The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) unites museums, libraries, archives and scientific institutes under one roof. Its holdings and collections contain unique testimonies to the history of mankind and form the basis of intensive research and outreach work. The SPK is a federal foundation under public law with headquarters in Berlin and currently employs around 2,000 people. This makes it the largest employer in the cultural sector in Germany. The federal government and all 16 federal states jointly finance the foundation and also cooperate in its committees.
The introduction of the federal electronic records management system forms a central building block within the SPK's digital strategy. Due to its organizational structure, which comprises five relatively autonomous institutions with different locations and at the same time bundles certain tasks centrally, the SPK will benefit in particular from the introduction of the electronic records management system. Document-based business processes can finally be carried out digitally across all locations. Collaboration on documents will become easier, and e-mail inboxes and file systems will be relieved. At the same time, the structure of the SPK presents the project with the challenge of finding an appropriate balance between central requirements and local regulatory competencies, so that the e-file has the lowest possible barriers to entry and can be used profitably by all employees.
Within the SPK, the "Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz" (Prussian Cultural Heritage Secret State Archive) has taken over the lead for the introduction process. In the first half of 2021, the successful piloting took place in selected organizational units. In the meantime, 100 employees are working productively with the system. The next milestone is the start of the roll-out, which everyone involved hopes will quickly overcome the media disruptions that still exist.
