ..................................................... 15

Section 5

Additional information and follow-up ..................................................................... 15

Part A
1

Introduction

What is an appraisal report?

The appraisal report serves three purposes:

It provides structured information about the responsibilities, work and
records of organisations so that appraisers can identify records of potential
historial value
It is a transparent record of decisions on the selection of digital records for
permanent preservation
It is the guide to subsequent selection of specific records from an
organisations Electronic Document and Records Management System
(EDRMS), shared drives, databases and other digital formats, as well as, where
relevant, from records created in hybrid formats
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It has been developed especially for appraising managed and unmanaged digital records in UK
government agencies, NDPBs and so on, but can be used for a variety of other purposes to:
make archival appraisal decisions for digital records produced within a division or
directorate of a central government department
make archival appraisal decisions for hybrid records (such as shared drives plus paper
files)
collect background information to rationalise paper review
collect background information for retention scheduling
provide evidence of records management and retention scheduling for FOI s46
assessment purposes
The appraisal report is therefore an appraisal tool in the widest sense of the word, although
originally developed to aid historical selection.

Macro-appraisal principles at The National Archives

The appraisal report springs from certain macro-appraisal principles. These are stated in broad
terms in The National Archives Appraisal Policy, and other documents available on the Appraisal
page of The National Archives website.
More detailed interpretations of macro-appraisal have been developed in the client manager
unit. The following broad principles apply:
2.1

Before selection there must be a phase of reflection and research so that the
organisation and its role in government is understood. The phase includes
understanding an organisations functions and also identifying the key operational
and policy records it produces. The view of the work of the organisation as a whole
allows for broad assessments of the historical value of the records to be made.

2.2

Some organisations have more valuable records than others.When making appraisal
decisions The National Archives distinguishes between the records of central
government departments and their agencies/Non-Departmental Public Bodies and so
on. Among agencies the work of the Pesticides Safety Directorate, for instance, is

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more complex and of greater potential impact on society as a whole than that of the
National Weights and Measures Laboratory, or the Fire Service College. Measuring
the importance of each agency is not an exact science and should be explained in
the Executive summary of the report so that the appraisers assumptions are evident.
The volume and detail of the records selected from an agency depends on this
assessment of its role in government and its impact on society, the economy and the
environment.
2.3

Macro-appraisal involves a co-ordinated approach across government to certain types

of records. Some existing Operational Selection Policies (OSPs) either dictate
selection (Internal administration, publications) or provide selection criteria to steer
selection decisions (Internal administration, publications, committees, inspection
reports). The number of generic OSPs will gradually increase and will need to be
considered as part of this appraisal process, in addition to any
subject/theme/organisation-based OSPs relevant to the organisation. Existing OSPs
are listed on The National Archives website by subject and by number.

2.4

While the appraisal report allows for the structured recording of information to assist
decisions, selection continues to be based on two broad criteria - the documentation of
what government did, why and how, and the value of the records for future historical
research. Both criteria are effectively summarised in the Acquisition and disposition
strategy.

Stages in drafting an appraisal report

The appraisal report will be a dynamic document until all selection decisions are completed.
The very last stage in the appraisal process is the selection of records. For digital records this is
to be done through a transfer schedule listing file paths. Hence the production of the transfer
schedule is the last stage of the appraisal process and the trigger for the transfer process.
To complete a transfer schedule the broad decisions in the appraisal report must be translated
into the selection of specific file paths. As specific records are studied in the course of this

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process some appraisal decisions in the report may have to be modified. Given these
complexities, there are three stages corresponding to three drafts of the report:
Stage 1

The basic information about the department and the types of records it
produces is entered. Preliminary proposals are made for the sort of material
The National Archives wishes to select.

Stage 2

This is how the appraisal report looks after a client manager/departmental

discussion of the first draft, including where possible consideration of the file
plan and other digital records that are revealed in that process. Specific
decisions for groups of records have been made.

Stage 3

This is the final draft when the client manager and DRO have converted the
broad decisions in the report into specific selections of digital records (for
example, specific file paths for records in file plans) and these have been
entered onto a transfer schedule. The process of turning the broad decisions in
the report into specific selections involves a look at the actual content of the
records and this might necessitate changes to the appraisal decisions. For
example, committee papers might prove to be anodyne and the material better
collected elsewhere; or case files prove to be more routine and less informative
than anticipated and the decision is made to select a database instead.

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Roles and responsibilities

Table 1 provides an overview of the appraisal and selection process, demonstrating roles and
responsibilities, sources of information and expected outcomes for each stage of the process.
Table 1: Roles, responsibilities and timetables
Activity

Responsible
person

Sources of information

Stage 1: Gather background

information and fill in sections 1, 2 and
as much of section 3 as possible

Client
manager

Websites, civil service

yearbooks, annual and
departmental reports,
The National Archives
catalogue,
departmental intranet

Stage 1: Meet with DRO and complete

section 3

Client
manager and
DRO

As above;
DRO/business unit
knowledge/The
National Archives
catalogue
As above

Stage 1: Revise sections 1-3 in the

Client
light of discussion make draft Executive manager
summary and send completed first
draft to the DRO
Stage 2: Hold discussion in department
or at The National Archives, with DRO
present and using the departments file
plan if possible.
It may be necessary to undertake
folder review for some areas of policy.
A review sheet is available from ICMU
for this
Stage 2: Revise Executive Summary
and sections 1-3 of the appraisal report
in the light of discussion and send to
DRO
Stage 3: Meet DRO in department, with
access to the file plan to go through
second draft and identify the specific
file paths which should be selected.
Make the checks listed in section 5 of
the report as necessary

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Outcome

Appraisal
report first
draft

Client
manager +
DRO +
Inspection and
Client
Manager Unit
(ICMU)

Client
manager

Appraisal
report
second draft

DRO and
Client
manager

Transfer
schedule
first draft

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Stage 3: Revise appraisal report in the

light of selection decisions and through
discussion with DRO. Complete
sections 4 and 5

Client
manager and
DRO

Appraisal
report third
draft

Stage 3: Complete transfer schedule.

This stage will include time to consider
FOI and Data Protection issues.
Guidance on this is in development

DRO

Transfer
schedule
signed

Part B

Instructions for compiling an Appraisal Report

In compiling the report it is important that client managers and reviewers adopt an integrated
approach. The report is broken into sections but each is related to the others. Describing
functions should not be an academic exercise but conducted with thoughts about the potential
records involved and potential appraisal values.While assessments made in the Executive
summary will inform appraisal, it will also be the case that knowledge of the records recorded in
section 3 will influence such assessments. Other scenarios may be that Section 1 needs to be
revised in the light of information discovered while researching section 3; or that the client
managers view of the value of the departments records changes at the stage of filling in the
transfer schedule.
While much of the commentary addresses the records of an agency, the same principles can
apply to records of central departments.

Executive summary
This section should be brief (500 words), giving an overview of the information and appraisal
decisions made in the report. It may be filled in at any point in the development of the report, but
should be completed, even in an initial form for each draft of the report.
This executive summary has two purposes:
to assess the significance of the organisations records against the collection themes
listed in the The National Archives Acquisition and Disposition Policies
to summarise the records to be selected with arguments presented where important types
of records have not been selected

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It will essentially be left to the client manager to highlight those aspects which s/he thinks will
best allow others to assess the historical value of the organisations records. The essential
elements to address are:
How relevant is the Agencys work, either for present or future purposes, to a majority of
the population whether that population be human, businesses, organisations, animals,
minerals, flora, or other aspects of the physical environment?
How relevant are the records to the collection themes of the Acquisition and Disposition
Policies?
general historical value of the records
Answering these questions as early as possible may lead swiftly to the conclusion that there is
little of archival value. In this case it may only be necessary to fill in section 1 and the executive
summary of the report and not go deeply into the other areas. A simple recommendation in such
a case might be to take nothing or just to ensure that the Annual Reports are preserved.
Additional information could cover the following issues:
To what extent is policy development or information about operational activities covered
through committee papers?
To what extent do publications provide information on the agency and its impact?
To what extent is the information of historical value reflected in a database or a set of
case files, and what selection recommendations are made of these?
To what extent is it necessary or desirable to capture additional material (apart from
committees, publications databases) to show policy developments in accordance with
an existing OSP?
Are there recurrent issues or crisis events, for example, railway or aircraft accidents,
outbreaks of disease, industrial disputes, where the agencys handling of the situation is
likely to be of historical interest?
Is there scientific information and what steps have been taken to ensure the
preservation of information and its disposition is in place?

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Section 1 Background information

Numbers in this part refer to the numbered sections of the Appraisal Report
1.3

Annual budget

This and the next question may give some indication of the importance of the work of agency
1.4

Number of employees

It may be useful to indicate where a very high proportion of the workforce are doing very routine
work such as processing driving licences or applications for premium bonds.
1.5

Hybrid records

Indicate where these exist, the classification schemes used to track them. Indicate whether paper
records should be selected or EDRMS or other digital system. It is important to establish at an
early stage the comprehensiveness of the corporate record in the electronic file plan. It may be
that this will indicate that the records The National Archives selects are wholly in paper form.
1.6

Background, functions and activities

This is a very important section and needs to cover:

a brief administrative history
a summary of the statutory duties of the organisation with reference to specific legal
provisions
This section should summarise the organisations statutory duties, rather than using its mission
statements and business targets. The latter are likely to have an element of spin of temporary
interest, whereas The National Archives needs to assess an organisations core purposes and
therefore what is likely to be of longer-lasting interest.
1.7 1.8

Relationship with parent department

This section is of relevance only in the case of an agency:

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State if any framework document exists

Indicate where the agency has a policy-making role and the nature of that role
Indicate any areas of overlap with the work of the parent department
1.9

Relationship with other agencies/NDPBs

Indicate where there is overlap with the work of other agencies
Indicate where statutory / independent committees scrutinise, oversee or monitor the work
of the agency (for example, The National Archives Advisory Council, PSDs Pesticides
Advisory Committee)

Section 2 Material transferred to The National Archives in the past

Enter the series numbers and titles of accessioned material. Where the content of the series is
not clear from the title provide some extra information, for example, to show the case files that
have been taken or the nature of the policy work on registered files.
Entering details here is not intended to indicate that The National Archives should select the
same material now as it did in the past, but it provides a steer and might highlight where The
National Archives is radically departing from former practice. In such cases it may be necessary
to refer to the Records Review Panel for approval.

Section 3 Analysis of types of records

Numbers in this part refer to the numbered sections of the appraisal report.
This part of the report analyses types of records - committees, policy development, operational
records, publications, databases, and internal administration. In the initial phases information
needs to be collected so that judgements can be reached to complete the executive summary.
However, time should not be spent on section 3 if it is apparent already, or swiftly becomes
apparent, that the agency contributes little of historical value, judged against The National
Archives Acquisition Policy criteria and relevant OSPs. In these cases a swift review of the
records created through a discussion with the DRO may be all that is necessary to confirm an
initial impression and the executive summary can be completed with a few key records identified
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where necessary. On the other hand, some agencies and all central departments will be
considered of such importance that the digital equivalent of registered files will need to be
considered. In such cases The National Archives can supply the DRO or client manager with a
review sheet. This would be used, however, in conjunction with the appraisal report to direct and
focus any folder review.
3.1

Committee structure within the agency or parent department, relevant committees

directing the work of the organisation but independent of the agency and its parent
department

For historical appraisal purposes it is only necessary to list committees related to core statutory
duties. It is especially important to note the work of statutory committees.
For some agencies all significant decisions might be concentrated in one or two very high level
committees. Other agencies might have a web of technical committees below that, although
these might again report to higher committees. An agency with such a web of technical
committees will therefore have a recognisable committee structure and this should be noted with
decisions put forward on the extent to which the lower committees should be selected.
Distinguish between committees making decisions which affect the tenor of a core element of the
agencys work and those which are project boards. For example, the decisions of The National
Archives Records Review Panel influence the very nature of the archive, set precedents, and
may be used as a source of accountability, and the minutes and papers should be selected for
these reasons. Project boards need to be selected, if at all, on the basis of how they fit into other
elements covered in this report. For instance, The National Archives committees on the 1901
census should be selected because the introduction of the digitised census is an important event
in the history of the archive and other policy papers on this might also be selected. Such project
boards are not part of a committee structure and therefore do not all need to be listed here, but
should be referred to as necessary under section 3.7.
To assess the value of the different committee records check the value of the minutes and
papers; for example, they might be anodyne and simply a string of action points. Indicate also
where the records of committees selected for permanent preservation are held in digital or paper
systems (there is a tendency for organisations to duplicate copies of committee papers and The
National Archives needs to understand their correct provenance).

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Further guidance is provided in OSP 35 - Board and committee papers.

3.2

Areas of policy work undertaken

This section is gathering information in order to determine the extent and types of policy
development which needs to be considered. As a result of the analysis in this section it should be
possible to decide whether the policy elements of the file plan require review. A review sheet
should then be completed and attached to the Report.
The following categorisation of the types of policy work undertaken in government departments
should be used to help this analysis
a) Making or contributing to policy decisions of an immediate, broad impact on domestic
or international events and conditions, for example, foreign policy, policing, asylum and
other legal cases, deployment of troops, setting the budget, intervention on foreign
exchanges
b) The development, advice on, communication of primary legislation whether that be
decided at a national or European level, including work on White or Green Papers (The
National Archives work on a new archives legislation fits here)
c) The development of secondary legislation in the UK this is through statutory
instruments which tend to regulate the way operations are carried out and have legal
force (for example, the Civil Aviation Authoritys work centres around the production of
statutory instruments)
d) Advice on carrying out primary or secondary legislative provisions but without any
legal force (all The National Archives standards and operational policies including for
example the Acquisition Policy would fit here)
e) Decisions affecting the way an organisation conducts its core operations. This may
include decisions setting precedents, illustrating legislative intricacies, impinging on
wider political developments. The decisions may show the development of visionary or
mission statements, the response to technical change, or summaraise the
organisations work.

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3.3

Operational work

For agencies this will be the most important and most complicated section of the report and will
require significant departmental input. However, client managers can make an initial attempt
using information gleaned while completing sections 1 and 2. The list of types of operations has
been compiled from appraisals carried out to date and it may be necessary to add a new
operational activity as a result of completing an appraisal report. It is important that operations
are listed which are core to the agencys statutory functions.
Activities relating to internal functions do not need to be listed here, but areas for potential
selection should be noted at 3.8
Generic OSPs provide further guidance on the selection of different types of operational records.
In addition the guidance in other OSPs relating to specific departments, subjects or function
should also be consulted in making appraisal decisions here and in other sections of the report.
3.4

Other Electronic formats

Datasets
Datasets consist of records created in the course of carrying out operations and represent
a digital form of case files. Any dataset identified as central to the agencys statutory
operational work in section 3.3 should be listed here. Datasets are listed separately
because, although each dataset may be a record of one operational activity, the
organisation may have used it for other purposes also and The National Archives needs to
assess where the information is in its most complete and/or most research-friendly form.
The same process should obtain for the other electronic formats:
Image Library
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Websites
3.5

Publications produced by the organisation

This information is needed because official publications produced by the department - either with
or without an ISBN or ISSN number - may capture sufficiently an area of work of the department,
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whether that be policy development work or, for instance, statistics on a departments operational
side summarising information in a database. The appraisal notes should therefore indicate
whether the preservation of the Agencys publications reduces the need for further selections
from the internal records.
Preservation of publications and grey literature is decided in accordance with OSP36.
3.6

Scientific records

Comment here on the nature of the records with scientific data which are produced by the
organisation where these have not been picked up in section 3.3 and 3.4.
3.7

Significant Issues

For agencies The National Archives will seek to minimise review of folders through selection of
key committee papers, core operational records and databases.
However, many agencies create records of future interest around significant issues. These will
either be headline events which occur infrequently (major railway crash, outbreak of disease), or
long-simmering issues. A simple list should be inserted here with some appraisal comments.
These may be further identified if a mini review is considered necessary. The need for folder
review should be explained in this section.
For central government departments, The National Archives will similarly seek to minimise
review of folders through identification of key functions, committees, publications and
databases, and through identifying where policy development is concentrated.
Identifying the significant issues handled by a division or directorate will aid this process.
3.8

Internal Administration

OSP 38 indicates what is to be selected and gives guidance on OSP15 and OSP17 which
identify financial and estates records to be preserved.

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Section 4 Proposals for The National Archives selection

This section will be the basis of the transfer schedule. It should list the records which The
National Archives intends to select for permanent preservation (assuming the checks detailed
below support such a conclusion).
They should be listed under the following headings:
committees
databases
case files
significant issues to be tracked either through keeping an eye on new databases created
or through the electronic equivalent of registered policy files
agency programme as laid down by sponsoring department
a summary of records selected through folder review

Section 5 Additional information and follow-up

Numbers in this part refer to the numbered sections of the Appraisal Report
5.1

Additional Checks

The following issues indicate where proposals made in the appraisal report need to be supported
by scrutiny of the contents of files and folders held in digital form. For each of the areas listed
below a brief account of the check made and conclusions drawn from this should be recorded.
This process should take place in Stage 3 of the process, when selections are being made from
the digital collection.
OSPs
quality of committee minutes and papers
nature of documents included in any case files selected and the sort of
information provided
location and provenance of records identified
relationship with paper records especially in any hybrid situation

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5.2

Impact on records of other departments

Decisions to select or not to select policy and other records will depend on assumptions made
about or knowledge of the policy records created in the parent department. If it is felt that some
policy records related to the work of the department must be kept for the records to be complete
or of value to researchers a note should be made here.
5.3

Implications of the report for the appraisal of an agencys paper records

It may be possible to use the decisions in this report to help paper review.
5.4

Follow-up

Indicate here:
when the appraisal report will be reviewed
what procedures need to be established in the agency to ensure big issues, datasets etc
are captured in the way indicated in the report

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