Rep(s) to ICA Forum of Professional Associations

International Council on Archives (ICA)
Forum of Professional Associations (FPA)

Group Web Page: https://www.ica.org/en/forum-of-professional-associations-fpa

The Forum of Professional Associations (FPA) of the International Council on Archives represents professional associations who are interested in the administration, preservation and use of records and archives. Formerly called the Section of Professional Associations (SPA), the FPA was established October 2021 by vote of the ICA Extraordinary General Assembly. FPA has representatives from the international archal community and is managed by a Steering Committee.

All professional associations are encouraged to join FPA and to take advantage of being part of the international archival community.

FPA aims to strengthen and unite the archival profession globally and to help its member associations develop their organizations and increase their influence. It does this by producing guidelines and advice to associations aimed at improving their services and enhancing their community profile, and by organizing and supporting seminars and conferences. It also supports an archival solidarity project which works to coordinate international foreign assistance projects.

II. Number and Length of Appointments

The Academy of Certified Archivists and SAA are represented jointly by a single individual appointed by the SAA Vice President¹ (in consultation with the appropriate ACA leader[s]) for a four-year term that is renewable. To facilitate the possibility of the election of SAA’s representative to the Executive Committee of ICA FPA, the term of appointment runs through the ICA meeting of the final year of appointment.

Selection of the ACA/SAA representative to ICA FPA is based on the following criteria:

• The individual must be a member in good standing of both the Academy of Certified Archivists and the Society of American Archivists.
• To ensure that the representative has a broad understanding of archival issues in the United States, the individual is encouraged to have served as a member of the SAA Council and/or ACA Board of Regents..
• The individual shall have demonstrated an interest in and understanding of international archival issues (e.g., competency models, standards development, preservation of at-risk archives).
• ICA commits to waiving the registration fee for attending the ICA meeting. SAA commits to covering the expenses for a coach class round trip fare, ground transoortation, and daily per diem according to SAA office policies for each of the two anticipated in-person meetings per year. The remaining expenses will be the responsibility of the representativew and is encouraged to be covered by their employing institution as a service to the archives profession. The individual must be available and able to travel to up to two international meetings per year..
• The representative must be suppored by their employer with leave time, and supplemental funding as needed.

III. Duties

A. Participate actively as a member of the ICA FPA Steering Committee.
B. Gain support for joint action on questions of interest to professional associations.
C. Recommend actions that SAA may endorse or pursue in the international arena.

D. Notify Council about any international news or efforts that would be of concern to SAA and its membership.

IV. Reporting Procedures

The representative prepares an annual report to the Council in accordance with established procedures. Additionally, the representative provides a written report (using the Council Agenda Item template) to the Council within 30 days of attending an ICA meeting.  All reporting requirements are the responsibility of the appointed representative, regardless of whether they are able to attend any meetings.

V. Meetings

The ACA/SAA representative generally attends both the ICA Annual General Meeting (in the fall) and the ICA Forum of Professional Associations Meeting (in the spring). In addition, the representative may attend the quadrennial ICA Congress. SAA funds attendance at ICA meetings as the annual budget permits.

VI. SAA Stakeholders

A.  International Archives Affairs Section and other SAA Sections as appropriate
B.  Standards Committee

Approved by the Council: May 2003

Revised: May 2025.

Updated Nov 2022, per ICA change from "Section on Professional Archival Associations" to "Forum of Professional Associations" (Oct 2021).

¹ As long as this representation remains a joint effort between ACA and SAA, the Vice President’s appointment is made in consultation with the ACA leader who makes ACA’s appointments.