Education and route in:
At school I studied Maths and Sciences, getting ‘A/B’ averages. I also did English, which was very important. The Science helped me think about the world in a certain way. Originally I studied Physics at Manchester University. I then worked as a Research Analyst for a MOD Agency, providing advice on science and technology to Government. Whilst there, I undertook a three-year internal fast-track scheme in Knowledge and Information Management. My development at The National Archives has been actively encouraged from day one, and I have already undertaken a Masters module Records Management, training on Web development tools, as well as numerous other courses to enhance both technical and soft skills.
Matthew’s viewpoints:
The path that many people take now seems somewhat serendipitous. We will increasingly need people with diverse skill sets and knowledge bases, that are able to bring together experts and specialists (who will always be needed) in order to solve complex problems. The rate of change is almost paralysing, making decision-making very hard – What should I learn? Where should I study? What ‘career path’ should I take? Making a decision these days is harder than ever, and guessing the roles offered by organisations in the future equally unknown.
For this reason, I believe you should learn about what interests you. This not only means that people will be better at what they do (I firmly believe that if you are interested in something you will be more compelled to learn about it) but that they will be happier too.
How Matthew landed his job and what he does:
I signed up to the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway, as I was already working in the Civil Service. I watched it daily for jobs, and then noticed a number of vacancies being advertised at TNA. At my interview I had to give a 10 minute presentation on how I would implement TNA Research Strategy, followed by a 50 minute panel interview with three senior staff. In April 2008 I started the job in Research and Collections Development (RCD) Department. One of RDC’s aims is to maintain and develop The National Archives’ reputation as a leading originator and supporter of research.
In my current role as Research Adviser: Digital Information and Government Agenda the main objective is to support delivery of research to support the answering of business critical questions in this area. This involves a considerable amount of internal and external liaison across Records Management, Information Technology and user communities in Government and academia. Resulting in focussed research projects that make a tangible difference.
Roles I have include being Secretary of the External Funding Panel, the Guidance Panel and the Research Group. I am on the organising committee for the fifth International Conference on the History of Records and Archives (I-Chora5), and involved in a European digital preservation project called PLANETS.
One major project I’ve worked on recently is regarding the professional guidance that TNA produces. I started off by identifying out of date guidance published on the website. It’s grown into a complete overhaul of the process, involving me coordinating an internal authority on guidance, producing tools and templates to assist people when developing guidance, as well as initiating a register that’s been retrospectively populated with guidance currently available. For me, it was an interesting project that involved meeting with and working alongside lots of people and taking sole responsibility for researching the area of professional knowledge and skills development.
Another project just started is examining how semantic technologies can help automated linking between concepts in the archives. This is really interesting, as it potentially brings together the technology with the historical/cultural aspect of archives, assisting in the discovery and retrieval of records and information. A hugely important area for future conservation and accessibility of archives.