REVIEW AND ANALYSIS 19 DIRECTOR’S UPDATE EMPOWERING VOLUNTEERS, EMPOWERED BY VOLUNTEERS SEÁN O’REILLY, IHBC DIRECTOR Director Seán O’Reilly with David McDonald addressing virtual and in-person delegates at the IHBC Annual School in Reading 2024 IT’S BEEN a year and more of busy progress since my last Yearbook update, and nothing seems to be slowing down. The scale and complexity of both opportunities and threats seen then still continue, even if some have evolved, others stabilised and a few have even resurfaced, as is the way in heritage and conservation bodies. Happily, if the rate of change has not eased, at least the trajectory has moved from an uncertainty that generated a degree of pessimism, to our current clarity that supports much more confident planning. Most significantly, as this review highlights below, that clarity arises from the fresh impetus given by the volunteers, members and networks that engage with the IHBC as a trusted, enabling and responsive professional body and as a dedicated and pro-active charity, and re-energise it. It means that we can work, as well as plan, with a whole new stream of capacity and resources that share aspirations, roles and needs. As noted in more detail here, we’ve already benefited from that constructive support and even since last year we have made good progress – maybe even great progress – on many fronts. The Charter exploration hit a key milestone with formal permission to proceed to the next stage, a petition – a success in itself. Our Westminster-level parliamentary briefing advocacy, founded on our holistic ‘five commitments’ to help heritage skills, is beginning its pay-off both for the sector and for us, not least with new public profiles, platforms and flagship partner initiatives in place. Our upgrade of business infrastructure and the consolidation of National Office infrastructure has passed peak planning, its resilience has already been tested, and it has begun to deliver the goods. Our new blended Annual School model, with linked webinars and events, has also passed its beta stage, so we can expand that confidently. And our branch support networks are gaining momentum as volunteers reap – and learn how to reap – the benefits of our national CPD partnerships between the National Office and branches, as well as our expanded network of national and regional branch consultants. All in all it’s a very positive story, and one that has won us those new volunteers, as well as easing pressures on our longstanding ones. All this is set against an ever more challenging backdrop of wider cultural and economic woes, from a longstanding and ongoing underappreciation of heritage values and, more specifically, of conservation benefits; a tough market for early career practitioners across all the diverse disciplines and sectors in which we work, while linked pressures on services, costs and career progress see skills and standards being hit. Tied to all that, there is ongoing pressure on the health and wellbeing of many of our members and their colleagues, as discussed at council meetings, including in our recent exploration of local government services. Remembering all that negativity and more, it may even be that the very ‘state of the nation’ is actually spurring members to deliver the results they want and need through the IHBC, in a renewed spirit of joined-up collaboration. With so much in flux, it is good to see the IHBC now consolidating its standing, but even better to see what we can look forward to and plan for in our exciting shared futures, including: • Our 30th anniversary in 2027, with lots of bonus member benefits being explored by our board and officers • A new digital infrastructure for member management, freeing capacity to offer even more of our ‘USP ‘of person-focused accessible support and services, while opening new routes for members to shape their own visions, both as practitioners and volunteers • An exciting suite of Annual Schools lining itself up after 2026’s Newcastle, with Bristol in June next year and our East Anglia branch looking at locations for 2028, as well as early discussions beyond that (let me know if your branch is interested!) • At some point, our Charter petition, coming to members and, subject to their approval, to a final first stage. So, you might well ask, precisely what developments over the last year, has brought us to this point? Around Spring 2025 we were bringing forward a recognisable suite of long-standing activities tied to the last stages of our then corporate plan. Many of these continue to mark themes into 2026 and after, but each has its own more substantial presence. As an example among many threads, our annual awards programmes mark an increasingly important celebration of the ‘conservation professional’ through a broadening array of prizes and awards (the Gus Astley Student Awards, the Booth-Bird prize for management plans, the two Marsh awards, one for learning in heritage skills and the other for retired members’ community contribution, and the SAHGB - IHBC Heritage
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=