The British Academy Research Project 'Digitising the Mixed Economy in Britain is holding a free workshop for staff, trustees or volunteers representing voluntary organisations in Liverpool and the surrounding region to provide information on archives and records. The session will showcase some of the history of Liverpool's rich voluntary and community organisations as well as offer practical advice on starting and running an archives project.

The archives of voluntary and community organisations are an immensely valuable resource for researching and understanding modern Britain. They can also be a key strategic asset that feeds into a voluntary organisation’s current work. However, preserving and providing access to archives present a range of challenges for voluntary organisations, which this workshop will address by bringing together voluntary organisations, academic researchers and archives experts.

This is a free knowledge exchange event that is open to staff, volunteers or trustees from local voluntary organisations well as conference delegates. Following the workshop, a drinks reception will enable participants to find out more about each other’s work and hopefully forge new connections.

A short opening talk will outline the value of charity archives for organisations, for researchers and for a wider public. The rest of the session will allow participants to find out more about using and preserving charity archives, explore modes of academic-voluntary sector collaboration and understand better the diverse range of uses for voluntary sector archives.

The session is delivered by the British Academy Research Project (ARP) ‘Digitising the Mixed Economy of Welfare’ – a 5 year infrastructure project led by academics at University College London in partnership with Northumbria University and NCVO.