Institute of Field Archaeologists

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The Institute of Field Archaeologists is a professional organisation for archaeologists in the United Kingdom.

It was founded on 21 December 1982 to represent the profession and currently has over 2,200 members drawn from all areas of the archaeological community. Membership is by election following a satisfactory demonstration of archaeological experience and competence and an undertaking to abide by the Institute's Code of conduct. The IFA's aims are to advance the practice of archaeology and allied disciplines by promoting professional standards and ethics for conserving, managing, understanding and promoting enjoyment of the heritage.

The IFA offers three corporate grades of membership: Practitioner (PIFA) grade is the first level of corporate membership; Associate (AIFA)grade provides an intermediate level and full Members (MIFAs) represent the highest level of corporate membership open to those with the greatest level of responsibility and competence. Corporate members are permitted to use the relevant four letter abbreviation after their names and have voting rights within the Institute.

Affiliate, Student and Honorary membership are also available. Affiliate membership is open to those who have an active interest in archaeology but do not yet qualify for a corporate grade.

Further guidnce upon applications for membership is available on the IFA's website at www.archaeologists.net.

The IFA is responsible for the production and maintenance of a Code of conduct along with a variety of Standards and Guidance documents and policy material. As well as lobbying and making representations to national and local government and other agencies on behalf of its members, it organises conferences and outreach and training initiatives (including the administration of workplace learning bursaries and the development of vocational qualifications) and hopes soon to provide on-line CPD facilities. Its publications include a Yearbook and Directory and a quarterly magazine, The Archaeologist.

Another important part of the IFA's work is its Register of Archaeological Organisations which provides a quality assurance scheme for archaeological organisations with over 50 organisations now registered on it.

[edit] Criticism

Critics contend that the IFA has done little to improve the pay and conditions of low-ranking archaeologists and has been unwilling to discipline members who have transgressed the Code of conduct. In recent years the IFA has done much to address these criticisms, improving its disciplinary and complaints procedures and committing significant resources to dealing with allegations of misconduct and complaints against members and Registered Organisations. With regard to pay and conditions, the IFA has set up the Diggers' Forum (a special interest group specifically formed to represent the interests of diggers); produced recommended minima for pay and other benefits (which are to be binding upon organisations registered with the IFA); played a large part in the production of Occupational Standards for archaeology and is continuing to work with the union, Prospect, to benchmark salary levels against other industries (realistically a pre-requisite to any form of industry-wide pay bargaining framework).