iamAID Limited, June 2001 to date.

Since becoming an independent consultant he has successfully fulfilled the following commissions; for a major government department, the drafting of their Strategic Plan for Corporate Electronic Records Management; for a major software company, researching and reporting on marketing opportunities for RM software; and for a major international investment bank, developing and managing an RM project.

Client comments.

"Your input into this project has been invaluable, and is very much appreciated".

"Frank's technical expertise and commitment to the project has been invaluable and central to what we have achieved."

Public Record Office, 1971 to 2001.

During his 30-year career with the Public Record Office Frank’s responsibilities included:

• establishment and management of the Records and Information Management Consultancy Unit,
  
• liaison with central government departments,
  
• design and implementation of information technology systems,
  
• planning the first phase of the building at Kew and the development of associated operational systems and procedures,
  
• management of the record storage services,
  
• core operational and administrative functions.
  

In addition, from the mid 1980’s, he was involved in providing training in information and records management principles and practice for: the Civil Service College, RIPA, University College (London) and the Industrial Society International. He also participated in records management improvement projects in West Africa, as a short-term consultant, advising on professional, technical and management aspects of records management projects in the Gambia and Ghana.

Records and Information Management Consultancy Unit, founder head of the unit.

The mission statement of the unit was:

To promulgate the expertise, knowledge and wisdom that has accumulated during over 900 years of record keeping.

The aims of the unit were:

• To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of records management in client organisations;
  
• To develop the professional competency of records staff in client organisations; and
  
• To encourage the development of records management theory and practice in the wider community.
  

The objectives of the unit were:

• To provide high quality expertise and advice on records management procedures and practices;
  
• To develop and deliver appropriate training to staff in client organisations;
  
• To identify best practice and encouraged its introduction in client organisations;
  
• To devise and promulgate performance standards and performance monitoring systems; and
  
• To foster a community of interest in records management among and between client organisations.
  

The unit, which was self-financing, was formally launched in April 1994.

The training programme delivered major benefits to both the Public Record Office and client organisations and their staff. In 1998 three senior archivists from the Russian Federation undertook a three-month training programme. The programme was judged to be one of the most successful projects undertaken under the auspices of the Know How Fund programme.

Attendance at the Annual Conference on Records Management in Government (ACRMG) increased from 125 to 300 delegates over the five-year period he was organising and running the Conference. By 1998 the total budget for the conference exceeded £60,000.

Frank delivered sessions at the ACRMG and has contributed to conferences organised by the National Preservation Office (British Library), CIMTECH (University of Hertfordshire) and the British Computer Society’s Document Imaging Specialists Group.

He represented the Public Record Office on the Legal Images Initiative (LII). The activities of the LII and successor bodies resulted in the issue of BSi-DISC PD 0008:1999 A Code of Practice for Legal Admissibility and Evidential Weight of Information Stored Electronically.

Records Management Department, Inspection and Client Manager.

Responsibility for providing advice and guidance to central government departments and other public record bodies on records and information management issues and the selection of records to be permanently preserved.

These included the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, the National Economic Development Council, the Department of Energy, the British Railways Board, the National Coal Board, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Office of Her Majesty's Treasury Solicitor.

Reader Services Department, team leader.

Responsibility for security and emergency procedures, use of information technology and the coordination of forward planning; a team providing advice and guidance to researchers visiting, and corresponding with, the Public Record Office; and, with others, for the day-to-day operation of the department.

Achievements.

• the introduction of new procedures for handling postal inquiries;
  
• the introduction a proto-call-centre system,
  
• the preparation of information leaflets on topics such as records documenting nationality and citizenship, Land Registration in Palestine and records relating to the armed forces of Poland.
  
• costed proposals for extending the availability of public services.
  

Corporate Services Division, deputy to Principal Establishment and Finance Officer,

Repository and Technical Services: head of Kew repository,

Records Management Department: line manager of 16 support and junior liaison staff,

Research and Planning Unit: member of team responsible for the design and construction of a new archive building and the development of associated systems and procedures. Particular responsibility for the system design, programme development and installation of the computerised document ordering system and line management of a team of eight staff.

Achievements,

• successful transfer of 48 miles (77km) of records to the new building;
  
• implementation, in 1977, of a computerised document ordering system (the system was still operational in 1993); and
  
• the development and implementation of new working practices and procedures which resulted in significant increases in performance and productivity.
  
  

Modern Records Department: editorial work on 18th, 19th and 20th century records and cataloguing of maps, plans and other non-standard format records.

Research and Development and Quality Assurance technician: 1965 to 1971: non-ethical pharmaceutics multi-national company and the gas industry.

Specialist training undertaken:

• Consultancy skills; intermediate and advanced,
  
• Presentation skills,
  
• Consultation and negotiation techniques,
  
• Interviewing and inter-related personal skills,
  
• Government accounting systems,
  
• Financial management techniques,
  
• Financial planning and control,
  
• Microsoft Office software including Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
  

Outside interests,

Travel, reading, theatre, music, walking, cooking, conservation, Scouting (holder of the Queen’s Scout award) and Siamese cats.

Meyers-Briggs type: E(13) N(25) T(27) P(41)