Welcome to the website of the British Academy Research Project (ARP) ‘Archiving the Mixed Economy of Welfare in Britain’. This is a collaborative, interdisciplinary project which promotes the preservation and use of voluntary sector archives. We see the archives and records of voluntary organisations, charities, and NGOs as strategic assets for governance, corporate identity, accountability and research. The project promotes awareness of such collections and supports good practice in archiving and records management within voluntary organisations.

The project builds partnerships between the voluntary sector, academics and archivists/information professionals; by creating bespoke guidance and events; and by advocating for archives at national level. We work closely with partners to facilitate good practice through research and knowledge exchange.  The project is a core partner in the Charity Archives Development Plan launched in 2022.

By preserving and making available such records we will facilitate research to shed new light on the development of social welfare services across GB (England, Wales and Scotland) in the current context of changing welfare provision.

The ARP has been funded by the British Academy since 2014, with the current funding lasting until 2028.  We have also received other grants to extend our work including a UCL Public Policy grant in 2017 and funded PhD studentship under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnership scheme in 2021.

About the British Academy ARP programme

The Academy Research Projects are intended to offer the kitemarking of academic excellence to major long term infrastructural projects or research facilities. The Academy grants the title of Academy Research Project to about 55 long-term enterprises, each organised and run by its own project committee. So long as the projects continue to work towards their agreed objectives and remain active and productive, the Academy expects to maintain long-term support.