Back to the Future: Archiving Residential Children's Homes (ARCH) in Scotland and Germany
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Stirling
Department Name: Applied Social Science
Abstract
There has been increasing interest in the ways in which children in state care have their lives recorded. This has occurred amid growing criticism of how they are supported to access such records and the type and quality of information being retained. To date, research has focused on individual care records which make little mentioned of the lived environment, staff and other children in the care setting. The political and policy response of Germany and Scotland to looked after care has been markedly different thus comparing these two nations allows an examination of the ways in which their cultural and political context impact record management practices. From the limited research undertaken in this area three significant gaps have emerged which the project seeks to address:
1.Many adult care leavers report disappointment with the limitations of individual care records and how little they hold about everyday life. What can we learn from historical, pre individualized, group care records about this?
2. Records have been viewed as written records (case notes, statutory reports, minutes of meetings) and have not included materials and objects produced or commonly used by children whilst in care. The historical analysis will explore what kind of data was stored in the past and, in phase two, the project will examine what might be included and valued in contemporary group care archives.
3.Care experienced adults have described the challenges of accessing information both in relation to the bureaucracy they face but also the impact on them of having to physically go back to ask permission to view their records.
This project will advance current understandings of the role that new technologies play in state-individual interactions and the extent to which such technologies offer an introductory, liminal, virtual space, free of face to face interactions with previous staff or residents. This proposed research seeks to examine historical records to identify where and how the everyday and group experiences were captured (or not). From this, using principles of open archiving and partnership to work with children, ex residents and staff in 2 residential children's homes (1 each in Scotland and Germany) it will develop living digital archives of each home. Participants will be asked to consider what is stored, how and for whom, as well as thinking through the ethical and moral dimensions of collective archives. The 'living' archives which are produced will include data capture mechanisms which will allow the research team to track their use, building up a picture of who champions and develops the archives, who accesses them and why. We are particularly interested in the possibility this work has for deepening our understanding of the inter-relationship between humans and technology and the potential that digital archives have in acting as a bridge or step toward re establishing contact with or beginning to explore one's past.
1.Many adult care leavers report disappointment with the limitations of individual care records and how little they hold about everyday life. What can we learn from historical, pre individualized, group care records about this?
2. Records have been viewed as written records (case notes, statutory reports, minutes of meetings) and have not included materials and objects produced or commonly used by children whilst in care. The historical analysis will explore what kind of data was stored in the past and, in phase two, the project will examine what might be included and valued in contemporary group care archives.
3.Care experienced adults have described the challenges of accessing information both in relation to the bureaucracy they face but also the impact on them of having to physically go back to ask permission to view their records.
This project will advance current understandings of the role that new technologies play in state-individual interactions and the extent to which such technologies offer an introductory, liminal, virtual space, free of face to face interactions with previous staff or residents. This proposed research seeks to examine historical records to identify where and how the everyday and group experiences were captured (or not). From this, using principles of open archiving and partnership to work with children, ex residents and staff in 2 residential children's homes (1 each in Scotland and Germany) it will develop living digital archives of each home. Participants will be asked to consider what is stored, how and for whom, as well as thinking through the ethical and moral dimensions of collective archives. The 'living' archives which are produced will include data capture mechanisms which will allow the research team to track their use, building up a picture of who champions and develops the archives, who accesses them and why. We are particularly interested in the possibility this work has for deepening our understanding of the inter-relationship between humans and technology and the potential that digital archives have in acting as a bridge or step toward re establishing contact with or beginning to explore one's past.
Organisations
- University of Stirling (Lead Research Organisation)
- National Records of Scotland (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- University of Osnabrück (Collaboration)
- Cornell University (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Aberlour Child Care Trust (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Careleaver Deutschland (Project Partner)
- Landesarchiv Berlin (Project Partner)
- Birthlink (Project Partner)
- Main Archive - Bethel (Project Partner)
- North Region - Bethel (Project Partner)
- IGfH (Project Partner)
Publications
Burns A
(2025)
Between plans and realities: Reflecting on experiences of participatory research in archiving residential Children's homes in Scotland and Germany
in Qualitative Social Work
Emond R
(2025)
Finding traces of everyday life in unusual places: looking beyond case files in German and Scottish residential child care
in European Journal of Social Work
Emond R
(2024)
Everyday records or living archives? An analysis of record-keeping in residential children's homes in Scotland
in Archives and Records
Emond, R
(2024)
The Memory Bank Guide for Staff
Emond, R
(2024)
The Memory Bank Quick Start Guide
Emond, R
(2024)
Phase Two Briefing Report
Heyen, M
(2023)
Remembering residential care together - interim results on the development of digital community archives for residential groupsHeimerziehung gemeinsam erinnern - Zwischenergebnisse zur Entwicklung digitaler Gemeinschaftsarchive für Wohngruppen. Forum Erziehungshilfen
in Forum Erziehungshilfen
Houston, C
(2023)
Who am I? (poem)
Lucas S
(2024)
Digital group archives in residential childcare: an investigation into memory responsibility
in Families, Relationships and Societies
Schäfer, Maximilian
(2023)
Schäfer, Maximilian/Eßer, Florian (2023): Heimerziehung erinnern. Befunde zu Erinnerungsstützen diesseits und jenseits institutioneller Archive.
in Sozial Extra
Schäfer, Maximilian
(2023)
Ererinnernbare Kindheit und Jugend in Heimerziehung - Befunde zur kustodialen Archivierung des Heimalltag am Beispiel Freistatt
in Neue Praxis
| Title | Who am I? Video recorded poem for ARCH on memorykeeping group life for children with care experience |
| Description | Video recorded poem for ARCH on memorykeeping group life for children with care experience. Written and performed by Craig Houston in 2023 and produced by the University of Stirling. Craig attended the June 2023 ARCH conference and listened to presenters and delegates and created this poem based on the discussions he heard and participated in. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The video is available on the ARCH website and will be used in teaching for the social work qualifying programmes at the University of Stirling. |
| URL | https://archproject.stir.ac.uk/resources/videos/ |
| Description | Phase one of the project is now complete. This involved documentary analysis Aberlour Child Care Trust archive from 1920-1980. We found that group life and everyday experiences were preserved incidentally; records were kept with the administrative needs of the organisation as the main focus. However, these incidental accounts were rich with information about how daily life was undertaken and the experiences children may have had. Aberlour produced a monthly magazine which not only acted as a means of fund raising but also served to maintain links with young people who had moved on from the orphanage. The senior staff were seen as keepers of memories and would be approached by ex residents for photographs, to answer questions about their time in the orphanage or as a source of support. The archive also contained data relating to young people taking collective action or advocating for themselves as a group. Data about everyday life was found in unexpected places, for example the medical logs. These were one of the few places where children's accounts were recorded, often verbatim. Phase two focused on the current experience of children, young people and care experienced adults in relation to accessing information about their everyday lives in the children's home. We undertook a year long period of participant observation alongside qualitative interviewing and photo elicitation exercises to explore views and experiences of recording and accessing records of everyday life as well as how this should be done in the future. From this, we co-developed open source software which was piloted in Germany and Scotland. The software was designed to support an online, interactive memory bank where adults and children could upload, share and comment on materials to help prompt and retain memories of times together. We then tracked the use of this for a further period. Key themes emerged from phase two. These included: 1. Memory Keeping Vs Record Keeping - when staff thought about memory keeping they were far more likely to capture and retain information about everyday childhood rather than recording of decision making or behaviour related events that children had been involved in. They also drew on personal memories of having materials/objects kept for them by key adults in their lives and what this had symbolised. 2. Responsibility for memory keeping - children and young people were clear that the responsibility for capturing and retaining memory objects should rest with adults. They viewed that their participation in these types of activities marked them as different from their peers, increasing their sense of otherness. 3. Collective remembering - the importance of having space and time to remember with others who had shared experiences was a central theme in the data. through these collective remembering moments, memories were revised and often new memories were created. This was viewed relationally - you need others to remember with you. |
| Exploitation Route | The findings challenge assumptions about how young people were helped to transition out of care and the role that orphanages played in this. They also suggest that advocacy and peer support are not a contemporary phenomena but rather were well established, albeit, informally throughout the last century. Recording practices, whilst limited in relation to individual children, offered significant glimpses into the everyday world of the orphanage, including the mistakes of staff. Such archival resources should be made available to care experienced adults , not limiting access to their individual care files. Phase two findings challenged assumptions relating to children's participation in record keeping. It went some way to challenge the limitations of 'record keeping' as a framework for capturing and retaining childhood memories for children looked after away from home. A number of care providers have taken on the ARCH software and have introduced in house discussions about how recording keeping should be approached in their agencies. We are in the process of developing a training pack which can be downloaded and delivered by agencies and local authorities to their staff. A free train the trainer event will take place in September 2025. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://archproject.stir.ac.uk/ |
| Description | We are still in the process of collecting data however phase one work has resulted in impact in some key areas: 1. Our work on ARCH has led to a private donation of a further personal archive which will be housed alongside Aberlour's archive at the University of Stirling. This personal collection provides many 'missing links' for adults who grew up in the orphanage including photographs 2. Our work with social work students has helped raise awareness and improve understanding of the impact of record keeping on the lives of the children and families that they will support. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | A further archive is donated to the University |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | We are in the process of digitising the materials to allow them to be accessed globally. The donation has meant that the archive is far richer, particularly in relation to photographs of children, staff and of the orphanage itself. |
| URL | https://www.stir.ac.uk/news/2022/august-2022-news/historic-childrens-home-archive-opens-with-donatio... |
| Description | Community of practice contribution |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Community of practice contribution |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Feedback from delegates following participation at the ARCH 2023 conference |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | These are quotes from care experienced individuals and/or academics Ideas for teaching To record everyday experiences not only difficult experiences International exchange Lots of connection made with people and with ideas. Memory is complicated Keep better records The complexity of memory making and record keeping Opened my mind to more questions about my day to day practise and my young people's future needs Planning for yp's future self From a foster carer Memories are important. Digital platforms need to develop ways of saving info for future Information professionals A collective voice Memories matter as much as records The importance of care records and the control care leavers have over their records The importance of collaboration The importance of memory making and keeping those memories whether ina output, photo or online There is a lot to think about when looking at our children's stories and how it's recorded Social Work/Children's Residential Home Managers We need to think about the child's memories of their whole care experience being in one place - not just about having memories for a chapter of their care experience The importance of creating and re-creating memories All the wonderful work being done. How we can do better Memories are important to young people. Though they might not appreciate til older. We all must play our part - together Recording our children's journey, keeping memories alive That so many came for the young people who are our future and how they see their past Practitioners How memories influence future identity Records matter The childcare and social work with children is in good hands Thinking about the significance of memories, objects and the plurality of authentic stories |
| Description | Influenced practice |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Students report a clearer understanding of the impact of poor recording on service users. they were able to see their role as 'memory keepers' and the responsibilities inherent in this. |
| Description | Residential School uses ARCH software and materials |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Harmeny are in the early stages of using the Memory Bank. From their attendance at the launch they report feeling inspired to reframe how memories and information for children are captured and retained. They are interested in the ways in which the memory bank might help support children and young people to more easily access information about their time at Harmeny in the future. |
| Description | Secure Unit utilises ARCH software |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Rossie are in the early stages of using ARCH materials and in particular the memory bank. A number of staff attended our phase two launch and reported a shift in their thinking relating to memory keeping vs record keeping. They described a shift in attitude to the value of holding on to materials and information for children and young people and making this accessible throughout their lives. |
| Description | The Care Inspectorate's reference to the ARCH project |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| URL | https://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/news/6988-technology-good-practice-guide |
| Description | Archives Revealed |
| Amount | £26,954 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The National Archives |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2022 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Advisory partnership |
| Organisation | Cornell University |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Colleagues at Cornell regard their involvement in the ARCH project as '...an opportunity to be involved in an exciting project that will contribute new information and insights in how to improve the quality of care and wellbeing for children and young people in children's homes'. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Colleagues from Cornell have been involved in discussions around the aim and approach of this project and the Residential Child Care Project at Cornell will continue to support this ARCH project through continuing as an advisor as well as working with technical staff members to create links on their website to this project and opportunities during our on-going events to disseminate promotional information as it is generated. Contribution will take the form of the Director of the RCCP's time as well technical staff time (3 days per year @ $1500 a day or $4500), and access to our networks and other resources. |
| Impact | The project is still in its infancy - no outputs as yet |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Industry Partner - child care provider |
| Organisation | Aberlour Child Care Trust |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We have worked closely with Aberlour in the development of this project. Aberlour are keen to improve their 'memory keeping' practices in relation to children who use their residential services. By getting involved in the project they have had to look at what is current practice. In addition, Aberlour have, as a result of this collaboration, moved their entire records and archive to the University of Stirling where it will be preserved and housed going forward. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Aberlour will allow the research team to access the historical records of one of our children's homes (1920 - 1980) and the data they currently collect. One of the assistant directors will take part in the project steering group as well as offering my direct support throughout the project; he has overall responsibility for the operation of our care homes in Scotland. Aberlour will also contribute access to other key staff including our Admissions and Programmes Manager, Quality and Safeguarding Manager. A group of residential workers will attend a minimum of 4 workshops and individual interviews. Staff will also support young people through the consent process and their involvement in the project. Aberlour have offered the research team space in their premises to conduct the focus groups and individual interviews. In total this will be an 'in kind' contribution of £22,750. |
| Impact | The collaboration involves social work academic, archival scientists and social pedagogues. To date there has been one conference presentation (see outputs) |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Industry collaboration |
| Organisation | National Records of Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The ARCH project is a research partnership between colleagues at the University of Stirling and the University of Osnabruck. It is also a collaboration between the academic teams and a number of what could be seen as 'industry or agency' partners. The National Records of Scotland are currently exploring the types of records that are retained for children in state care. They are very interested in our project and the piloting of a 'group care' record in the form of a living archive. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The National Records of Scotland have significant expertise in the legal and policy requirements relating to the retention of records relating to children and young people in state care. As an active member of our steering group, Hugh Hagan (the keeper of the records) provides expert guidance and support. |
| Impact | This is the first year of the project and therefore there are not formal outputs as yet. The research team have been networked into a wider networks of policy makers and NGOs who are involved in care records. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Research collaboration |
| Organisation | University of Osnabrück |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The ARCH project was jointly funded by the DFG and AHRC. We developed and submitted the proposal in partnership with colleagues from the University of Osnabruck. The project will be undertaken in collaboration with them. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Osnabruck collaboration allows the opportunity for cross national comparisons on a wide range of conceptual and theoretical levels. Given that the project is in its early stages comparisons have focused on research process and ethics. We meet on a monthly basis with the German research team and twice a year we bring our two steering groups together. |
| Impact | The funding application was successful. There has been one conference paper (Back to the Future - Memory archiving of Residential Children as a generational de-boundary) at the"Generational relations and education: interdisciplinary reflections on the current process of imposing and removing boundaries" symposium which forms part of the annual DGfE-Congress 2022. The project is multi-disciplinary and includes archival scientists, social work and social pedagogue academics. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Title | ARCH sofware |
| Description | A group archive that allows individuals with care experience to share information, pictures, soundbites and videos with other staff and residents. The software is a prototypical Django web-application of an online platform for sharing and archiving multimedia files, a digital community archive for children and young people in residential care to preserve digital records of their childhood, youth and everyday life in care. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | The archive is currently being tested at a residential children's home. Through a participatory approach, accompanied by interviews, field visits and workshops, in collaboration with members of two residential care groups, one in Germany and one in Scotland, pedagogical, legal, and technical requirements for digital community archives in the context of residential care were elaborated, and a reference implementation of such a digital community archive was developed. The two groups used the platform to create an extensive collection of digital records, and could access and view these records on demand. |
| Description | ARCH as a case study in research methods teaching |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Final year BA social work students were introduced to the Aberlour archive and ways to use records in social research and their own recordkeeping practice as social workers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | ARCH input in the 'Who do you think you are?' Magazine pp.66-67 May 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Fundraising brochure, 1925 ARCH input in the 'Who do you think you are?' Magazine pp.66-67 May 2023 Written by Karl Magee |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Aberlour Time Line |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | We have created a dynamic time line which maps the key historical moments in the life of the orphanage as gathered through analysis of the archive. The time line includes extracts from oral histories gathered by the ARCH team as well as photographs and extracts from written sources. Aberlour have now embedded the timeline in their public facing website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://archproject.stir.ac.uk/welcome-to-the-arch-project/project-aims/phase-one-the-past/timeline/ |
| Description | Archiving Residential Children's Homes (ARCH): Exploring memorkeeping in childcare. An event for people with care experience, practitioners, policymakers and academics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 56 people registered for the conference and attended, there were presentations by academics and practitioners working on different memory keeping work connected with people with care experience, including presentations by the ARCH team. There were questions and answers about record keeping practices. Subsequently new connections were forged, new ways of working to store memories and records by staff working in residential settings and visits after the conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Berlin Blog |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Blog about the research team's trip to Berlin |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://archproject.stir.ac.uk/2023/10/25/berlin-blog/ |
| Description | Blog post on initial findings from phase one |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This post outlined the work of the steering group and presented some of the key findings from phase one. It outlined some of the questions posed to steering group members and described some of the discussion which followed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://archproject.stir.ac.uk/2022/02/10/off-the-record-finding-group-life-in-the-aberlour-archive/ |
| Description | Conference Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a presentation entitled 'Back to the future: Memory archiving of residential children as a cross-generational responsibility' at the DFG annual international conference. It was our first opportunity to present on the joint project. As there was a delay in the start of the Scottish project as a result of COVID-19 restrictions it has been helpful to consider initial analysis of the historical archive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.conftool.org/dgfe2022/index.php?page=browseSessions&form_session=104 |
| Description | Conference Presentation: The Joint Conference on Social Work, Education & Social Development, Panama |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Sian Lucas presented findings from the ARCH project at The Joint Conference on Social Work, Education & Social Development, in Panama. The title of the project was 'Keeping memories of everyday group experiences in residential children's homes' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Conference presentation Germany |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Conference: Schäfer, Maximilian (2023): Erinnerbare Jugend in Freistätter Erziehungsheimen. Befunde zur kustodialen Geschichtsarchivierung am Beispiel des Hauptarchivs Bethel. Vortrag im Kolloquium des Instituts für Diakonie- und Sozialgeschichte, 15.02.2023, Bielefeld. The translated title is: Memorable Youth in Residential Care Homes of Freistatt - Findings on Custodial Archiving of History using the Example of the Main Bethel Archive |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Discussion with practitioners in Germany |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The first phase of the ARCH project were presented to and discussed with scientists, practitioners, and archivists of the Institute of Diaconial Science at Bielefeld Bethel. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Everyday records or living archives? Creating a new standard for record-keeping in residential care homes in Scotland and Germany |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Karl Magee from ARCH and project partner Hugh Hagan from the National Records of Scotland detailed the rationale and set-up of the ARCH project to the ICA-SUV Conference. Their presentation outlined some of the key aspects of the ARCH project, including the unique regulatory context in Scotland created by the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011, the relationships between partner organisations, and the specific challenges posed by the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.ica.org/en/suv-annual-conferences/suv-conference-2021 |
| Description | Facilitated partner agency (Birthlink) institutional visit to Germany |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | ARCH facilitated a visit by social worker, Laura MacDonald from Birthlink to visit Osnabruck University Germany and the Bethal archive (v. Bodelschwinghsche Stiftungen Bethel). Laura took findings about memory keeping practices and archives in Germany back to her professional practice in Scotland and is since planning to apply for a PhD on memorykeeping, inspired by the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Field trip to Germany: Deviations and discovery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Blog about an agency partner and academic's fieldtrip to Osnabrück University and the Bethal archive (v. Bodelschwinghsche Stiftungen Bethel) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://archproject.stir.ac.uk/2023/12/11/field-trip-to-germany-deviations-and-discovery/ |
| Description | First Blog Post |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This first blog post focused on the ethical issues involved in accessing and using historical archives for the purposes of research. It also explored the idea of 'ownership' of archives and care records. We are keen to keep interested parties (including care experienced adults) up to date with the progress of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://archproject.stir.ac.uk/ |
| Description | Meeting with Aberdeen City Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Meeting with management and IT colleagues to discuss the Memory Bank software and how it could be implemented within residential homes in the Aberdeen local authority area |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Meeting with Harmeny Residential Education |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Meeting with management and IT colleagues to discuss the Memory Bank software and how it could be implemented at Harmeny Residential Schools |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Meetings with Aberlour senior executive, trustees and staff to discuss the project and next steps |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Meetings with trustees, management and IT colleagues from Aberlour to discuss their involvement in the ARCH project and the development on the Memory Bank software, focusing on future use for residential homes; children, young people, staff and care experienced adults. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation about ARCH and the Memory Bank to Rossie Residential Care |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Meeting with management, staff and IT colleagues to discuss the Memory Bank software and how it could be implemented at Rossie Residential Care services. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation about using technology to support people in care |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Andrew Burns presented Using technology to support people experiencing care webinar on 21st March 2023 - webinar below to 250+ attendees as part of Scottish Government's technology enabled care (TEC) . Following on from this, we were contacted by Glasgow City Council's Residential Team and went to present on ARCH and discuss memory keeping with all the managers of their residential children's homes. Contact there has also followed ARCH closely and they came to first ARCH event in 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Scottish archives Year in Scottish Archives' annual for the archives and records community |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The ARCH project was reported in two articles in this annual magazine which is distributed to the archives and records community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.scottisharchives.org.uk/latest/scottish-archives-and-records-annual-review/ |
| Description | Treasuring memories: Findings from ARCH 20th |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A day exploring the findings of the ARCH project. This cross-national project looked at how the everyday group care experiences of children and young people in residential care are captured and preserved, in Scotland and Germany. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://archproject.stir.ac.uk/event-details/ |
| Description | UK Conference presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | EUSARF conference, Sussex September 2023 Belonging and memory of a Shared Everyday Life. Findings on the Development of Digital Group Archives for Members of Residential Homes, presented by Dr. Maximilian Schäfer, Prof. Florian Eßer, Prof. Ruth Emond, Dr Andrew Burns |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Using technology to support people experiencing care webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Andrew Burns presented ARCH findings at a webinar to 250+ attendees. Of which, over 500 were registered Scottish Government's technology enabled care (TEC) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |