The center starts as a 2-year project but is intended to become permanent addition to the museum’s services. An agreement has been made with the governor to monitor the state-owned protected buildings and facilities outside of Longyearbyen. In addition, an agreement has been made with the ministry of trade, industry and fisheries to preserve, secure, and maintain the ministries cultural heritage sites. The center will also provide services to other owners of buildings on Svalbard of historical significance. In the long term, the center will integrate other disciplines and research to build a broader and knowledge-based approach to safeguarding the cultural environments in Svalbard.
The centre is now staffed by cultural heritage craftsman Erki Markson and project manager for technical-industrial cultural heritage Frode Sekse Hilleren (starts 1.7.23).