An integrated approach

Our Corporate Plan 2017–18 to 2020–21 outlined how we were going to achieve our purpose and work towards our vision of being Australia’s living archive—relevant, engaged and accessible. To deliver against our purpose and achieve our vision, we set five strategic priorities in the plan:

1. A ‘living’ archive—for everyone
2. Developing leadership in the digital environment
3. Collecting and preserving
4. Indigenous connections
5. Capability and maximising our resources

Our Corporate Plan is the NFSA’s primary planning and reporting document. It was developed and published in accordance with the requirements of Section 35 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (the PGPA Act).

In the plan there is a comprehensive range of both qualitative and quantitative performance measures to enable a holistic assessment of our outcomes and impact. The NFSA’s Corporate Plan 2017–18 to 2020–21 was integrated with our business planning processes and we have systems in place to regularly monitor and report on our progress and achievements against the plan.

Our five strategic priorities and a selection of key performance criteria described in our Corporate Plan are integrated into our Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS). Our PBS also includes key performance indicators set by the Department of Communications and the Arts.

Annual Performance Statements

As part of the enhanced Commonwealth performance framework established by the PGPA Act, each year we publicly report on our performance against the Corporate Plan and the PBS. We do this through our annual performance statements in our Annual Report, which tell our complete performance story.

Our results against each of our Corporate Plan performance criteria for 2017–18, and analysis of their contribution to the achievement of our purpose, are reported in the annual performance statements below. For each strategic priority, the performance criteria, annual target, achievements and discussion of results have been included.

Snapshot: Celebrating our staff

In 2017–18, our staff participated in two events that challenged our creativity and encouraged agency–wide cooperation.

We entered the Museum Dance Off, a light-hearted international competition featuring museums, galleries, libraries and archives showcasing their work—and their best dance moves. Utilising existing internal resources, with staff volunteering their own time to rehearse, we produced an entry inspired by Kylie Minogue’s 1990 hit Step Back in Time.

Producing the video was both a team-building exercise and a creative way to showcase our people, skills and facilities. It also built our profile in Australia and overseas, with the video receiving 46,730 votes and the NFSA winning the Australian champion title. Out of 48 entries from all over the world, we were thrilled to finish fourth overall, all the more so given that it was our first ever entry. Media coverage included television (ABC News, Studio 10), print (The Canberra Times), radio (ABC, 2CC, Mix FM) and online (ABC, Fairfax publications).

Our staff also participated in a two-day Hackathon in January, during which small teams workshopped and pitched ideas addressing our key challenges. The winning project will see the introduction of the first NFSA ‘Youth Ambassador’. A mini-Hackathon in March inspired the development of a public event planned for later in 2018.