In 2023, Svalbard Museum established a competence centre for the cultural environment on Svalbard. The centre is responsible for following up a number of state-protected buildings and facilities, including trapping cabins, mining installations, and cableway systems. Agreements have been made with the Governor of Svalbard and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries for this work. Through these agreements, the competence center is responsible for providing advice, inspections, safety measures, condition assessments, and necessary maintenance of the state-owned cabins and the technical-industrial cultural heritage owned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. The centre also offers services to other owners of buildings on Svalbard with cultural-historical value.
The centre is currently staffed by two heritage craftsmen and a project manager for technical-industrial cultural heritage. In addition to this core staff, the museum involves other professional resources in the centre—such as archaeology and history—to build a broader and knowledge-based approach to safeguarding Svalbard’s cultural environments. Through the centre, the museum actively contributes to knowledge development related to cultural heritage and buildings in the Arctic through participation in research projects and other professional development work.