Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network Strategic Plan 2021-2026

Table of contents

• 1.0 Who We Are
  • 1.1 Canadian Conservation Institute – Canadian Heritage Information Network (CCI and CHIN)
  • 1.2 Our Joint Vision & Missions
  • 1.3 Our Core Areas of Activity
  • 1.4 Our Values
  • 1.5 Our Ecosystem
• 2.0 Summary of CCI and CHIN Environmental Scan
  • 2.1 External Environment
    • 2.1.1 Heritage Environment in Canada
    • 2.1.2 Other External Factors
  • 2.2 Internal Environment
    • 2.2.1 Government of Canada and Departmental Priorities
  • 2.3 Client Needs and Expectations
• 3.0 CCI and CHIN Strategy
  • 3.1 CCI and CHIN Strategic Objectives
    • 3.1.1 Strategic Objective 1: Build CCI and CHIN expertise in conservation and preservation of modern materials and digital collections
    • 3.1.2 Strategic Objective 2: Strengthen CCI and CHIN’s leadership in preventive conservation and collections information management
    • 3.1.3 Strategic Objective 3: Leverage and modernize ways of generating and sharing knowledge through outreach, partnerships and networking
    • 3.1.4 Strategic Objective 4: Contribute to the Government of Canada’s priorities
      • 1. Reconciliation and Working with Indigenous Communities
      • 2. Diversity and Inclusion
      • 3. Sustainability
      • 4. Museum Policy
    • 3.1.5 Strategic Objective 5: Leverage opportunities within the Laboratories Canada initiative to pursue new ways of achieving science excellence, partnership and ensuring CCI and CHIN have modern and sustainable facilities
• 4.0 Principles of Implementation
• 5.0 Looking Ahead
• 6.0 Appendices
  • Appendix A – The Planning Team
  • Appendix B - List of Acronyms and Descriptions
  • Appendix C – CCI-CHIN Logic Model
  • Appendix D – CCI and CHIN Environmental Scan Background and Process
  • Appendix E – Glossary
• 7.0 Works Cited

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Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network Strategic Plan 2021-2026 [PDF version - 8.2 MB]

Message from the Director General

With the approach of the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CCI and CHIN) in 2022, the organizations are looking ahead to meet new challenges, take advantage of new opportunities and to continue to deliver the specialized expertise, guidance and support the heritage community expects from us.

Since the last strategic plan, which covered the years 2015 to 2020, a number of new and existing focus areas - some pandemic-related and others not - have taken on increased importance for the heritage community and for the Government of Canada as a whole. These include: working with Indigenous stakeholders and the heritage community on decolonizing museum practices; reaching out to a more diverse community; promoting environmental and operational sustainability; building expertise in modern materials, digital collections and the use of emerging technologies; pivoting to virtual services and knowledge-sharing mechanisms; strengthening CCI and CHIN’s leadership role in preventive conservation; building partnerships; and ensuring that CCI and CHIN are strong and healthy for generations to come.

In order to meet these new challenges and the needs of the heritage community with the same commitment to excellence that our organization is known for throughout Canada and the world, we intend to take advantage of the synergies created by the merger of CCI and CHIN as well as the opportunities resulting from the Laboratories Canada initiative to build a new, more modern scientific facility and a new home for CCI and CHIN, as part of the Cultural Heritage Science Hub.

The CCI and CHIN Strategic Plan 2021-2026 outlines how we aim to achieve this goal.

Jérôme Moisan

Director General, Heritage Branch

1.0 Who We Are

1.1 Canadian Conservation Institute – Canadian Heritage Information Network (CCI and CHIN)

Since their creation as a result of the National Museum Policy (1972), the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) have played a critical role in the conservation and digitization of museum and archival collections in Canada.

1. CCI was created to promote the proper care and preservation of cultural heritage in Canada and to advance the practice, science and technology of conservation. CCI’s work focuses on providing specialized services, knowledge, innovation, training, and research to help heritage institutions care for and make their collections available to the Canadian public.
2. CHIN, originally known as the National Inventory Programme, was created through a need to recognize the extensive range of cultural objects and collections in Canada requiring protection and to facilitate sharing of and access to this common material heritage. From its inception, CHIN has helped museums construct computerized inventories of their collections, manage the information that makes the collections accessible, and it continues its leadership role in technology research, documentation standards, digitization and digital preservation, offering online resources to support museums with management of collections data.

These organizations became Special Operating Agencies in 1992 and were transferred to the Department of Canadian Heritage after its creation in 1995, thus fulfilling the Minister of Canadian Heritage’s responsibilities related to heritage preservation and access. Following the 2014 federal budget, CCI and CHIN underwent an administrative merger and have been collocated since 2016.

1.2 Our Joint Vision & Missions

CCI and CHIN are key players within Canada’s heritage community.

1.3 Our Core Areas of Activity

CCI and CHIN’s core areas of activity revolve around service delivery, research, and knowledge sharing.

To achieve its mission, CCI carries out the following activities:

1. Provision of expert services (including scientific services, conservation treatments and preventive conservation services);
2. Research and development in conservation (including scientific research, advanced treatment techniques and innovations in preventive collections care); and
3. Sharing of conservation knowledge by providing training and learning products, professional development activities, publications and specialized library services as well as conducting other outreach activities.

To achieve its mission, CHIN carries out the following activities:

1. Creation and maintenance of online public access to collections in Canada with tools such as Artefacts Canada and linked open data;
2. Research and development on collections documentation standards and tools such as Nomenclature online and the CHIN Data Dictionary for Artefacts Canada;
3. Provision of guidance on collections management best practices and emerging trends through training, professional development and creation of online learning materials and publications concerning collection management systems, digitization and digital preservation.

1.4 Our Values

Our values reflect the implicit trust conferred upon heritage professionals by society as well as the organizations and communities we serve. Like others within the Public Service, we are guided by a Code of Values and Ethics. In addition to the Code are four core values that underscore the activities of CCI and CHIN. These values provide important ethical context to inform our goals and objectives.

1.5 Our Ecosystem

CCI and CHIN operate within an ecosystem comprised of multiple partners and stakeholders.

Target Population:

• Heritage professionals and students, institutions and research organizations, including museums, archives, libraries, galleries, cultural centres and historic sites, and their workers and volunteers. Their role is to 1) acquire, document, conserve, research, communicate, and exhibit heritage collections (for purposes of preservation of heritage collections, study, education, and enjoyment); and 2) create, present, manage and preserve online and other digital content related to these collections;
• Canadians seeking information on conservation of heritage collections and who access an online point of entry to collections in Canada through Artefacts Canada, the national inventory of museum objects.

Partners and Stakeholders:

• Heritage institutions of all sizes;
• Municipal, provincial and territorial agencies or governments;
• Federal government institutions responsible for heritage collections, including national museums, Library and Archives Canada, the Parks Canada Agency, the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the Department of National Defense and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada;
• Department of Canadian Heritage Programs related to heritage;
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Interpol and other law enforcement agencies to provide scientific evidence to support or refute information related to an artifact (origin, attribution, composition, etc.);
• Educational institutions and educators;
• Indigenous communities;
• National, Provincial and Territorial museum associations and professional associations;
• International organizations (ICCROM, ICOM).

2.0 Summary of CCI and CHIN Environmental Scan

Environmental scanning is the ongoing tracking of trends and occurrences in an organization's internal and external environments that may influence its current and future success. The results are extremely useful in further shaping goals and strategies. In conducting the CCI and CHIN environmental scan, a broad literature review was undertaken to identify relevant factors and trends impacting the organization.

2.1 External Environment

2.1.1 Heritage Environment in Canada

Over the course of the last 50 years, the landscape of the Canadian heritage environment has changed significantly. In endeavoring to achieve their original goals, CCI and CHIN contributed to four new contextual realities:

• The heritage workforce has professionalized, in large part due to increased availability of post-secondary programs in museum studies and conservation. However, employment opportunities continue to favour generalists over specialists;
• Collections are exhibited and stored in more modern facilities, despite the challenges related to storage, overcrowding and museum environmental controls;
• New and evolving technologies have changed the way collections are acquired, managed and made accessible;
• Museum visitors are more numerous and more diverse^{Footnote 1}.

These new heritage environment characteristics are supported by statistics reported in recent surveys^{Footnote 2} and have in turn created new trends and challenges that impact the heritage environment. Within this context, a number of trends have emerged. They include:

Surge in Exhibitions

In 2017, there were over 15,200 permanent exhibitions in Canada. Newly created exhibitions (which include new, permanent exhibitions; temporary, non-travelling exhibitions and travelling exhibitions) climbed from 7,467 produced in 2011 to 8,947 produced in 2017, a rise of approximately 20%.^{Footnote 3}

Challenges Related to Storage:

The storage of growing collections presents a considerable challenge to museums: 55% of museums reported that their storage space is overcrowded.^{Footnote 4} Growth in collections also means that more objects and collections require conservation. It is estimated that approximately 89% of heritage institutions consider that their collections require conservation interventions before items can be used for exhibitions.^{Footnote 5}

Increased Emphasis on Digitization of Collections

Heritage institutions have made over 16% of their physical objects and records accessible in digital format. This has generated over 4.7 million gigabytes of data, of which 10% is available online for the public.^{Footnote 6} To facilitate the completion of the remaining content digitization, the heritage community is committed to increased collaboration and increased access to shared databases. However, it should be noted that 49% of institutions have neither a preservation plan nor a preservation policy for digital collections.

2.1.2 Other External Factors

Other external factors that influence the strategic plan include:

• The lack of specialized knowledge and increased hiring of generalists in heritage institutions creates inequalities in access to specialized conservation services, particularly in certain regions of the country (outside of major urban centres) and in institutions with restricted budgets, thus creating potential risks to heritage collections;
• The use of non-museum display spaces (corridors, office space, community centre spaces) by heritage institutions increases risk to objects and collections;
• The adoption of new technologies requires institutions to adapt their resources and practices, for which some have limitations in capacity;
• The limited awareness and understanding of standards for documenting collections makes it difficult to implement uniform systems across the heritage sector;
• The lack of resources in time, equipment and expertise for managing digital collections constrains appropriate collections care and information management;
• The lack of understanding among decision-makers of the importance of conservation^{Footnote 7} results in a systemic imbalance in resource availability for preservation vis-a-vis other museum activities;
• The lack of diversity amongst heritage decision-makers results in collections that are not reflective of the broader Canadian society;
• The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on heritage institutions – from significantly reduced revenue and increased costs, to the need for establishing new visitor protocols amplifies stakeholders’ need for advice and support from CCI and CHIN.

2.2 Internal Environment

2.2.1 Government of Canada and Departmental Priorities

Laboratories Canada

In Budget 2018, the Government of Canada launched the first phase of Laboratories Canada, a 25-year strategy to strengthen federal science in Canada, with an investment of $2.8 billion to support federal scientists through the updating and consolidation of federal scientific facilities. Over the next five years, as part of the Cultural Heritage Science Centre with the Parks Canada Agency, CCI and CHIN will be engaged in the design, development and eventual move into new facilities and a new working environment. CCI and CHIN will seek to adapt their work methods to take advantage of the opportunities presented through this new paradigm of shared space and collaboration with Parks Canada’s conservation team.

Sustainable Development

In September 2015, Canada and 192 other UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda is a global framework of action for people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership that is centered around an ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It integrates social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, as well as peace, governance and justice elements. The Department of Canadian Heritage outlines its sustainability priorities in the Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy 2020 to 2023, which includes internal targets focusing on actions for the planet (i.e. the environmental dimension of sustainable development). CCI and CHIN recognize that heritage collections and their conservation can support all dimensions of sustainable development through learning, education, participation and research, to creative industries, sustainable tourism and peacebuilding. CCI and CHIN will integrate these goals into the implementation of this strategic plan.

Governmental Priorities

CCI and CHIN must ensure that they remain flexible in order to adapt to the mandate and priorities of the government. In addition to general external trends and factors, there are cross-cutting Government of Canada and Canadian Heritage priorities that must also be considered. These priorities also align with the needs expressed by the heritage community. Specific priorities of relevance to CCI and CHIN are listed below.

Relevant Government of Canada and Canadian Heritage Priorities

1. Reconciliation and Collaboration with Indigenous Stakeholders:

As a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) the Government of Canada is committed to reconciliation efforts. For CCI and CHIN, this government-wide priority will involve working with heritage organizations and Indigenous communities on the repatriation of Indigenous cultural property and ancestral remains as well as engaging with Indigenous heritage practitioners in developing policies and practices that respond more closely to the needs of Indigenous communities.

2. Diversity and Inclusion:

This government-wide priority aligns with a need to promote greater diversity in the heritage sector both from a standpoint of CCI and CHIN’s client base as well as from the perspective of encouraging young people from diverse backgrounds to enter the profession.

3. Climate Change and Sustainability:

This government-wide priority applies to museums in the form of greening initiatives, energy conservation and consideration of environmental factors that impact facilities and collections.

4. Museum Policy^{Footnote 8}:

This ministerial priority will involve advancing the renewal of the Museum Policy, led by the Heritage Policies and Programs Directorate at Canadian Heritage. CCI and CHIN will be called upon to provide expertise and insight from the perspective of the professional community, and heritage stakeholders in general, to help shape the eventual renewal of this fundamental policy.

CCI and CHIN’s operating environment is also influenced by the fact that CCI and CHIN activities are bound by a number of federal guidelines and requirements that apply to all federal organizations.

2.3 Client Needs and Expectations

Consultations undertaken with clients and stakeholders in 2018 and 2019 and a literature review further support the results of the environmental scan:

1. Sustainability: Clients expressed the need to increase their capacity to manage risks associated with climate change and manage environmental controls (e.g., relative humidity, temperature, lighting) with respect to greening and sustainability policies and regulations. Stakeholders have expressed a need for support and expertise in these areas.
2. Preventive conservation: The lack of storage space for growing collections, combined with inadequate or antiquated storage facilities and systems, are still challenges for heritage institutions. Furthermore, clients expressed challenges in finding results of scientific analysis and of other research, for example, on the suitability of products for museum applications or on the lightfastness of certain materials.
3. Digital collections: Despite the pressure to undertake digital preservation and make collections accessible online through the digitization of physical objects, heritage institutions still lack expertise and resources to carry out this type of work. There is also a shared concern regarding the digitization, management, and opportunities to effectively connect with other members of the community.
4. Modern materials: The need to understand and preserve contemporary art, modern polymeric materials, modern textiles and metals, and digital collections is a priority for many of CCI and CHIN’s clients, although the need for the preservation of traditional or older materials continues unabated. Dedicated research and development by CCI and CHIN into the installation, deterioration, storage, care and treatment of modern materials have been identified as priorities by stakeholders. In particular, conservators expressed their need for tools enabling the evaluation of chemical and physical characteristics of modern materials, notably plastics.
5. Contaminated materials: The need for guidance on how to handle, preserve, or treat objects contaminated with hazardous materials either through earlier treatment processes, or by the nature of their component parts, was also expressed by clients. Clients have also indicated the need for support with respect to repatriation of objects that may have been exposed to contaminants.
6. Conservation expertise: Clients strongly and consistently express the need for conservation advice from specialists and note the lack of affordability or access to private conservation services. Clients identified the major fields in which conservation services and advice are needed, including: protein-based materials (leather, vellum); books, documents, objects and furniture; and rigid gels and their applications for various materials.
7. Knowledge sharing: Heritage professionals expressed a desire for more mid-career training and workshops. Furthermore, CCI and CHIN’s current resources are very appreciated and used, and clients expect that published resources will be regularly updated.

3.0 CCI and CHIN Strategy

3.1 CCI and CHIN Strategic Objectives

Strategic Objectives are the pillars of the plan and measurable steps that will guide CCI and CHIN management’s decision-making, operational planning and priorities over the next five years. They will frame CCI and CHIN’s efforts to continue to deliver country-wide services and expertise to the heritage community in the most impactful, beneficial, and cost-effective way.

The Strategic Objectives for 2021-2026

• Are an extension of the work undertaken under the previous strategic plan;
• Introduce new and emerging areas such as digital collections; and
• Align with the priorities of the Government of Canada and the needs expressed and observed within the heritage community.

3.1.1 Strategic Objective 1: Build CCI and CHIN expertise in conservation and preservation of modern materials and digital collections

Conservation and long-term preservation of collections composed of modern materials, including digital collections, continues to be a major concern expressed by heritage institutions not equipped to deal with modern objects, especially smaller institutions. Several actions were carried out to build expertise in understanding and generating new knowledge on modern materials during the implementation of the last CCI strategic plan. This work must continue by adding a focus on enhancing knowledge of modern materials and advancing treatment methods for digital collections and objects.

In order to address these needs, CCI and CHIN will:

1. Generate new knowledge on modern materials. This work will focus on their characterization, identification and deterioration.
2. Generate new knowledge on digital collections and related technology and materials.
3. Establish an integrated and applied research plan to advance preventive conservation techniques and conservation treatment techniques for modern materials and digital collections.
4. Establish a dissemination program to build the heritage community’s capacity to preserve modern materials and digital collections.
5. Strengthen the technological and scientific capacity of CCI and CHIN to provide information on the classification and management of modern materials.

3.1.2 Strategic Objective 2: Strengthen CCI and CHIN’s leadership in preventive conservation and collections information management

Preventive conservation encompasses all measures and actions aimed at avoiding and minimizing future deterioration or loss. It aims to ensure sustainable access to, and use of, collections by communities. Preventive conservation is embedded in the work of many divisions and at many levels: object, collection, facility and site. Collections information management is covered primarily by CHIN.

Heritage institutions face the challenge of having to reduce operating costs and convert to more efficient technologies (for economic and environmental reasons), deal with outdated infrastructure, and improve access to collections in new ways for new and increasingly diverse audiences. Institutions must reconcile the challenges with the need to ensure the long-term conservation of their collections for the benefit of current and future generations.

Over the past five years, CCI has intensified its collaboration and contributions at the national and international levels through preventive conservation and collections information management by participating in a range of collaborative projects.

As part of this strategic objective, CCI and CHIN will:

1. Enhance the research and development services and knowledge dissemination activities related to preventive conservation, focusing on improving energy efficiency in facilities, addressing museum storage challenges, and transforming CCI’s approach to risk management to include practical evidence-based tools.
2. Generate new knowledge, practices and tools to preserve and manage digital collections, including research on the deterioration causes and constraints facing digital collections for their long-term preservation and management.
3. Integrate the research and development and knowledge dissemination activities that focus on the management of collections information. Develop and recommend standards, policies, guidance and decision-making tools on digital preservation and the management of digital collections information.
4. Establish an integrated and comprehensive CCI-CHIN knowledge dissemination program for the management and preservation of digital collections information. Update and implement a professional development plan that integrates a comprehensive training program reflecting CCI and CHIN collaboration and synergy with international and national partners and clients.
5. Develop and implement a plan to upgrade and modernize access points to collections in Canada by fostering data interoperability, and search and data visualization tool functionalities to ensure accurate information and better access to heritage data.

3.1.3 Strategic Objective 3: Leverage and modernize ways of generating and sharing knowledge through outreach, partnerships and networking

Sharing knowledge is the keystone by which CCI and CHIN’s mandates make a significant impact on Canadian heritage institutions, professionals and volunteers who are custodians and stewards of cultural heritage objects and collections. CCI and CHIN’s training opportunities are highly sought out and appreciated, regardless of the forum in which clients express their needs. In the last five years, CCI and CHIN have endeavoured to diversify the professional training opportunities for heritage professionals by exploring and integrating new technologies and formats including webinars, blended e-learning, e-learning and videos. The need for online/virtual training and services has been brought to the forefront within the current pandemic climate and conditions, reinforcing the importance of this strategic pillar of CCI and CHIN’s work.

Based on these experiences and the challenges related to using new technologies and applications within the ca-ciconline.com environment, CCI and CHIN must build collaborations and partnerships with national and international organizations and institutions in order to provide modern ways to share knowledge.

On the international level, CCI and CHIN both have respected international reputations and participate actively in collaborative initiatives with international organizations, such as ICCROM, as well as with foreign states. The partnerships allow all parties to leverage resources and expertise and are beneficial to all involved. CCI and CHIN remain committed to continuing to building these links despite challenges that the current and post-pandemic periods may present.

In order to establish a strong network with its collaborators, CCI and CHIN will:

1. Explore and develop a Professional Development Strategy for CCI and CHIN intended for heritage professionals based on collaborative approaches and partnerships to address specialized conservation disciplines for which there is limited professional training in Canada.
2. Enhance the CCI and CHIN Library’s knowledge-sharing roles and responsibilities, including its national and international networking involvement with the dissemination of conservation and digital information resources. Also, increase the CCI and CHIN Library’s role in the development of the new generation of Bibliography of the Conservation Information Network (BCIN).
3. Develop engagement and outreach tools to promote CCI and CHIN, raise awareness on conservation and collections management and build public awareness of the role of heritage collections to promote and celebrate Canadian identity.
4. Develop and implement a plan to make better use of information technology to enhance the delivery of CCI and CHIN’s professional services. This will focus on areas such as communications, outreach, client request applications and selection, laboratory work, fee structure, service standards, etc.
5. Establish a strategy to align CCI and CHIN’s operational processes with Open Government, Open Science (including open access and open data policies), and greening policies and procedures. This strategy will focus on R&D data, heritage data, resources, publications, library services and copyright licensing.
6. Continue to foster its collaborative relationship with international partners such as ICCROM and counterparts in foreign states.

3.1.4 Strategic Objective 4: Contribute to the Government of Canada’s priorities

The Government of Canada has made key commitments in several areas that are of relevance to CCI and CHIN and to the heritage sector as a whole. These broad priorities are outlined in the Minister of Canadian Heritage’s mandate letter. CCI and CHIN’s approach to integrate them into our operations is the following:

1. Reconciliation and Working with Indigenous Communities

The Government of Canada is committed to UNDRIP and reconciliation is a high priority for the Department of Canadian Heritage and across the federal government. To contribute to this key priority, CCI and CHIN will establish a strategy for preservation, repatriation and collections management for Indigenous heritage objects and collections. This strategy will be co-developed with Indigenous communities and stakeholders and will be drafted in conjunction with the PCH framework for repatriating Indigenous cultural property and ancestral remains. In an effort to effectively decolonize and repatriate Indigenous cultural property, CCI and CHIN will explore collaborative opportunities to ensure full understanding of Indigenous communities’ needs and expectations.

2. Diversity and Inclusion

CCI and CHIN will establish a plan to examine its processes and outreach activities in order to determine how to better engage a more diverse population, based on the Government of Canada’s commitment to the principles of Diversity and Inclusion. The plan will seek to encourage participation from a broader spectrum of the Canadian population both as recipients of CCI and CHIN services but also as young professionals in the conservation field.

3. Sustainability

CCI and CHIN will continue to work on projects related to energy conservation and climate change impacts on facilities and collections to better meet the needs of the heritage community. By participating in the ‘Our Collections Matter’ initiative led by ICCROM, CCI and CHIN will support heritage institutions in playing their fullest part in sustainable development in a broader sense by providing practical tools and training.

4. Museum Policy

The Minister of Canadian Heritage has been mandated with advancing the renewal of the Museum Policy. The PCH Heritage Policies and Programs Directorate will lead the these efforts and CCI and CHIN will provide input, expertise and insight from the perspective of our stakeholders in support of this

3.1.5 Strategic Objective 5: Leverage opportunities within the Laboratories Canada initiative to pursue new ways of achieving science excellence, partnership and ensuring CCI and CHIN have modern and sustainable facilities

The Laboratories Canada represents an opportunity for CCI and CHIN to renew and define new and modern facilities to serve the heritage community for generations to come. As the planning process progresses, CCI and CHIN will:

1. Continue to work in collaboration with the Parks Canada Agency on the operational framework and operational management.
2. Continue to develop and implement the change management and transition plan.
3. Undertake outreach efforts that will engage Indigenous and heritage sector stakeholders.
4. Develop a partnerships-and-collaboration strategy that will extend the scope of potential partners beyond our traditional stakeholders, such as academia and industry, to advance heritage science priorities.

4.0 Principles of Implementation

As Special Operating Agencies, CCI and CHIN serve a wide range of clients, across the country, whose budgets, facilities and collections vary qualitatively and quantitatively. The needs of the heritage community are considerable and, in a world where technology can facilitate access to services in a faster and more efficient manner, there is a challenge for CCI and CHIN to be responsive to this reality. In implementing the strategic directions, CCI and CHIN will apply the following principles to all activities:

• Access: Ensure equal access to professional services for clients from all regions using various outreach and promotional tools and approaches and taking into consideration Internet access for clients in remote areas.
• Integration: CCI and CHIN will align internal resources across disciplinary and organizational boundaries in order to foster collaboration and thereby leverage the investments in each area for greater impact.
• Enabling: CCI and CHIN will promote the development of tools and products that enable heritage workers to care for their objects and collections themselves and will focus CCI and CHIN’s services in areas that require our specialized expertise or facilities. CCI and CHIN will keep abreast of new technologies to better serve clients and to adapt to newer governmental and scientific environments.
• Sustainability: As an overarching principle, CCI and CHIN will align efforts to implement this strategic plan with the Sustainable Development Goals. This will involve identifying the goals that align most closely with each of the Strategic Objectives and of most relevance to the heritage community. CCI and CHIN expect that Sustainable Development Goals will be a part of the consultation process and the development of future strategic plans.

5.0 Looking Ahead

This Strategic Plan sets a road map for CCI and CHIN to dedicate the resources in their trust to the service of the heritage community over the next five years. It emphasizes the alignment of CCI and CHIN’s work with client needs. It also underscores the importance of leveraging all of our investments through collaboration inside and outside of the organizations and requires no additional authorities.

6.0 Appendices

Appendix A – The Planning Team

CCI and CHIN’s Strategic Planning Team was comprised of the CCI-CHIN Management Committee and the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, as provided by the terms of reference approved for the development of the CCI and CHIN Strategic Plan for 2021-2026. The CCI-CHIN Executive Committee was consulted during the Strategic Plan editing process.

The following individuals participated:

CCI and CHIN Strategic Planning Team

Appendix B - List of Acronyms and Descriptions

BCIN

Bibliographic Database of the Conservation Information Network

CCI

Canadian Conservation Institute

SOA

Special Operation Agency

CHIN

Canadian Heritage Information Network

CMA

Canadian Museums Association

ICCROM

International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property

ICOM

International Council of Museums

ICOM-CIDOC

Documentation Committee of the International Council of Museums

INDEM

Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Act

MAP

Museums Assistance Program

MCP

Movable Cultural Property

NIP

National Inventory Program

PCH

Department of Canadian Heritage

PSPC

Public Services and Procurement Canada

R&D

Research and Development

RCMP

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

RE-ORG

Method for Reorganizing Storage developed by ICCROM and UNESCO

Appendix C – CCI-CHIN Logic Model

CCI and CHIN’s unique niche is their ability to generate new knowledge and tools, based on real problems and practical experience. The Strategic Objectives in this plan identify areas for particular attention, but CCI-CHIN’s Logic Model remains predicated on maintaining a broad range of expertise in semantic Web development, conservation and heritage information sub-disciplines and in a variety of scientific disciplines and techniques. CCI and CHIN’s ability to support the heritage community depends on this diversified capacity within these two Special Operating Agencies.

After the 2016 organizational review, CCI and CHIN developed a common logic model, organizing their activities under three (3) main operational areas: Research and Development, Dissemination, and Expert Services. Scientists, conservators and information technology experts work together on complementary aspects of practical problems raised by the heritage community. And perhaps even more importantly, CCI and CHIN feeds the results of their work back to the community through knowledge dissemination.

Canadian Conservation Institute / Canadian Heritage Information Network Logic Model

Core Areas of Activity	Research and Development	Dissemination		Expert Services
		Expert Knowledge	Collections Information
Short Term Results	Heritage professionals have access to new knowledge in heritage preservation, conservation and the management of collections information.	Heritage institutions and workers have access to a diversity of learning opportunities.	Professionals and public have access to pan-Canadian information about objects and collections.	Canadian heritage institutions have access to CCI expert services to
Medium Term Results	Heritage professionals use new knowledge in heritage preservation, conservation and the management of collections information, nationally and internationally.	Heritage institutions and workers use learning resources, and participate in CCI-CHIN learning events.	Professionals and public use Artefacts Canada’s information about Canada’s objects and collections.	Canadian heritage institutions use CCI expert services.
Long Term Results	New knowledge advances the conservation and understanding of, and access to, objects and collections.	Heritage workers improve their professional knowledge, skills and practices to conserve their collections.	Artefacts Canada enables professionals and the public to enhance their knowledge about Canada’s objects and collections.	Objects and collections are conserved, better understood, and rendered more accessible.
Departmental Results	Heritage objects and collections are preserved by heritage organizations for current and future generations.		The public is provided with access to cultural heritage.

Appendix D – CCI and CHIN Environmental Scan Background and Process

CCI and CHIN were originally created to address very specific heritage community needs:

• The key factor underpinning the creation of CCI in 1972 was that cultural heritage in Canada cultural heritage was in a state of neglect. ^{Footnote 9} A central conservation institute was needed to advise Canadian heritage institutions on proper conservation practices to protect Canada’s cultural heritage.
• The key factor that led to the establishment of CHIN^{Footnote 10} was the need to create a computerized national inventory of cultural and scientific collections in Canada by taking advantage of emerging technology. This enabled the heritage community to consolidate content for the heritage collection inventory, now known as Artefacts Canada.

In conducting the Environmental Scan, nearly forty reports and documents were reviewed, including:

• Reports from consultations with heritage institutions and professionals, held between 2013 and 2019
• Implementation Status of the previous Strategic Plan 2015-2020
• Staff workshops related to the Program Evaluation Recommendations
• CCI’s Knowledge Sharing Division’s plans and strategies
• Cultural Heritage Science Cluster Science Plan – Laboratories Canada

Appendix E – Glossary

Modern materials:

Any object or conservation material that might have a synthetic element to its construction (such as a polymer), be made from or contain a modern metal alloy, or an item which has, in part, an electronic, audio-visual, or digital component (either born-digital or through digitization).

Digital collection:

multiple digital objects, which may or may not bear some relationship to one another

Digital object:

file or collection of files that refer to a single entity (such as a single piece of artwork, or a motion picture, etc.). Digital objects can be born digital, or digital copies.

Digital copy:

any digital material that is a copy of something that exists (or existed) in a persisting analog format; for instance, a scan of a document, a photograph of a painting, or a digital conversion of an analog audio recording. This does not include copies of born digital objects.

Born digital:

Describes material or content created in electronic form and saved as digital data, having had no initial or interstitial state as an analog or physical product. Usually used to refer to electronically produced drafts of text, correspondence or visual works such as photographs created with digital cameras. This material may be written or saved on personal computers, floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, hard drives, or any mode of digital storage media.

Time-based works/time-based media:

Any work of art or performance (visual or otherwise) that incorporates time as an element or dimension in its construction or display.

7.0 Works Cited

1. “Democratization and Decentralization: A New Policy for Museums”, notes for an address by the Secretary of State, the Honorable Gérard Pelletier, to the Canadian Club of Calgary, Tuesday, March 28, 1972, p. 5.
2. “Government of Canada Survey of Heritage Institutions: 2017.”Department of Canadian Heritage, 2018.
3. “Government of Canada Survey of Heritage Institutions: 2019.” Department of Canadian Heritage, 2020.
4. Lambert, S., Porteous, G., and Zweifel, S. “Canadian Collections Care Survey.” (PDF version)Canadian Association of Professional Conservators, 2019.
5. Trudeau, Justin. “Minister of Canadian Heritage Mandate Letter.” Prime Minister of Canada, 2019.
6. Uchiyama, Christienne. “Waste of Place: Heritage Conservation within the context of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act,” Master’s thesis. Carleton University, 2012.