The Sustainability Test: A Self-Assessment Tool for Evaluating Digital Sustainability is a tool for self-assessment intended to help you identify where you are in your sustainability journey. It is ideal for organizations managing digital collections that would like to know if their digital assets would be available over the long- term. This assessment can be completed by one person or, preferably, by a small team. Your team can use the results to help plan your next steps, communicate needs to your leadership or other decision-makers, set annual priorities, choose a project to work on, plan a project, create a funding request and more.
Developed by Kara Van Malssen, AVP’s Managing Director Managing Director, in collaboration with ICCROM’s Sustaining Digital Heritage (SDH) team, this tool is based on findings of the research carried out as part of “The Digital Imperative: Envisioning the Path to Sustaining Our Collective Digital Heritage.” This research helped identify a ‘Flywheel Sustainability’ model based on the methods and mindsets of human-centred design. The digital sustainability journey starts with empathizing, which means establishing an in-depth understanding of the people your organization serves and their needs. Then, you must establish priorities and create solutions that deliver the value and impact your stakeholders are looking for.