December 2008

From time to time CAARA may either initiate dialogue with or be approached by third party entities with a view to those entities using CAARA funds to engage in activities that might be of mutual benefit. This document presents the policy framework that should guide such discussions and deliberations. It also outlines the processes by which CAARA should deliberate and confirm its decisions in each case.

CAARA has a small annual budget that consists of funds contributed by member institutions. These funds are to be used to fund a limited number of projects and activities as approved by the CAARA membership. CAARA is not a funding body which can be approached by third parties wishing to apply for funding support for projects and initiatives.

Nevertheless, there will be times when CAARA may wish to provide funding to third parties for activities that are deemed to be in the collective strategic interests of the CAARA membership. An example of this occurred in July 2008 when CAARA decided to part fund the attendance of the Victorian Auditor-General and the New Zealand Deputy Ombudsman at the International Congress on Archives in Malaysia, so that they could speak at a session proposed by Australasia entitled “Archives and their Allies: Recordkeeping for Good Governance”.

Ideally, such case-by-case decisions should be made at one of the bi-annual CAARA meetings and documented in the agenda papers and minutes of those meetings. Often, however, this will not be possible due to the time critical nature of particular funding proposals. When such decisions need to be made out of session the proposal (including a clear rationale or business case) should be circulated to all CAARA members by email and individual responses should be recorded by the CAARA Secretariat. The details of the proposal and the out-of-session decision should then be recorded in the minutes of the next bi-annual CAARA meeting.