Assessment of service requests
Conservation experts provide services to support the heritage community in preserving heritage collections in Canada. However, demand for these services generally exceeds our capacity to deliver them, and we cannot accept all the requests we receive.
To ensure these services are allocated in a manner that is consistent and transparent, we assess all requests against a set of criteria that include the significance of the object or collections, the broader benefits to the heritage community and the equitable distribution of services across Canada. Note that to be accepted, requests do not have to fulfill all criteria.
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Assessment criteria
When a request for service is received it is subject to the following determinations:
- the client is eligible for the service (see Policy on cost recovery)
- the service fits within the CCI mandate, objectives and strategies
- CCI has the operational capacity to commence the service within 18 months of the assessment.
If the required lab has a backlog of services, CCI will notify the client that the request cannot be considered at this time.
If the work can be undertaken, the request is assessed against the following criteria:
Impact on Canadian collections and benefit to the client — the benefits of the service to either the preservation of the collection or an improved understanding of it are examined, as well as the direct benefit to the client (owner of the artifact or collection). There are two aspects to this criterion:
- the significance of the object /collection/facility to the country, region or community
- use that will be made of the tangible outcome of the service by the client (e.g. accessibility of the object in the case of treatment, information required for treatment in the case of analysis, new knowledge that will be used by the client)
Impact on the heritage community — the broader benefits associated with the service are studied, which could include:
- links to current research and development projects
- potential for future research and development projects
- education for other clients through internships, workshops or publications
- development of new skills that staff could use in future work for other clients
- broader benefits, synergies and linkages with institutions or groups other than those already mentioned (e.g. benefits to partners of the client, dissemination of knowledge gained from the service within the client's province or region, or contributions to a body of knowledge that has national or international benefit)
Corporate considerations — the service is required to meet the following operational conditions:
- balance of services to all parts of the country, all types of institutions, all client groups, etc.
- alignment with priorities of the Department of Canadian Heritage and Government of Canada
- available resources to carry out the work (i.e. staff members with the appropriate expertise, contractors, equipment, facilities, partnerships, etc.)
- available time and funding to carry out the project
General terms and conditions
When planning to request a professional conservation service, look for the specific terms and conditions between the organization and Canadian Conservation institute.
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