Research Agenda

SAA Research Agenda 2026-2031

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) was awarded $150,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Grant program in July 2024 to develop a prioritized research agenda for the archival profession that builds upon SAA’s Research and Innovation Roadmap. The project team, consisting of members from SAA’s Committee on Research, Data, and Assessment (CORDA), SAA leadership, and a professional facilitator, hosted a two-day in-person forum in May of 2025, in Chicago, to bring together archival experts, practitioners, educators, community leaders, and grantmakers to transform the Research and Innovation Roadmap into a concrete Research Agenda, identifying the profession’s most pressing research needs.

The Agenda reflects the current status of the profession with the intended audience being the Society of American Archivists and the lifespan, 2026-2031. CORDA’s intent is that this document serves as a framework that encourages research, innovation, collaboration, and meaningful change.

Key Documents and Resources

• SAA Research Agenda
• The Effort to Create a Research Agenda for SAA: A Report from the Project Team - a detailed report documenting the creation of the Agenda
• SAA Research Agenda Dataset - contains over 70 documents that capture the work conducted during the two-year project and the processes that informed the grant's final products (available in the SAA Dataverse).