ABSTRACT
This chapter examines progress towards professionalism and considers how the associations can best serve the archives and records management profession in the future. By 1945 two associations with a professional interest in archives existed: the British Records Association (BRA) and The Council for the Preservation of Business Archives (CPBA). In the 1980s two new organisations emerged, both with more explicitly political agendas: the Association of County Archivists (ACA) in 1980 and the National Council on Archives (NCA) in 1988. Innovations included the Archives Lottery Adviser post, National Archives Network (NAN) strands and the Workforce Project, all of which contributed to the transformation of the profession in the early 2000s. By 2003, it was clear that the structure of the professional bodies needed to be improved to provide support for the future of the profession. The BRA's future role was unclear without the RPS, which it could no longer afford to fund. The RMS and BAC struggled to recruit members.
