The National Archives of Australia, through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), is assisting the National Archives of Solomon Islands to contribute to improved public sector governance and accountability in Solomon Islands.
Danielle Wickman, from the National Archives of Australia (NAA), is working as a technical adviser on recordkeeping with the National Archives of Solomon Islands (NASI). The project is funded by AusAID through the RAMSI Machinery of Government Program. The Solomon Islands Government requested assistance with its recordkeeping processes in response to the resolutions of 11th PARBICA conference, Reinventing Archives – Supporting Recordkeeping for Good Governance.
The project began with a baseline report on the recordkeeping capacity of the Solomon Islands Government. This report found that while existing records management procedures within government departments are very strong, they are not be applied to all of the records that the government creates, and there is not enough awareness of the importance of good recordkeeping for supporting accountability, transparency and efficient and effective service delivery.
As a result of these findings, NASI, with NAA’s assistance, is developing an updated and expanded records management procedures manual for all government departments. The new manual will include a records management policy for the whole of the Solomon Islands Government, and will define the responsibilities that all Solomon Islands public servants have for keeping full and accurate records of their activities. It will also update the existing procedures and provide greater explanation of the work that records managers do, so that all staff can understand the significance of their recordkeeping tasks and responsibilities.
The manual is being developed through a series of workshops involving significant stakeholders within government. This will allow the Solomon Islands Government to ensure that the new procedures are applicable to its own environment. Staff from key institutions such as the Finance and Prime Ministers’ departments, the Office of the Auditor-General, the Ombudsman’s Office and, of course, the Archives will be invited to participate in the development of the manual.