Comparing Skill Requirements across Executives, Managers, and Practitioners

Each lens defined under the DigCurV Curriculum Framework focuses on the skill requirements for one specific grouping of digital curation professional. The Executive, Manager, and Practitioner lenses in particular address the skill requirements of staff respectively in these roles in the Cultural Heritage sector.

Comparing the specific skill requirements across skill domains for these different areas of responsibility will support both those currently employed in the digital curation sector in developing their professional development plans, and those considering entry to the field in assessing their suitability for different roles within digital curation.

+Knowledge and Intellectual Abilities (KIA)

Skills in this domain relate to the ability of staff to demonstrate knowledge and competency in specific areas of digital curation. A key component of this knowledge is the application of digital curation to specific market sectors such as the cultural heritage sector.

+KIA1: Subject Knowledge

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
KIA1.1 – Subject-specific knowledge and definitions	Is aware of	Understands	Understands
KIA1.2 – Relevance of, and need for, digital curation activity within subject context	Is aware of	Is aware of
KIA1.3 – Current and emerging subject landscape (trends, people, institutions)	Is aware of
KIA1.4 – Respective responsibilities for digital curation across institution	Understands
KIA1.5 – Scope the boundaries for digital curation at institution	Is able to	Is able to
KIA1.6 – Fundamental digital curation principles including lifecycles		Understands	Understands
KIA1.7 – Designated community		Understands	Understands
KIA1.8 – Select appropriate technological solutions		Is able to	Is able to
KIA1.9 – Apply appropriate technological solutions			Is able to
KIA1.10 – Develop a professional network for support	Is able to	Is able to	Is able to
KIA1.11 – Digital curation tools (at high level)		Is aware of
KIA1.12 – Digital preservation standards		Is aware of	Is aware of
KIA1.13 – Digital curation and preservation terminology		Understands	Understands
KIA1.14 – Scope of team responsibilities within institution		Understands
KIA1.15 – Information technology definitions and skills			Understands
KIA1.16 – Select and and apply digital curation and preservation techniques			Is able to
KIA1.17 – Scope of own role within institutional context	Understands	Understands	Understands

+KIA2: Selection/Appraisal

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
KIA2.1 – Maximise benefits and long-term value of collections	Is able to
KIA2.2 – Articulate information- and records-management principles		Is able to
KIA2.3 – Articulate the benefits and long-term value of collections		Is able to	Is able to
KIA2.4 – Contribute to institutional policies, including criteria for selection/appraisal	Is able to	Is able to
KIA2.5 – Information- and records-management principles			Understands
KIA2.6 – Institutional policies, including criteria for selection/appraisal			Understands
KIA2.7 – Plan application of selection/appraisal criteria to collections			Is able to

+KIA3: Evaluation Studies

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
KIA3.1 – Prioritise funding for curation activities based on the value of digital objects and the risks facing objects	Is able to
KIA3.2 – Respond to findings from user studies constructively in future decision-making	Is able to
KIA3.3 – Conduct user needs analysis		Understands	Is able to
KIA3.4 – Continuously monitor and evaluate digital curation technologies		Is able to	Is able to
KIA3.5 – Monitor and assess needs of designated community		Is able to
KIA3.6 – Conduct usability evaluation			Is able to
KIA3.7 – Prioritise curation activities based on value of digital objects and the risks facing them			Is able to

+KIA4: Information Skills

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
KIA4.1 – Information-seeking strategies, access technologies and user sharing behaviours		Understands	Understands
KIA4.2 – Support information access and sharing			Understands
KIA4.3 – Deploy appropriate information seeking strategies			Is able to
KIA4.4 – Key metadata standards for sector/subject	Is aware of	Is aware of	Understands
KIA4.5 – Select metadata standards		Is able to	Is able to
KIA4.6 – Apply metadata standards			Is able to
KIA4.7 – Relationship between appropriate controlled vocabularies and metadata standards		Understands	Understands

+KIA5: Data Skills

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
KIA5.1 – Data structures and types	Is aware of	Understands
KIA5.2 – File types, applications and systems	Is aware of	Understands
KIA5.3 – Database types and structures		Understands
KIA5.4 – Execute analysis of and forensic procedures in digital curation		Is able to

+Personal Qualities (PQ)

Skills in this domain relate to the ability of staff to interact and collaborate with other relevant stakeholders in digital curation activities. A key component of this knowledge is the ability to communicate with fellow professionals, colleagues in other departments, staff from external institutions, and members of the public.

+PQ1: Integrity

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
PQ1.1 – Responsibility, accountability and good practice in digital curation	Understands	Is able to	Is able to
PQ1.2 – Value of policy formulation to deal with malpractice	Understands
PQ1.3 – Make transparent decisions	Is able to	Is able to
PQ1.4 – Demonstrate leadership in high quality standards of work	Is able to
PQ1.5 – Identify malpractice		Is able to	Is able to

+PQ2: Communication and Advocacy Skills

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
PQ2.1 – Communicate across domains, staff groups and with other relevant communities	Is able to	Is able to	Is able to
PQ2.2 – Articulate importance of digital curation to peers, other staff and public	Is able to	Is able to	Is able to
PQ2.3 – Articulate value of collections to peers, other staff and public	Is able to	Is able to
PQ2.4 – Make case for funding of digital curation activity	Is able to	Is able to
PQ2.5 – Manage and foster stakeholder relationships	Is able to	Is able to
PQ2.6 – Plan and deliver dissemination activities		Is able to
PQ2.7 – Make case for staff training and development		Is able to
PQ2.8 – Engage with wider digital curation community		Is able to	Is able to
PQ2.9 – Communication protocols for designated community			Understands

+PQ3: Responsiveness to Change

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
PQ3.1 – Potential developments in business models, strategic planning and management models in digital curation	Is aware of
PQ3.2 – Potential of developments in digital curation to influence new services and tools	Is aware of
PQ3.3 – Emerging developments in discipline, and their applicability to digital curation activity in the institution	Understands
PQ3.4 – Cultivate and maintain relationships with other relevant sources of information in digital curation (individuals/services/institutions)	Is able to	Is able to	Is able to
PQ3.5 – Value of new and emerging digital curation technologies and processes		Understands
PQ3.6 – Translate knowledge of technology and processes into services and tools for needs of designated community		Is able to
PQ3.7 – Assess, extend and generate digital curation models for cultural heritage domain		Is able to
PQ3.8 – Maintain continuous awareness of emerging developments in digital curation			Is able to
PQ3.9 – Translate current digital curation knowledge into new services and tools			Is able to

+Professional Conduct (PC)

Skills in this domain relate to the ability of staff to conduct themselves within the ethical and legal frameworks that regulate digital curation as a profession.

+PC1: Regulatory Requirements

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
PC1.1 – Legal frameworks in which digital curation is taking place	Understands	Understands	Understands
PC1.2 – Domain policies and standards for management and preservation of digital objects	Is aware of	Is aware of	Understands
PC1.3 – Contribute to national/international regulatory frameworks in which digital repositories operate	Is able to

+PC2: Regulatory Compliance

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
PC2.1 – Institution's legal culpabilities in digital curation activity	Understands	Understands	Understands
PC2.2 – Incorporate legal requirements into institutional policies	Is able to
PC2.3 – Contribute to institutional regulatory framework in which digital repositories operate	Is able to	Understands	Understands
PC2.4 – Apply appropriate actions to curation workflow to ensure compliance with legal and policy frameworks and relevant standards		Is able to	Is able to
PC2.5 – Select and apply validation techniques to detect policy infringement		Is aware of	Is able to

+PC3: Ethics, Principles and Sustainability

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
PC3.1 – Social and ethical responsibility in digital curation	Understands	Understands	Understands
PC3.2 – Energy consumption and carbon footprint of digital curation activity	Understands	Understands	Understands
PC3.3 – Embed principles of ethical conduct throughout institutional policies (including those affecting curation activity)	Is able to		Is able to
PC3.4 – Adhere to principles of ethical conduct	Is able to	Is able to
PC3.5 – Evaluate and treat employees fairly		Is able to

+Management and Quality Assurance (MQA)

Skills in this domain relate to the ability of staff to plan, execute, and monitor digital curation activities as part of project groups or larger programmes of work.

+MQA1: Risk Management

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
MQA1.1 – Undertake succession planning	Is able to	Is able to
MQA1.2 – Risk management theory and standards	Understands	Understands
MQA1.3 – Apply risk management practice, techniques and standards to digital curation activities within institutional risk management context		Is able to	Is able to
MQA1.4 – Assess, analyse, monitor and communicate risks		Is able to	Is able to

+MQA2: Audit and Certification

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
MQA2.1 – Audit and certification standards	Is aware of	Understands
MQA2.2 – Benefits of audit process, and relevance of audit results	Is aware of
MQA2.3 – Institutional liabilities in audit process	Understands
MQA2.4 – Level of audit appropriate to institution	Understands
MQA2.5 – Lead repository through certification process		Is able to
MQA2.6 – Respond to audit report and build new service plan where required		Is able to
MQA2.7 – Prepare effectively for an audit of curation functions		Is able to
MQA2.8 – Audit of curation functions			Understands
MQA2.9 – Certification of repositories or programmes			Understands
MQA2.10 – Maintain documentation in preparation for audit process			Is able to

+MQA3: Resource Management

Skill	Executive Lens	Manager Lens	Practitioner Lens
Gaps indicate specific skills that are not defined in the corresponding lens.
MQA3.1 – Undertake strategic planning	Is able to
MQA3.2 – Undertake business continuity management including disaster planning	Is able to
MQA3.3 – Resources required for digital curation activity including energy consumption	Understands
MQA3.4 – Reputation management	Understands
MQA3.5 – Respond to staff recruitment, training and development needs	Is able to	Is able to
MQA3.6 – Undertake financial planning, cost analysis and economic sustainability	Understands	Is able to
MQA3.7 – Undertake business planning in line with corporate/institutional goals	Is able to	Is able to
MQA3.8 – Make sound decisions based on information produced by project team		Is able to
MQA3.9 – Recruit and motivate staff		Is able to
MQA3.10 – Create a team environment		Is able to
MQA3.11 – Plan and implement sound staff training and development		Is able to
MQA3.12 – Make sustainable storage decisions in institutional context		Is able to
MQA3.13 – Creation, management and monitoring of project plans		Is able to	Understands
MQA3.14 – Undertake project management activities and innovative practices		Is able to	Is able to
MQA3.15 – Data management requirements		Understands	Understands
MQA3.16 – Produce relevant information to support decision-making		Is able to	Understands
MQA3.17 – Deal with data curation challenges through structured planning			Is able to
MQA3.18 – Project management concepts and techniques			Understands