This is an update to our existing EqIA and the aim is to review our impact on a range of people with protected characteristics.
1. Initial information
Name of the policy, project, strategy, project or service being assessed:
Dorset History Centre (Archives Service and Historic Environment Record)
2. Is this a (please delete those not required):
Review of service
3. Is this (please delete those not required):
Both internal and external
4. Please provide a brief overview of its aims and objectives:
'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it' (George Santayana, 1905)
Dorset History Centre (DHC), home of the Joint Archives Service, exists to preserve and make accessible the archival heritage of Bournemouth, Christchurch, Dorset and Poole. DHC also holds the Dorset Local Studies Library collection.
Archives (documents, photographs, maps, plans, film and sound recordings and digital files) represent a tiny percentage of the total records created during human activity. Archives help us understand the places we inhabit together with the socio- political and economic decisions which have contributed to the world as it is today. DHC preserves around 9,000 collections and promotes access to them by the public. An active programme of education and outreach is pursued in accordance with this objective.
It is free to view records on site at DHC and to access our catalogue online. We also encourage anyone with archival material to consider placing it with DHC so that it can be cared for and made available. A key principle of the archive service is that of democratic and unfettered access to information.
DHC recognises that our collections represent some sections of society better than others, and that our customers and stakeholders do not yet reflect the diversity of Dorset. We work to address this through targeted outreach and contemporary community collecting.
The Dorset History Centre is also home to the Historic Environment Record (HER) and Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS). The PAS is a national project to encourage metal detector users and other members of the public to record the objects they find through a Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) onto a publicly accessible online database. The scheme is jointly funded by the British Museum, Dorset Council and the South West Heritage Trust. The Dorset FLO is based at the DHC and liaises with the public through attendance at metal detecting clubs, and outreach to local museums and other venues.
The HER is a record of historic buildings and archaeological finds and features in the county. Information in the HER underpins the work of Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in areas such as planning and land management, historic buildings, finds identification, and research. The HER is managed for public benefit and in accordance with national standards; it is consulted by national and local government, landowners, developers, utilities, professional and amateur archaeologists, students, and anyone with an interest in the history and archaeology of Dorset.
Please provide the background to this proposal.
This review aims to re-examine DHC’s access arrangements – online and on site - to ensure that all staff are aware of the challenges which those wishing to use our service may face and the steps we routinely take to work towards equity of access. In addition, we aim to identify any actions we can take to improve the experience of all those who wish to make enquiries, visit the collections or volunteer with us.
Evidence gathering and engagement.
5. What sources of data, evidence or research has been used for this assessment? (e.g national statistics, employee data):
- National census 2021
- Consultation – online survey 2022
- Consultation – focus groups in low-income areas 2022
- DHC volunteers’ equal opportunities monitoring form
The National Archives (TNA). annual survey - DHC submits annual statistical returns to The National Archives (TNA). This means that the service has a good understanding of its collections, its users and its staffing and budget. Statistics cover user activity on-site, off-site and online.
DHC also participates in the biennial user survey administered by CIPFA. This provides more nuanced qualitative information and measures the level of satisfaction users have had with particular aspects of the service. Both sets of statistics, along with feedback from a light touch consultation (2021) have informed changes to opening hours and document ordering introduced in April 2022).
User feedback both formal and anecdotal is collected on-site, off-site and online and has informed our choice of blog topics, our choice of social media platforms and our offer around talks and workshops.
6. What did this tell you?
- Dorset has a much higher proportion of residents who are aged over 65 years (29.6%) compared with the regional and national averages (census)
- Nearly 20% of BCP residents were born outside England – the largest group being around 8,000 people born in Poland.
- Nearly 10% of Bournemouth residents identify as ‘non-White’
- More than 10% of BCP residents identify as ‘disabled’
- The majority of DHC’s volunteers are over 55, with the next largest group being 18-25 years old
- 414 out of 478 survey responses felt it is important or very important that DHC offers opportunities to further young people’s careers
- 56% of our survey respondents were retired and 81% were over 56
- DHC’s entire volunteer cohort is White British
- People who identify as LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, A-sexual or other minority identities associated with sexuality or gender identity) are strongly represented in our volunteer cohort
- 20% of DHC’s volunteers have a disability
7. Who have you engaged and consulted with as part of this assessment?
General public via online survey.
DHC staff
8. Is further information needed to help inform decision making?
We recognise that the production of an EqIA is only one step in a continuous process of monitoring access to our service and making improvements to maximise the range of people who can use DHC. Therefore work is ongoing.
- Enquiry sent re cost of disability access audit
- Advice sought re: targeted advertising of volunteer roles
Is an EQIA required?
Yes, this is a service update, not a project-related EqIA.
Assessing the impact on different groups of people
For each of the protected characteristics groups below, please explain whether your proposal could have a positive, negative, unclear or no impact. Where an impact has been identified, please explain what it is and if unclear or negative please explain what mitigating actions will be taken.
- use the evidence you have gathered to inform your decision making.
- consider impacts on residents, service users and employees separately.
- if your strategy, policy, project or service contains options you may wish to consider providing an assessment for each option.
- see guidance for more information about the different protected characteristics.
Key to impacts
| Positive impact | the proposal eliminates discrimination, advances equality of opportunity and/or fosters good relations with protected groups |
| Negative impact | protected characteristic group(s) could be disadvantaged or discriminated against |
| Neutral impact | no change/ no assessed significant impact of protected characteristic groups |
| Unclear | not enough data/evidence has been collected to make an informed decision |
| Impacts on who or what? | Choose impact | How |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Positive |
The service offers tailored activities for both younger groups and individuals including
We value partnerships with young people's organisations e.g., the Cultural Hub for Poole and Bournemouth and the virtual school.
|
| Disability | Positive | Public areas of the building are ground floor with level access into the building; the main entrance is a bi-fold automatic door with low push button access. There is an accessible toilet and two accessible parking spaces available in the car park as well as a lift to the first floor. All internal doors are sufficiently wide for electric wheelchairs. One of the public access computer terminals has an accessible keyboard and mouse. There is an ICAM IRIS reader (to magnify items for the visually impaired), and magnifying equipment which benefit some visitors with visual impairments. There are hearing loops at each of the reception desks and in the Lecture Room meeting space and a PA system – relevant staff have received training in their use. We regularly welcome visitors with visual impairments, physical disabilities and learning disabilities to our centre and ensure that their visits are enriching and safe with extra staff, digitised recordings and exhaustive pre-visit information. DHC recognises that improving access for disabled service users goes beyond physical access to the building; staff work flexibly with visitors and groups to enable the fullest possible access to documents and our service and are increasingly aware of invisible disabilities such as autism, dementia and mental health issues. Top-up training on best practice in disability support for ADHD and neurodiversity provided July 2023. The DHC website pages have a built-in screen reader. DHC recruits specialist ‘support volunteers’ to enable participation in volunteering for people affected by low levels of literacy, mild – moderate learning disability and experiencing neuro-diversity. We engage with groups affected by disabilities from charities to schools to encourage accession of records so that their activities and perspectives are preserved for posterity |
| Gender reassignment and gender identity | Positive | DHC has undertaken a project which collected oral histories from people with a range of experiences around gender identity. Most of the young people we have worked with as supported volunteers identify as the opposite gender to that assigned at birth or as non-binary and DHC has proved to be a comfortable space for all (evidenced in volunteer exit interviews). All staff receive updates re: best practise in welcoming people of any or no gender identity and engage enthusiastically with this information. |
| Marriage or civil partnership | Neutral | DHC shares a premises and reception with registration services, where marriages and civil partnerships are celebrated. DHC welcomes staff, volunteers and service users regardless of their relationship status. |
| Pregnancy and maternity | Neutral | DHC shares a premises and reception with registration services. Breastfeeding is welcome and staff direct Mums to private spaces with comfy seating and water. |
| Race and ethnicity | Positive | DHC aspires to collect the records of a wide cross-section of Dorset’s population, and is aware that our collections currently under-represent people from Black, Jewish, Asian, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds as well as new arrivals in our county from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, Nepal and some African nations. We recognise the challenges of engaging appropriately with minority ethnic groups and continue to develop specific and sensitive engagement strategies to improve representation within the archives. We work closely with Kushti Bok, Dorset’s Traveler-led organisation and have partnered on a significant project from 2020-2023 – our drive to improve the representation of Gypsy, Romany and travelling people continues. We are currently partnering with DEED and Bournemouth Citizen’s Advice Bureau on a project to record up to 90 interviews with people who have moved from abroad to the BCP area in the last 20 years. A conscious focus on diversification of our records in recent years has led to a modest increase in records related to the Jewish communities of Bournemouth and we are currently contributing to a project with the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation. We have accessioned research and recordings about Black lives in Dorset and blog around black history Month. We have built a network of relationships which will allow this work to continue and expand through project engagement. We recognise that our current volunteer cohort does not reflect the ethnic diversity of Dorset and are seeking to address this through targeted publicity of new roles and consultation with partner organisations DEED (Global Education) and Dorset Racial Equality Council. Most of our customers are white and again we are consulting with partners on how to ensure that information about our service is reaching all parts of Dorset’s ethnically diverse population. |
| Religion and belief | Neutral | Service users and community partners - DHC has large quantities of religious archives within its holdings, particularly Church of England and nonconformist denominations. It encourages access to them for genealogical and other research interests. We are supporting a project which aims to increase the amount of information held about deceased members of Bournemouth’s Jewish communities. Our efforts to address a paucity of Jewish records within the collection have attracted positive attention from the Rothschild foundation and we share news of our progress with the ’Hidden Treasures’ database. We recognise that Islam e.g. Bournemouth’s Mosque or Dorchester’s Islamic Centre is not currently represented in our records, and aim to work on this area when capacity allows for a well-thought out approach and sustained, well-informed engagement. |
| Sex (consider men and women) | Positive | DHC itself has a mixed sex workforce. DHC is open one Saturdays a month, allowing those working during the week to come in and use the service. Staff make a conscious effort to produce gender-balanced outputs including images, research and promotional material. Our records have been used in a project to facilitate writing by women affected by domestic abuse leading to a performance WOMEN OF WORDS, DORSET - Valise Noire Storytelling Theatre website, in a film about women with visual impairment in the past Sensing Helen - A film by Tam Gilbert - YouTube and to draw attention to the mental distress suffered by male veterans. DHC volunteers are approximately half men and half women. |
| Sexual orientation | Positive | DHC has undertaken work to improve the representation of LGB people in our collections through an oral history project https://archive-catalogue.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/records/D-3226 We continue to celebrate Pride month and seek out the records of LGB organisations to add to our collections. We highlight LGB Dorset people from the past including David Brindley, Sylvia Townsend Warner. Gay women, Bi-sexual people and those identifying as ‘other’ are proportionately represented in our volunteer cohort. |
| People with caring responsibilities | Neutral | DHC staff are aware that carers use our service, and we welcome them to attend with or without their cared-for person. We display leaflets signposting to services for carers. We are aware of carers within our volunteering cohort. |
| Rural isolation | Positive | DHC's Community Engagement Officer is frequently contacted by local history groups from smaller towns and villages within the DC and BCP areas. We provide training, information, and project support to those undertaking new projects and work with small archives to advise on storage solutions and cataloguing. Recent examples include Fontmell Magna Archives, Blandford Big Church project, Friends of Wareham Library. We are aware that local history projects can both build community cohesion and exclude some groups and we advise on inclusive strategies and funding bids. Groups are encouraged both to visit DHC and to develop projects in their own localities. Online access to content via our catalogue, website Twitter (X) and blogs is growing thanks to new software (Preservica and Epexio) and additional resource to online outreach, meaning that working times and geographical remoteness should not preclude using the service and enjoying our wonderful resources. Access to sources via the public access computers in local libraries means that visits to Dorchester are not always necessary DHC is fully aware that a key method of reaching communities is in partnership with local organisations and it is through working this way that we hope to overcome some of the logistical barriers that might exist to people visiting DHC itself – for example, providing oral history training and project development at venues in North Dorset has allowed a wide range of people to participate who may have found it difficult to attend sessions in Dorchester. |
| Socio-economic deprivation | Neutral | DHC recognises that socio-economically deprived people have less resources to help them access our service. They may face a shortage of transport, time (due to long working hours), cultural background re: archives. Many of these factors are of national provenance and beyond the power of DHC to address. However, our building is within easy reach of public transport. We have a limited fund to pay volunteer expenses so nobody need be excluded from joining the team by financial considerations – this also applies to our work experience students. DHC is investigating ways to make payment to work experience students in order to level the access to this important opportunity. |
| Single parents | Neutral | We do not monitor the number of single parents using our service or volunteering with us. |
| Armed forces communities | Neutral | The services are well-represented in our archive collections – from maps of conflict zones to personal correspondence. 2024 will see DHC partner with the Keep Military Museum to provide research to the Dorchester D-day commemorations / story-telling. |
Please provide a summary of the impacts:
Dorset History Centre makes a positive contribution to the activities, learning and social opportunities of both older and younger people and those with disabilities or additional needs, particularly through our well-organised and supported volunteering programme. The service has also shown considerable and sustained commitment to improved representation in the County’s records of people of colour, religious minorities, and people whose lives began in other countries. DHC has also been pro-active in establishing links with the LGBTQAI+ communities and improving our records to reflect their experiences.
We recognise that the work of equalising access to services is ongoing and aim to diversify the racial background of our volunteer cohort and to equalise access to our work experience opportunity by exploring payment options.
Action Plan
Summarise any actions required as a result of this EqIA.
| Issue | Action to be taken | Person(s) responsible | Date to be completed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| A lack of outreach / activities for older people and those affected by dementia – these activities died away with Covid and need reviving | Create a plan for an older people’s activity onsite at DHC | Maria Gayton | Spring 2024 |
| DHC has lost focus on collecting the records of disability focussed groups |
|
Maria Gayton | Autumn 2023 |
| No non-white / non-British volunteers | Seek advice from DEED and the Multi-Cultural Network on targeted promotion of volunteer opportunities | Maria Gayton | Autumn 2023 |
Sign off
Officer completing this EqIA: Maria Gayton
Officers involved in completing the EqIA: Maria Gayton, Sam Johnston
Date of completion: September 2023
Version Number: 0.1
EqIA review date: September 2024
Inclusion Champion Sign Off:
Equality Lead Sign Off:
Next Steps:
• the EqIA will be reviewed by Communications and Engagement and if in agreement, your EqIA will be signed off.
• if not, we will get in touch to chat further about the EqIA, to get a better understanding.
• EqIA authors are responsible to ensuring any actions in the action plan are implemented.
Please send to Diversity and Inclusion Officer.