46 C O N T E X T 1 4 9 : M A Y 2 0 1 7 approach – linking practice standards with income generation – could also help to raise the charity’s credibility and reinforce professional credentials in the UK by demonstrating our capabilities outside it. Trustees have already agreed that we can focus part of our efforts through membership of a small but evolving European organisation ‘FEMP’ – The European Federation for Architectural Heritage Skills (https://femp.jimdo. com) – to enhance our own learning about issues at European levels. Recognised by the Council of Europe (and having secured funding from it), FEMP offers a European network with conservation-friendly partnership opportunities, including members that face challenges familiar to the IHBC. Short-term benefits of FEMP membership include the opportunity to promote IHBC standards and access networks (including presence at Denkmal 2018); project development capacity; and a partner-voice at the table of European meetings. This last would also help IHBC identify and target resources on priority areas with more confidence. Funding such European engagement is critical. One possible route is to use our trading arm, IHBC Enterprises, to develop new income streams linked to that international presence. So we are exploring the viability of a conservation-based heritage tourism and education service that, like our UK events, would offer incomegenerating programmes, linked also to bursary and award opportunities. Although it’s early days, trustees have agreed that our December Council+ meeting will see more substantial discussion of these plans. Looking inward Our Corporate Plan calls for a 20 per cent increase in voluntary capacity by 2020, up from our 12 or so full-timeequivalent posts of 2015. Extending that capacity is critical if we are to deliver the benefits our members seek. Offering volunteers a lighter-touch, more flexible access to our charitable support, should encourage more voluntary initiatives with minimal resource implications centrally. The IHBC prides itself on its openness and accessibility, but the structures developed to regulate our early development can seem daunting, especially to those less familiar with our committees, panels, boards and the like. Even those names can turn off prospective volunteers, especially earlycareer practitioners – those targeted by IHBC+ as potential leaders – who can face serious time and employer constraints, whether in the private or public sectors. So the IHBC is exploring a more informal arrangement for volunteers to get involved: our special interest groups (SIGs). These could offer opportunities for delegated leadership on personal priorities in conservation, with agreed and targeted tasks, all led by volunteers and supported, and agreed, by existing IHBC structures. With light-touch oversight and measured, accessible support for volunteers to lead on personal, professional priorities, SIGs are primarily a bottom-up approach to extending our capacity and impact in conservation. They are especially suited to cross-cutting issues that do not sit easily in branch or committee structures, with our pilot SIG, under the leadership of IHBC member Tom Hunter, focused on addressing challenges for conservation across island communities. With this SIG pilot (more suggestions are welcome) and our international strategy, we hope to get even better at supporting the conservation management of the historic environment and its complexity of places. If you are interested in any of this, let us know, and we can loosen the shackles, look to the future and get conservation unbound. Seán O’Reilly, director@ihbc.org.uk Bromley House Library, Nottingham (Photo: Historic England). Steve Cole, a former head of photography at English Heritage, has distilled his lifetime’s experience in Photographing Historic Buildings.There is a 20 per cent discount with the code PHB17 at the Historic England online shop.
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