Overview of the InterPARES Trust Project in Africa: Trusting Records in an Increasingly Networked Environment

ABSTRACT InterPARES Trust (IP Trust) research project’s goal is to generate the theoretical and methodological frameworks that address issues related to the management of digital records in networked environments. Team Africa forms part of the IP Trust project and is undertaking six case studies. This article provides an overview of the research activities within each of the case studies. Team Africa’s case studies began recently and, therefore, there are no final products of the research process. Nonetheless, ongoing dissemination activities include three conference presentations (in Croatia, Spain, and the United States) as well as eight peer-reviewed articles published. Team Africa’s case studies focus on actionable factors defined from the ground up rather than from purely theoretical constructs. One case study’s output addresses trustworthiness of records in South Africa’s public audit processes. Three case studies’ output will address the management of digital records in Botswana, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Another case study’s output addresses the legislative and regulatory provisions related to management of records in South Africa. The last case study’s output is geared to aligning the curriculum of professionals that manage records in Africa’s institutions of higher learning.