7th March 2006, 11:22 PM
I'm not sure that I understand much of this debate.
The IFA is an organisation primarily of and for field archaeologists. Its membership is dominated by people who work primarily in the field or in directly related jobs (unit management, post-ex work etc), with large contingents from places like EH. There used to be a lot of soul-searching about how difficult it was to get others(curators and academics, mainly) to join; I'm not sure if that is still the case.
The main activities of the IFA relate to field archaeology and field archaeologists - for example, setting standards/guidance for fieldwork, taking initiatives like the recent development of a new standard contract document for archaeological work, promoting CPD for field archaeologists.
It is a democratic body whose Council is elected by the members, and includes PIFAs and AIFAs as well as MIFAs.
What you have to be clear about though, is what type of organisation do you want - a professional institution, or a union? Many of the complaints about the IFA on BAJR are about its (alleged) failure to enforce employment rights/higher pay/etc. etc. That is a role mainly for a union, and I don't think you will find organisations like the ICE, RIBA or RICS performing that role. However, many of the same BAJR contributors also want the IFA to do more on professional matters, like the other professional institutions. You can't have both.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished
The IFA is an organisation primarily of and for field archaeologists. Its membership is dominated by people who work primarily in the field or in directly related jobs (unit management, post-ex work etc), with large contingents from places like EH. There used to be a lot of soul-searching about how difficult it was to get others(curators and academics, mainly) to join; I'm not sure if that is still the case.
The main activities of the IFA relate to field archaeology and field archaeologists - for example, setting standards/guidance for fieldwork, taking initiatives like the recent development of a new standard contract document for archaeological work, promoting CPD for field archaeologists.
It is a democratic body whose Council is elected by the members, and includes PIFAs and AIFAs as well as MIFAs.
What you have to be clear about though, is what type of organisation do you want - a professional institution, or a union? Many of the complaints about the IFA on BAJR are about its (alleged) failure to enforce employment rights/higher pay/etc. etc. That is a role mainly for a union, and I don't think you will find organisations like the ICE, RIBA or RICS performing that role. However, many of the same BAJR contributors also want the IFA to do more on professional matters, like the other professional institutions. You can't have both.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished