54 C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 applications at the 2014 peripatetic council and linked conference that would take place in September in Derby at the invitation of the East Midlands branch. Part of this evolving support package is the Stepping Stones programme. This involves a structural change that should serve as the most critical incentive to those seeking conservation accreditation. It involves recasting our membership structures so that associate membership could represent a recognised step on the route to full accredited IHBC membership. We are working on the details, but council is committed to making these arrangements support that 2013 AGM motion both in spirit and in fact. If progress in these areas marks out some of the improvements in membership support captured in the survey, we also needed to address constitutional barriers to the wider inclusion highlighted as a priority by many respondents. The constitutional matters are discussed by Mike Brown in his Notes from the Chair (page 51).While they are, of course, only interim, they are a critical step to achieve the wider embrace of practitioners identified in the survey. The chair also reports that we have more good news about capacity to deliver on these ambitions, as we can now call on additional financial resources and the benefits they can bring. It is worth remembering just how significant this is for us. Until recently the IHBC has suffered from a legacy of poor external support that meant that we have had to live pretty much from hand to mouth. We did not benefit from the training support programmes that national bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and national heritage agencies and museums were able to support from the flush days of the 1990s and early noughties, nor did we get the same infrastructure support that many others did. So from the moment when I was appointed as director, the IHBC has had to finance progress through members, as they provide their support when we asked for their help. Now, through the hard work of staff, officers and volunteers, and the careful management of resources, we have generated a surplus to our reserves. Council is in the pleasant position of being able to think about investing in the future as opposed to just surviving the day. Thanks to those earlier investments in the business side of our operations – including IT, events, projects and communications – we can now access a Research Notes consultant author, Bob Kindred, responsible both for developing the format and the content, so that they can serve as a whole new evidence base for our work and advocacy. Also in a consultancy role is Alison McCandlish, helping lead the development of our NewsBlogs. Our NewsBlogs remain, I think, our most important organisational innovation since Context. They continue to underpin support for our everexpanding digital networks. It is a great boon to have both individuals on our national office team. It does not end there. As Mike reports in more detail, council has agreed the appointment of an officer to support our volunteer training operations, especially those in the branches.With the extension of our reach through this new appointment, we will have at least started to address most of the issues raised in the survey that opened this column. It is the signal to do even more and do it even better. That is what conservation is always about. Seán O’Reilly, director@ihbc.org.uk IHBC Annual School 2015 NORWICH Thursday 18th – Saturday 20th June 2015 Day School Friday 19th June Cultural Connections: Conserving the diversity of place For information go to www.ihbc.org.uk/norwich2015
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