Championing Archaeological Businesses

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Year: 2011

  • Job Losses in Archaeology, April 2011

    The latest survey of Job Losses in Archaeology shows that the rate of job losses in the sector appears to have slowed, with business confidence showing very slight signs of recovery.

    The survey, carried out by Landward Research Ltd on behalf of FAME and the IfA, covers the period January-April 2011.

    It shows that in the first three months of 2011 the number of archaeologists in work increased very slightly to an estimated 5863 (800 fewer than the summer 2007 peak), though further job losses in local government curatorial services are expected.

    Several businesses have ceased trading, with university-based companies being particularly vulnerable. Business confidence was poor through much of 2010, but there has been a slight recovery in the first quarter of this year.

    For the eighth quarter in succession, the skills needed for invasive fieldwork were those most frequently being lost.

    The full report may be viewed here.

  • Recommendations for improving historic environment practice – the Southport Group seeks your views

    Recommendations for improving historic environment practice – the Southport Group seeks your views

    The Southport Group has launched an online public consultation to gather opinion on a ground-breaking draft report that outlines recommendations and products for improving historic environment practice to ensure delivery of consistent excellence in public benefit.

    The consultation officially launches at the IfA Conference on 13 April and runs until 3 June 2011. All content can be found on the Southport webpage.

    The draft report considers key areas of planning-led investigation of the historic environment, identifies obstacles to optimum delivery in the past, presents a vision for new ways of working under PPS5 principles, and makes detailed practical recommendations to reach that vision. The impetus for change stems from the 2010 publication of Planning Policy Statement 5, which offers an extraordinary and rare opportunity for the historic environment sector to ensure its work is truly driven by the interests of what has been discovered or lost and that its overall purpose is the realisation of public benefit.

    The consultation asks historic environment professionals to provide written feed-back on whether they endorse the report visions, recommendations and proposed products, and to suggest any changes or additional commendations/products before the June deadline. Comments will help to shape the final report due to launch in July 2011.

    Organisations assigned with actions in the report recommendations will be approached over coming weeks and asked if they wish to endorse the visions and commit, insofar as resources allow, to the recommendations subject to any changes they propose. The intention is for key sector bodies to indicate, at the launch of the final report in July, their intention to implement the report’s recommendations.

    This is the best opportunity for the sector and those it serves since 1990, and it could well be another 20 years before another chance like this comes along. Please do make this consultation count.

    Comments on the report should be emailed to southport@archaeologists.net by 3 June.

  • Letter to ALGAO: Charges for archaeological advice and information

    Letter to ALGAO: Charges for archaeological advice and information

    FAME has written to ALGAO about charges for archaeological advice and information. The letter can be viewed here:

    HE-Charges-LetterDownload
  • Southport Group opens online consultation on initial findings

    Southport Group opens online consultation on initial findings

    The Southport Group has launched an online video consultation to gather opinion on the initial findings of a series of workshops, held in January 2011, to explore ways of improving the sector’s ability to deliver the requirements of PPS5.

    Audiences can choose to watch all or just some of the four half-day workshops that took place at the Museum of London in Docklands, each focussed on a different aspect of delivering benefit in relation to significance.

    Broadly the Workshops focussed on 1) quality and standards, 2) publication and participation, 3) access to archives and information, and 4) research and collaborative working.

    Historic environment practitioners took up an open invitation from the Southport Group (issued through sector networks and associations) to participate in the workshops. Agenda for the discussion in the workshops were set by the Southport Group, and over 40 people attended each workshop.

    Participants were first invited to contribute to an hour-long round-table discussion in groups of five or six, directing their conversation towards a specific question or questions on the agenda. A rapporteur reported on each table’s discussion to the wider group, focusing on issues and barriers to delivery in the context of each question, and on possible solutions or products to enable improved delivery of PPS5 requirements.

    Summaries and video recordings of the workshops, plus details of the consultation are available on the Southport webpage at http://www.archaeologists.net/Southport.

  • Job Losses in Archaeology, January 2011

    The latest survey of job losses in archaeology shows a significant fall in the number of people employed in archaeology in the second half of 2010, and a continuing decline in business confidence for 2011.

    The survey, carried out by Landward Research Ltd on behalf of FAME and the IfA, covers the period July 2010-January 2011 and includes for the first time data from ALGAO on employment numbers in local government advisory services.

    It shows that there are now fewer people employed in archaeology than at any time since surveys began in January 2009. The total number of 5,827 employed in the UK represents a fall of 7.6% since July 2010. Of these, 3189 work in development-led archaeology – a fall of 13.1% since July 2010 and 21% below the August 2007 peak.

    The proportion of businesses expecting to maintain their current staff numbers fell sharply in the three months to October 2010, but recovered slightly in the last quarter of the year. The proportion expecting market conditions to deteriorate increased in every quarter of 2010. The overwhelming majority of businesses now expect conditions to worsen in the next year, and most expect some archaeological practices to cease trading.

    For the seventh quarter in succession, the skills needed to conduct and contribute to invasive field investigation were reported as those most frequently being lost.

    The full report may be viewed here.

  • FAME responds to Greater Manchester threat

    FAME responds to Greater Manchester threat

    FAME has written to the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities to express its concern over the proposed closure of GMAU and the future provision of archaeological advice in Greater Manchester.

    Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit

    The Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers (FAME) was concerned to learn of the proposed closure of the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit (GMAU).

    FAME represents around 50 archaeological businesses providing advice and specialist services to commercial clients and developers throughout the UK. Its members have been actively engaged in archaeological excavation, recording and publication in Greater Manchester for many years.

    This work has only been made possible through the advice and expertise of GMAU in informing local planning decisions, promoting sustainable growth and protecting the historic environment of the area. In the thirty years since it was established, GMAU has been instrumental in highlighting the international importance of Greater Manchester’s industrial heritage, and at the forefront of promoting community engagement and regeneration through the historic environment.

    Through its support for GMAU, AGMA enables the local planning authorities of Greater Manchester to meet their obligations, under Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the Historic Environment and the draft National Planning Policy Framework, to have access to expert advice and to maintain or have access to a Historic Environment Record (HER). It also enables them to implement those historic environment policies set out in their statutory Local Development Frameworks and emerging neighbourhood development plans.

    Any interruption to the service provided by GMAU would have serious consequences for the archaeology of Greater Manchester, those businesses who record and interpret it and those local residents and communities who benefit from it.

    It would also have a serious impact on our clients in both the public and private sector, who depend upon timely and expert advice and an up-to-date HER to provide greater certainty before planning applications are determined, and to reduce the risk to them of costly delays and disruption once planning consent has been granted and development is underway.

    Whilst we fully understand the budgetary pressures currently facing local government, we are very concerned by the potential consequences of the closure of GMAU, and ask for your reassurance that there will be no interruption either to the maintenance of the HER or to the provision of specialist archaeological advice in Greater Manchester.

    Yours sincerely

    Adrian Tindall MA FSA MIfA

    Chief Executive, Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers

    Anyone concerned about future archaeological provision in Greater Manchester should write to Chris Findley, Planning Lead, Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, chris.findley@salford.gov.uk

    GMAU-LetterDownload
  • Localism Bill Response

    Localism Bill Response

    FAME has provided evidence to the Public Bill Committee on the Localism Bill:

    Localism-Bill-ResponseDownload
  • HLF Consultation

    HLF Consultation

    FAME has responded to the HLF consultation. Our response can be found here:

    HLF-ResponseDownload

  • FAME sponsors IfA Conference session

    For the first time, FAME is sponsoring a session at the annual IfA Conference. With the theme Understanding Significance, the conference and training event will take place at the University of Reading, from 13-15 April 2011.

    FAME is sponsoring the opening session on the Southport Group: towards a revitalisation of professional practice, chaired by MOLA Managing Director and FAME committee member Taryn Nixon, Chair of the Southport Group. (more…)

  • Job Losses in Archaeology, July 2010

    The latest survey of job losses in archaeology shows a slight increase in the number of people in archaeological employment over the three months from April to June 2010, but a significant decline in business confidence for the forthcoming year.

    The report, carried out by Landward Research Ltd on behalf of FAME and the IfA, estimates that around 6,500 people were working in professional archaeology in July 2010, an increase of 4.3% on the previous quarter. Around 3,700 were working in development-led archaeology, an increase of 7.8% on the previous quarter but still 9% below the August 2007 peak.

    The proportion of businesses expecting to maintain their current staff numbers fell,  with the proportion expecting market conditions to deteriorate rising significantly. Unlike at the start of 2010, most businesses expected conditions to worsen in the next twelve months, with the overwhelming majority expecting some archaeological practices to cease trading.

    Even though some employers found it difficult to recruit fieldworkers, for the fifth quarter in succession the skills needed to conduct and contribute to invasive field investigation were reported as those most frequently being lost.

    The full report may be viewed here.