As we develop FAME’s agenda and influence, the capacity of our CEO and elected Board members is becoming increasingly stretched, and so responsibilities have been divided up between different members of the Board. The list of consultations to which we’ve been asked to respond has been impressive – including HSE’s proposed revision of the CDM Regulations, IFA’s Standards and guidance and Client Guide, the English Heritage New Model, threatened cut-backs to local government planning archaeologists and HERs, and the government review of The Future of Local Government Archaeology Services.
Category: FAME News
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ATF Training Award 2014
The ATF Training Award recognises and promotes best practice in training or professional development in archaeology.
The award aims to recognise excellence in the fields of learning, training and professional development and is open to archaeological organisations, individuals, partnerships and collaborative projects throughout the United Kingdom, whether paid or voluntary.
This year, ATF will be presenting two Awards, one aimed at organisations and a new Award specifically aimed at individuals.
The aim of the Individual Award is to recognise individual archaeologists (whether paid or volunteers) who have made an extraordinary contribution either to their own training and development or through their support for the training of others.
Further details can be found here and an application form here.
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FAME News 14: Christmas 2013
The increased rate of economic recovery is, I hope, leading to improved opportunities for our members and for employment within archaeology. As usual we are operating in an environment full of change, and there are many threats to the heritage sector which will undoubtedly impact on us all. (more…)
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FAME News 13: Summer 2013
As incoming Chair my first newsletter must include a big thank you for the contribution Gary Brown has made over the past two years to further developing the activities of FAME.
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FAME News 12: Spring 2013
A word from the Chair
My calendar tells me that the season is spring, but my senses tell me it is still winter. It’s hard to believe that we are now only three months away from our summer Forum and AGM in York. The AGM will be held on Thursday 27th June at 5pm, followed by a wine reception, before moving to a nearby pub.
The Forum will be held the following day, Friday 28th June, again at the Merchant Taylors Hall, Aldwark. The focus this year will be on risk management, and will include updates from HSE on the reviews of CDM and competency cards, Tariq Mian on understanding insurance obligations, and our own Tim Malim on draft FAME guidance on procuring quality in archaeological schemes. Further speakers will be announced soon in a programme which will be of huge relevance to both present and prospective members.
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FAME News 11: Christmas 2012
A word from the Chair
Next summer may seem a very long way off, especially after the awful autumn and early winter many parts of Britain have suffered, but I have a date for your diary. 28 June 2013 is the date of the next FAME Forum, to be held in York as usual, thanks to the facilities kindly provided by York Archaeological Trust. We are considering two themes. The first of these will be health and safety, in particular the proposed changes to the CDM Regulations, and we hope to have a speaker from the Health and Safety Executive. We are also considering a second theme, ensuring quality in development-led archaeology, and are finalising our thoughts on this.
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FAME News 8: Spring 2012
The FAME Spring newsletter is now out, with news of this year’s Forum, updates on the archaeological archives survey, a roundup of our recent work in advocacy and research, and other news for members. It can be viewed here.
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FAME meets the Minister
FAME Chief Executive Adrian Tindall joined a delegation from The Archaeology Forum to meet John Penrose, Minister for Tourism and Heritage, at DCMS on 16 November. The delegation also included Pete Hinton of IfA, Mike Heyworth of CBA and Stewart Bryant of ALGAO(UK).
It provided an opportunity to emphasise the wide public interest in the heritage and the contribution it makes to localism, and to outline some of the challenges currently facing the profession, including the impact of English Heritage funding cuts, the threat to local government historic environment services, and the fragile state of the archaeological market.
The meeting was an opportunity to raise the profile of FAME and its members with central government, and to highlight our role in implementing PPS5 at the ‘sharp end’ of development-led archaeology. FAME reiterated the vital role of local government archaeologists in identifying developments with potential archaeological impact, without whose work many of its members would find it very difficult to remain in business. We also emphasised the fragile nature of an archaeological market in which many of the practitioners were charitable or not-for-profit organisations, yet found themselves operating as small and medium enterprises in a commercial environment. Many were finding it increasingly difficult to deliver the expected public benefit, in line with the government’s vision and objectives, in an increasingly competitive market.
It proved to be a very constructive and positive meeting. The minister showed an encouraging familiarity with PPS5 and an awareness of many of the issues raised. He agreed to consider redrafting the DCMS draft statutory guidance on HERs and publishing it as guidance for local authorities, and made it clear that he would welcome further representations from the sector in the future.