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Dr. Anne Thurston OBE
(RIM Icon of our Time - RIM-IOT)
Anne Thurston has been a pioneer in defining international solutions for
the management of public sector records. Between 1970 and 1980 she lived in Kenya where she conducted research
and subsequently worked as a locally‑engaged civil servant in the Kenya
National Archives. In 1980 she joined
the staff of the School of Library, Archive and Information Studies at
University College London, where she was a Lecture and then a Reader in
International Records Studies. She
established the International Records Management Trust in 1989.
During the 1980s, Dr Thurston began work
on defining new strategies for development and training in the field of records
management in developing countries. Working in East and West Africa, she developed a practical field-training
programme that involved rebuilding collapsed record-keeping systems. She also carried out an extensive survey of
record keeping systems in the Commonwealth, examining records management
practices in 32 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. These experiences provided the basis for
designing an MA course in Records and Archive Management (International) at
University College London as well as a post-graduate research programme. Several dozen of Dr Thurston’s former students
have become directors of national archives or university lecturers in records
management.
On the basis of the survey findings, the
UK Department for International Development, then the Overseas Development
Administration, funded two initial records management improvement programmes,
in The Gambia and Ghana. Dr Thurston established the International Records Management Trust
to administer these and other projects. She left University College London in
1996 to concentrate fully on the work of the Trust.
Recognising the impact of the rapid
changes in the use of information technology in developing countries in the
1990s, Dr Thurston structured the Trust to take account of the impact of
technology on the management of information and records as well as the
requirements for restructuring paper records to support information needs in
the electronic work environment. She
created three programmes within the Trust to develop and share solutions:
consultancy services, capacity building and development research.
Dr Thurston was a member of the UK Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Council on
Public Records from 1994 to 2000. She was
awarded an OBE for services to public administration in Africa in 2000 and a
Lifetime Achievement Award by the Records Management Society of the UK in
2007. She was awarded the Emmett Leahy
Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Information and Records Management
Profession in 2007.
Work Experience
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1989 to present |
International Records Management Trust
Director
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1980 to 1996 |
University College London, School of Library,
Archive and Information Studies
Lecturer in Overseas Administrative History (1980 to
1983); Lecturer and Co-coordinator, MA in Records and Archives Management
(International) (1984 to 1993); Reader in International Records Studies (1993
to 1996).
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1980 to 1998 |
Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London
Research Fellow (1980 to 1998); Member Board of
Management (1993 to 1996)
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1989 to 1996 |
International Council on Archives
Member, Section on Archival Education and Training
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1988 to 1996 |
Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records
Managers
Training Adviser (1988 to 1992), Honorary Secretary
(1992 to 1995), Acting Executive Secretary (1995 to 1996)
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1980 to 1983 |
Oxford Development Records Project
Research Officer
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1978 to 1980 |
Kenya National Archives
Research Officer
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Project Experience
Dr Thurston has directed
a range of international projects, notably:
- Management of Public Records Project (1994 to 2000: UK Department for International
Development), which involved developing an extensive package of basic training
material for international use, available through the Trust’s website without
charge.
- The Evidence-Based Governance Project (2001 to 2004: World Bank), which involved consultations with government officials and
records professionals from 38 developing countries through face-to-face,
electronic and video conference meetings; the development of 12 case studies;
and the development of records management capacity assessment tools.
- Fostering
Trust and Transparency in Governance: Investigating and Addressing the Requirements for building Integrity in
Public Sector Information systems in the ICT Environment (2006 to
2008: DFID), which involved an investigation of the requirements for managing
records in the information technology environment, particularly in relation to
the intersection of pay and personnel information and the development of good
practice guidance and training materials.
- Aligning Records Management with E-Government/ ICT,
Freedom of Information, and Poverty Reduction in East Africa (2010 to 2011: International Development Research Centre), which involved exploring the
provisions for managing records in relation to ICT and FOI initiatives in five
countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda,
Tanzania and Uganda.
She also has directed or quality assured projects in countries including
Belize, Ghana, India, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, The
Gambia, Uganda and Yemen. |
