Emergency Preparedness Subscription for Municipal Archives
The municipality’s archives are a central part of the community’s vital information infrastructure. In a heightened state of preparedness or other serious incident, archives must be able to be relocated quickly and safely to approved facilities. Depona’s emergency preparedness subscription provides a prepared and documented solution with guaranteed repository capacity, clear procedures, and prioritized handling upon activation.
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Secure archive management when circumstances change rapidly
Sweden’s municipalities operate in a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty. In such an environment, it is essential to have a clear plan for how critical public archives should be protected and relocated quickly if the situation requires it. The archives contain documentation that underpins legal certainty, governance, supervision, and citizens’ right of access, and are therefore a central component of the municipality’s emergency preparedness.
Depona’s emergency preparedness subscription for municipal archives provides the municipality with a complete, tested solution that enables rapid relocation of archives to secure repository facilities classified according to RA-FS 2013:4, with guaranteed capacity.
News!
Rent archive space in an archive repository from Depona.
Public-sector organisations now have the opportunity to rent dedicated archive space in several of Depona’s archive facilities.
What is an emergency preparedness subscription for municipal archives?
The emergency preparedness subscription is a contract-based solution in which the municipality plans and reserves archive resources with Depona in advance. The purpose is to ensure that, already in peacetime, the municipality has prepared how the relocation, transport, reception, and continued storage of archives will be carried out should a crisis situation arise.
The subscription includes, among other things:
- An overarching plan for the municipal archives in the event of a crisis, including a clear allocation of responsibilities between the municipality and Depona.
- Reserved capacity in Depona’s RA-FS 2013:4 classified archive repositories at several locations in Sweden.
- Predefined routines for rapid and secure transport via Depona’s transport partner, with prioritized handling upon activation.
In this way, the municipality can rely on an established provider with extensive experience in both physical and digital archive management, instead of being forced to improvise solutions under pressure.
Secure archive storage in accordance with the requirements of the National Archives of Sweden
A central part of the preparedness solution is that the archival material can, when needed, be relocated to archive facilities that comply with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations for archival premises, RA-FS 2013:4. Depona’s archive repositories are designed to meet these requirements regarding, among other things, fire protection, humidity control, unauthorized access, and operational reliability, and are already used today by a large number of public-sector organizations.
For the municipality, this means that the archives can be moved to an environment designed for long-term preservation, even if the municipality’s own premises become inaccessible, damaged, or need to be repurposed during a crisis.
How activation works in a crisis
When the municipality enters into the emergency preparedness subscription, a joint preparedness plan is developed. It is adapted to the municipality’s organization, current archive facilities, volumes, priorities, and risk profile.
The plan typically includes:
- Which parts of the archive should be prioritized during a relocation, and how these are marked and prepared.
- Communication channels and the alert chain between the municipality’s functions and Depona, including on-call procedures.
- A practical implementation plan for emptying, packaging, loading, transport, reception, and placement in the archive repository.
- Procedures for how the municipality will access the records after relocation, both physically and digitally.
In the event of an activation, the municipality contacts Depona according to the agreed alert chain. A coordinated operation is then initiated together with Depona’s staff and Depona’s transport partner, with the goal of moving prioritized material into secure storage as quickly as possible.
Integrated solution for physical and digital resilience
The emergency preparedness subscription is designed to integrate with the municipality’s other archival solutions, including digital archives and systems such as Visual Archive. The combination of secure physical storage and digital access makes it possible to maintain the flow of information even if the regular premises cannot be used.
Examples of issues that can be addressed in the plan:
- How digitized material will remain accessible even when physical parts of the archive are relocated.
- How the municipality ensures that critical operations — such as social services, building permits, education, and crisis management — can continue to access historical records.
Benefits for the municipality
An emergency preparedness subscription provides the municipality with:
Predictability and clarity – Municipal leadership receives concrete, documented guidance on how the archives are to be handled during heightened preparedness or other serious incidents. This supports both political decision-making and internal governance.
Time savings in a critical situation – Because planning, agreements, and capacity are already in place, attention during a crisis can be directed toward leadership and prioritization, rather than scrambling to find facilities or transport solutions at the last minute.
Reduced risk of information loss – By using archive facilities that meet the National Archives’ regulations, the risk of records being damaged by fire, moisture, or unauthorized access during relocation is minimized.
Strengthened compliance with laws and regulations – The Archives Act and related regulations apply even in emergencies. A prepared solution helps the municipality continue to meet its obligations, even under stressful conditions.
Access to experienced archival expertise – Depona works daily with municipal and other public archives, both physical and digital. The municipality thus gains access to specialists who can provide practical advice before, during, and after a potential activation.
Examples of scenarios where an emergency preparedness subscription is relevant
The preparedness solution can be used in several types of situations, for example:
- Heightened preparedness or an increased threat level that makes the current archive facilities unsuitable or at risk.
- Serious damage to a building, such as fire, flooding, or major technical failures.
- Planned renovations or relocations where the municipality wants to ensure that archival material is handled with the same level of security as during a crisis.
By having an established emergency preparedness subscription, the municipality does not need to determine in the moment whether and how a relocation can be carried out — instead, it can rely on a predefined solution.
Next steps
If you would like to learn more about how the emergency preparedness subscription can be tailored to your municipality, you are welcome to contact Depona for a review of your current archival situation, volumes, and risk profile. Based on this, a concrete preparedness plan and subscription setup can be developed to support the municipality’s overall emergency management efforts.
