Financial Implications

Cost to organisations of creating metadata

42 It is not possible for the EGU to state exactly what costs any given organisation will face, since this will vary according to the factors listed in paragraph 31. A reasonable working estimate is that the exercise of authoring metadata should take a large agency on average twenty person days, and a small one five. The ongoing cost of maintaining metadata once created is estimated to be 50% of the original cost of creation per annum.

43 The EGU's best estimate to date of the costs involved is that the Public Service will spend a total of $400,000 in reaching NZGLS compliance, and $200,000 per annum in maintaining compliance (all figures GST excl.). These costs are expected to be absorbed in agency baselines as an ongoing information management cost. The SSC will ensure that the costs the NZGLS imposes on agencies are minimised.

Costs of Stewardship/Custodianship

44 The SSC will pay Archives NZ to act as NZGLS custodian. The annual costs of custodianship, as estimated by Archives New Zealand, are:

1 Senior Archives Analyst (FTE) $55,000

General operating (editors/contract support staff) $ 25,000

Publishing/printing costs $ 15,000

Participation in AGLS/Dublin Core $6,000

NZGLS working group expenses $ 4,000

$105,000 (GST excl.)

45 Once agreed, these costs will be reviewed annually to allow Archives New Zealand to monitor the actual expenditure involved, and to ensure the budget reflects the stewardship priorities of the SSC.

Cost of operating NZGLS Metadata System

46 The EGU has been already been funded to build and operate the NZGLS System (metadata repository and creation tools). This involves capital funding of $1.040 millionin the 2001/02 year (agreed to as part of the 2001/02 budget).