Bydd mabwysiadu’r argymhellion hyn yn digwydd wrth i’r AHRC ddatblygu opsiynau ar gyfer seilwaith ymchwil digidol a fyddai’n creu’r buddsoddiad angenrheidiol i ariannu elfennau’r argymhellion hyn sydd y tu hwnt i allu a chapasiti sefydliadau unigol. Mae TaNC o’r farn y bydd casgliad digidol unedig yn y DU yn cyflawni canlyniadau trawsnewidiol drwy chwalu’r rhwystrau sy’n bodoli rhwng casgliadau treftadaeth ddiwylliannol eithriadol y DU a datgloi eu potensial llawn ar gyfer ein lles diwylliannol, cymdeithasol ac economaidd. Os gall y sector fabwysiadu ffyrdd mwy cyffredin o weithio, gan sicrhau bod eu casgliadau digidol yn cael eu creu, eu storio a’u trefnu drwy ddefnyddio safonau technegol y cytunwyd arnynt; eu diogelu gyda darpariaethau seiberddiogelwch priodol; a’u cadw mewn ffyrdd sy’n sicrhau eu bod ar gael i genedlaethau o ddefnyddwyr i ddod, gellid eu rhannu ar draws seilwaith technoleg ledled y DU a fyddai’n galluogi’r cyhoedd, ymchwilwyr arbenigol a chymunedau buddiant allweddol i gael mynediad at ein treftadaeth ddiwylliannol ac ymgysylltu â hi mewn ffyrdd nad oes modd eu dychmygu eto hyd yn oed.

The adoption of these recommendations will take place as the AHRC develops options for a digital research infrastructure that would create the investment necessary to fund the elements of these recommendations beyond the capability and capacity of individual institutions. TaNC believes that a unified UK digital collection will achieve transformational outcomes by breaking down the barriers that exist between the UK’s outstanding cultural heritage collections and unlocking their full potential for our cultural, social and economic good. If the sector can adopt more common ways of working, ensuring their digital collections are created, stored and organised using agreed technical standards; protected with appropriate cybersecurity provisions; and preserved in ways that keeps them available for generations of users to come, they could be shared across a UK-wide technology infrastructure that would enable the public, specialist researchers and key communities of interest to access and engage with our cultural heritage in ways not yet even imagined. 

This document presents the policy recommendations of Towards a National Collection (TaNC), a five-year, £18.9 million investment in the UK’s world-renowned museums, archives, libraries and galleries, with funding provided through UK Research and Innovation’s Strategic Priorities Fund and delivered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The recommendations detail an end-to-end process, with case-study examples and supported by detailed training materials, which we ask UK cultural heritageinstitutions and their funders to adopt to help build a unified UK digital collection.