Creating professional unity for records managers and archivists: the experience of the Kenya Association of Records Managers and Archivists

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1 Creating professional unity for records managers and archivists: the experience of the Kenya Association of Records Managers and Archivists Kenya s first professional association for records managers and archivists, the Kenya Association of Records Managers and Archivists (KARMA), was established in 2010 after several previous attempts to form a professional body for records professionals. This paper outlines the steps taken by the record-keeping professions in Kenya to establish their own professional association, the challenges they faced, and their experiences of the process. It concludes by describing some of the challenges currently facing KARMA. Introduction Kenya has more than 30 professional associations, 1 but until recently Kenyan records managers and archivists had no representative professional association. Efforts to form a professional association for records managers and archivists in Kenya started in Documentation of these efforts is scarce, but interviews with those involved at the time indicate that a team of professionals, mainly from the Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service (KNADS), made the very first efforts to unite records professionals in Kenya in a professional body. This group drafted a constitution that was to be used for legal registration, but the initiative faltered after the completion of the drafting of the constitution. The second attempt was made after a stakeholders meeting at Nairobi on 25 February 2009, to deliberate on a national policy for records management in Kenya. Consequently, one of the resolutions of the meeting was that a professional association for records managers and archivists should be formed to develop the profession in Kenya. Again, this effort did not go far. It is not clear who was driving the registration process and what stopped their progress. The initiative that led to the formation of the Kenyan Association of Records Managers and Archivists (KARMA) was, therefore, the third effort. A professional association is necessary to propel the records profession forward in Kenya. Records management in Kenya remains little recognised despite the presence of adequate professionals in the country and the fact that KNADS is one of the best National Archives in Africa. KARMA is a much needed vehicle for developing the profession. The primary aim of the association is to Mr is the founding and current Chairman of the Kenya Association of Records Managers and Archivists. He also works as the Librarian for Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd. He was awarded a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Information Sciences and a M.Phil. in Records and Archives Management by Moi University. He has published on computer science and records and archives management. He has previously served on the Education Board of the Kenya Library Association. 1 Association of Professional Societies of East Africa (APSEA), See doi: /comma Comma_2012_1_11_Ambira.indd /07/ :36

2 116 organise and represent persons working in, or interested in, records and archives management and to govern members in all matters of professional practice. Some of the established scholars in this field, who research, teach and consult on records and archives management across Africa and beyond, are Kenyans. Through KARMA, we will try to bring their expertise back home and encourage them to participate in building the records profession in Kenya. Initiating KARMA The formation of KARMA was initiated by a group of about 15 records and archives management professionals, drawn from the public and private sectors in Kenya. The group was specifically motivated by the belief that the profession was underdeveloped, and was neither adequately engaged with, nor involved in, matters of information management and good governance in the country, especially within the public sector and public sector reform initiatives. There were also concerns about the poor working terms for records officers within the public service, including the lack of a scheme of service. Another factor that inspired the formation of KARMA was that many of the staff responsible for records management activities in many organisations had little or no formal training in records management. Therefore, there was a need for a forum through which these officers could access training and capacitybuilding opportunities, including short courses and seminars. Upon agreeing to form KARMA, the group nominated interim officials who would oversee the registration process. A number of meetings were held during this period to ensure that the process of legal registration was undertaken legitimately and successfully. The group also envisaged the direction the association should take. Based on previous attempts to register KARMA, a decision was taken to complete the registration process before other members were recruited. The registration process took close to 10 months. As required by law this involved filing the necessary documentation with the Registrar of Societies and interviews with the National Security Intelligence Service. The establishment of the association On 8 October 2010, after 10 months of waiting, KARMA received official registration from the Registrar of Societies. After receipt of legal registration, the interim officials embarked on the recruitment of members across the public and private sectors. On 5 March 2010, KARMA held its first general meeting for all members. By this time, a total of 46 members had subscribed to the association. In essence, the professional association of records managers and archivists in Kenya was established. At this meeting, all the interim officials were confirmed as substantive officers, including the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Secretary General, Treasurer and Vice Secretary General. A special general meeting was held on 26 March, 2010 to fill vacant positions and refine the KARMA constitution. During this meeting, various committees were established and their chairmen were elected. The management structure of KARMA is now composed of an Executive Committee, which provides leadership and co-ordinates the committees, and four committees to handle specific portfolios: Education, Marketing, Projects and Welfare. The Education Committee is mandated with handling all professional issues including organising conferences and seminars, managing the KARMA journal and newsletters, Comma_2012_1_11_Ambira.indd /07/ :36

3 Creating professional unity for records managers and archivists 117 developing and managing training resources including the association s library, and developing a register of experts. The Marketing Committee is charged with matters of branding and publicity, including identifying and managing relationships with potential development partners. The Projects Committee is responsible for identifying and co-ordinating any consultancy projects that the association may be involved in, especially in partnership with various organisations in Kenya. The Welfare Committee is responsible for the members welfare issues and those of the association. One of this committee s primary mandates is the administration of the association s community social responsibility activities. It is also responsible for managing activities that will build harmony and bonding across the membership of KARMA. The chairmen of these committees are elected and are members of the Executive Committee. The committees have a minimum of five and a maximum of 10 members. The decision to create committees, as opposed to concentrating management responsibilities in the Executive Committee, was taken in order to decentralise the management of KARMA, after an assessment of other professional associations revealed how leadership crises arise due to the concentration of all leadership roles in the Executive Committee. By adopting the committees model, many members are included in the management of the association, a fact that motivates them to participate. As a rule, to ensure that as many members as possible assume roles in KARMA, a member can belong to only one committee, with the exception of the organising secretary, who sits on all committees. The Executive Committee supervises the performance of all committees on behalf of the membership. Consequently, the Executive Committee, on the recommendation of a committee, can replace inactive members of that committee. The Executive Committee can also recommend to the general assembly the disbandment of an entire committee. Presently, the association is working on its official launch and inaugural conference. It is also setting up a website and administrative structures for its secretariat. In publicising KARMA across the country, the association used several channels including social media, referrals from registered members and official communications to various organisations including government ministries and other stakeholders in records management, like the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority and the Ministry of Public Service. Some of these organisations have invited the association to take part in formal discussions about establishing lines of partnership. The challenges A number of challenges have been faced and remain to be faced by KARMA in its efforts to expand and strengthen its capacity to develop the profession in Kenya. Foremost is the recruitment of members to KARMA. Despite substantial publicity across Kenya as noted above, membership has not grown as fast as expected. In Kenya, the civil service has about 300 records officers across the government ministries and departments. However, less than 50 per cent of these have joined the association. It is members that allow associations to accomplish their aims. Membership dues provide the necessary funding and member volunteers provide the guidance and expertise to move the profession forward. The slow uptake of membership in KARMA poses a challenge to the association on how to grow and eventually marshal a membership that can facilitate the achievement of its Comma_2012_1_11_Ambira.indd /07/ :36

4 118 objectives. It is also placing demands on the leadership for a rethink of how to package the KARMA message and how to attract a vibrant and expanded membership. The second challenge is the shortage of resources to fund the association s activities. In order to be able to market itself and roll out essential programmes, the association requires financial resources, and these are currently constrained. Besides membership contributions through registration (Kshs. 500) and monthly contributions (Kshs. 200), individual donations from its officials have been critical in supporting KARMA s activities so far. The economic power of most Kenyans and, therefore, the members, makes it difficult to raise the registration and membership subscriptions above these current levels. The relationship between records managers and archivists has been a fundamental challenge in the development of the record-keeping professions in Kenya. This was one of the initial challenges KARMA had to face. The association had to create harmony between the records managers and the archivists. It is clear from discussions and interviews with these two groups that some misunderstandings have undermined previous attempts to form an association. There have been several attempts by each of the two groups separately to register professional associations that deliberately exclude the other group. Another common challenge is the inactivity of some members, especially those with leadership responsibilities. The tendency for some members to join committees or take leadership roles in committees and then fail to drive the agenda has impacted heavily on the speed at which the association moves. As a result, important actions and decisions can take a long time to be implemented. Given that KARMA has been formed so recently, it is important for the membership to be proactive and fully engaged in its progress to ensure rapid growth. The Executive Committee of KARMA is responding to this challenge by reconstituting inactive committees with active members. Our progress to date The current membership is about 100. The association has received goodwill and support from across Africa and the world, including from the International Records Management Trust, the International Council on Archives, the professional associations in South Africa and Uganda, and individual professionals. The formation of KARMA is a promising step forward in the development of the record-keeping professions in Kenya. The interaction between the professions alone has been rewarding for many members. The association has united professionals in the cause of building records and archives professionalism in Kenya, as may be seen in the increased uptake of professional training in records management at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in at least four universities. Through KARMA, it is now possible to develop a clear talent pool of records and archives managers in Kenya, who can then support various records management activities. In future, KARMA intends to work with various stakeholders in Kenya in records and archives restructuring activities, training and curriculum development as well as quality assurance for records management consultants. One of the areas in which KARMA has a keen interest is the development of professional capacity within organisations. This will go a long way to undermine the possibility of records management programmes and projects being implemented by non-professionals and quacks. Comma_2012_1_11_Ambira.indd /07/ :36

5 Creating professional unity for records managers and archivists 119 KARMA is also positioning itself to contribute to public sector reforms and good governance efforts in Kenya. Kenya has neither national policy on records management, nor adequate records management legislation. The association will be joining hands with all stakeholders to support the development of adequate records management as a critical component of accountability, transparency and Freedom of Information. Focus areas KARMA is looking at a number of areas that will be fundamental in developing the profession in Kenya. The first is the general representation of members in all matters related to professional growth, development and the interests of records managers and archivists in the development agenda in Kenya. The association will provide a link between its members, the profession and various stakeholders in the industry in Kenya. The association will also be working with government and other organisations in looking at issues like career growth and the development of records professionals. This is why the association has deliberately introduced itself formally to almost all government ministries in Kenya and other regulatory agencies. The second area of focus is capacity-building for records managers and archivists, targeting its members. The majority of the people involved in records and archives management in many organisations in Kenya have no formal training in records and archives management. 2 KARMA intends to focus on this and work closely with all stakeholders to build industry capacity. The availability of trained record-keeping personnel is crucial in ensuring that record-keeping in organisations is adequate, professional and of a good standard. Thirdly, KARMA would like to play a quality assurance role in records and archives management developments within the country. This will include, in the long-term, the certification of consultants to ensure that true experts and professionals provide records management consultancy and training services. Related to this, the association wishes to partner with public agencies in implementing records management projects to ensure that the products of those projects are adequate, professionally delivered and sustainable. The intention is to minimise the infiltration of the records management industry by untrained service providers who expose organisations to undue risks and losses. The fourth area of focus will be partnerships with academic and educational institutions to ensure the provision of quality education and training in records and archives management. Many institutions of higher learning are emerging to offer tertiary training in records management, but the quality of some of these programmes is questionable. However, because of a lack of professional regulation of the kind seen in law, engineering, nursing, medicine and accountancy, substandard programmes continue to exist. This puts the profession at risk with regard to its future development. KARMA intends to work with training institutions in areas like curriculum development and accreditation. 2 GITHAKA B., Constraints on the development of records management in Kenyan public offices in ESARBICA Journal, 15, 1996, pp KHAYUNDI F. E, An overview of preservation and conservation programmes in Eastern and Southern Africa, Pan African Conference on preservation and conservation and archival materials, June, 1993, Nairobi. WAMUKOYA J. and KEMONI H., Educating recordkeeping professionals in Africa: the case of Moi university, Kenya in ESARBICA Journal, 20, 2001, pp Comma_2012_1_11_Ambira.indd /07/ :36

6 120 Some suggestions In order for records managers and archivists in Kenya to build a formidable professional body, there is a need to invest in KARMA and sustain current commitments to KARMA. A professional association for records managers and archivists has a central role in empowering records and archives management professionals to acquire the tools, knowledge, skills, exposure and strategic approach required to develop, transform and showcase their profession. KARMA will be critical in making the voice of records managers and archivists in Kenya heard in matters of good governance. In addition, KARMA needs to be empowered both in terms of ideas and resources. It is essential for the association to figure out ways and means of bringing on board even better management and leadership structures as well as ways of mobilising resources to sustain its activities. The management framework, including the constitution, must be maintained in its strongest and most effective form. An essential element for the growth and expansion of KARMA is partnership with other professional bodies across Africa and the world. It also needs to partner with other professional bodies in information management, especially those related to information and communications technology, to help build records and archives management in Kenya. It is also important for KARMA to partner with similar archives and records associations in Africa and look at the possibility of professionalising records and archives management across the continent. Conclusion Professional associations play an important role in effecting change, endorsing local innovations, shaping the diffusion of these innovations and developing systems for lifelong learning. 3 KARMA must play a central role in defining the direction that the record-keeping professions pursue in Kenya. The future of records and archives management in Kenya is brighter for the formation of KARMA. In pursuing the development of records and archives management in the country, KARMA should aggressively explore its role in uniting professionals, establishing quality assurance in record-keeping initiatives and offering professionals an avenue for growth and development. However, a professional association does not grow without the dedication and commitment of its membership. The success of KARMA will largely depend how the membership embrace the KARMA spirit, identify with its mission, and commit to its course. 3 GREENWOOD R., SUDDABY R. and HININGS C. R., Theorizing change: The role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalised fields in Academy of Management Journal, 45:1, 2002, pp MARKKU M., The role of professional organizations in developing systems for lifelong earning in Industry & Higher Education, 9:4, 1995, pp Comma_2012_1_11_Ambira.indd /07/ :36