Self-Assessment Tools

Self-assessment is the process of analyzing the behaviors, knowledge/level of awareness, and attitudes that contributes to individual or organizational performance. It can be a helpful tool for advancing goals or improving work.

Two types of self-assessment are offered here: an extensive survey examining both individual and institutional cultural competency awareness and a rubric, which can help an institution identify cultural competency strengths and challenges, and plot a course toward improvement.

Both tools can promote the skills of reflection, empathy, and relationship-building.

Survey: Cultural Competency in Your Archives
This extensive survey will help archives leadership and staff reflect on levels of awareness and involvement with managing cross-cultural differences within the archives and with the communities it serves. It’s a tool that can help agency leadership and staff forge important internal and external conversations, and inform agency strategy. You may want to use the survey to a create a baseline of information for your agency, if you have not done so before. Revisit all of parts of the survey as your agency moves forward on its awareness-building journey.

Rubric
Use this practical tool to assess where your agency is in its management of cross-cultural differences among staff and the communities the archives and its strategic partners serve. Use it to find a starting point and to plot the steps needed to advance work internally and externally to achieve the greatest mission impact.