About Us
Background
AIDA was established in 2017 as a joint work plan drawn up by the nine partners for the 2019–2024 policy period. The plan was based on an analysis of the Score Model and aimed to advance all aspects of preservation considered essential.
To this end, AIDA launched a number of initiatives between 2019 and 2024:
- The digital preservation policy documents produced by AIDA members were reviewed.
- A dedicated laboratory for capturing data from legacy media was set up: the “Digital Repair Café.”
- Through SCALA Phase 1, we built a proof-of-concept preservation system and identified the technical requirements and financial implications of setting up and maintaining such a system.
- Through SCALA Phase 2, we explored scenarios for organising the collaboration on a sustainable basis.
These initiatives resulted in a blueprint for implementing AIDA’s services. For the next policy period, the AIDA partners aim to put AIDA’s operations on a more structural footing.
AIDA Today
The services offered by AIDA are guided by the following values:
- A balanced client–supplier relationship
- Autonomy
- Expertise and experimentation
- Control, participation and transparency
- Trust and shared interest
Partners
The organisations behind the AIDA initiative are ADVN, Amsab-ISG, AMVB, Archiefpunt, AVG-Carhif, CAVA, Letterenhuis, meemoo and VAi.
ADVN, Amsab-ISG, AMVB, Letterenhuis and VAi are cultural archive institutions operating within the framework of the Cultural Heritage Decree. They hold digital private-law archive collections (DPAC) that require professional preservation, and have chosen to collaborate within AIDA to pool their knowledge and resources for this purpose.
As a digital archiving service provider, meemoo offers technical, content-related and project-based support for AIDA’s operations. Its archiving system provides the infrastructure underpinning AIDA’s preservation system and the digital storage of the preserved archives.
Archiefpunt is the central platform for private-law archives. It plays a role in making the preserved archives accessible and in disseminating knowledge within the heritage sector.
AVG-Carhif and CAVA are archival institutions and co-initiators of AIDA, though their contribution will be more limited during the coming policy period. Both institutions wish to remain closely involved with AIDA, to exchange knowledge and make ad hoc use of AIDA’s functionalities where necessary.
Target audience
AIDA’s activities are aimed at institutions that hold archives of public interest and whose collections include digital private-law archives.
Private individuals or companies that manage collections to support their own operations are potential stakeholders, though currently outside AIDA’s scope — except where they have an agreement with an AIDA member.
Finally, through its knowledge network, AIDA also engages with cultural heritage institutions that do not manage collections themselves but fulfil supporting functions, such as national heritage services and heritage units.