Archivists and public sector reforms in Belgium Belgium for beginners Public sector reform: an overview The consequences for the archives The role of Belgian archivists in future administrative reforms Conclusion Karel Velle
1. Belgium for beginners “Belgium is a federal State composed of Communities and Regions” (1993) bipolar federalism 3 Communities: official administrative entities based on language: Dutch, French and German) 3 Regions: the Flemish Region, the Brussels-Capital region and the Walloon Region. 10 provinces 589 cities and municipalities
Belgium is a particularly complicated country for the non-initiated and quite an institutional mix-up
Belgian Official Journal evolution of the number of pages
2. Public sector reform in Belgium: the institutional reforms of the state the merging of the municipalities the five major state reforms (1970, 1980, 1988-1989, 1993, 2001-2003) the splitting of the province of Brabant on 1st January 1995 the modernisation of the federal administration under the impulse of the ‘New Public Management’, better known as the Copernicus reform (starting 2000) the sixth state reform (2012-2013)
2. Public sector reform in Belgium: the modernising of work processes the central electronic database of Social Security services (1990) e‑Health platform (2009) Paperless office
3.The consequences of the different public sector reforms for the archives Some reforms are less problematic than others with regard to archive management: when institutions are merged as a whole when competences are transferred entirely from one level of authority to another when new institutions are created
3.The consequences of the different public sector reforms for the archives Other reforms may cause problems for archives management: when institutions are suppressed and/or their competences are transferred to various other bodies when public bodies are privatised
3.The consequences of the different public sector reforms for the archives The role of archivists: from an ad hoc management towards a more pro-active policy Federal state: reform of the police forces (1998-2001) the NoVoRecord project at the federal public service Social Security (2008) sixth state reform – 16 protocol agreements: large number of stipulations on the management, appraisal, transfer and final destination of archives
3.The consequences of the different public sector reforms for the archives The role of archivists: from an ad hoc management towards a more pro-active policy Communities & regions: the role of the co-ordinating archives service within the Department of Administrative Affairs (Flemish authority) information management in a digital environment German-speaking Community: cooperation with the State Archives
4. The role of Belgian archivists in future administrative reforms Opportunities/positive evolutions politicians have come to realize the importance of a sound information management On all levels: ‘archives management’ training initiatives for public officers
4. The role of Belgian archivists in future administrative reforms Threats/ negative points archivists are not systematically involved in policy-making preparatives no structural financing for scientific research on archive linked topics (for ex. re-use of government information, appraisal of digital records, privacy protection…)
4. The role of Belgian archivists in future administrative reforms insufficient means for drafting archives management plans for entire public sector no additional funding for resolving the backlog with regard to appraisal and transfer of archives little credit for collaboration initiatives developed by archivists
5. Conclusion … new government in the making Hope… … new government in the making Preparing contacts with cabinet staffs Insisting on the need for more investments in order to modernize and improve access to public sector