Recognising the impact of the downturn in the economy across the diverse sectors occupied by IHBC members, private and public, IHBC’s Council has agreed to hold the institute’s membership subscriptions for 2010 at their 2009 rate.
IHBC Chair Dave Chetwyn said: “We appreciate that that some IHBC members are suffering from the tightening in public resources and private capacity, so we have decided to do even more to help out. We’re already working closely with partners to highlight the full range of added values that proper conservation services bring to communities and the public purse, and this is our way to help our members more directly. We’re sure that it will make a big difference to some members, and many others will recognise the value of the gesture. It’s not to suggest that we’re holding back on our ambitious plans, but only to do what we can to assist in an unprecedented crisis.”
IHBC Director Seán O’Reilly continued: “We’ve been growing membership rapidly in recent years – based on our unparalleled and authoritative historic environment advocacy and the credibility of our inter-disciplinary conservation standards. The actual value of IHBC membership has also been enhanced, as subscriptions are tax deductible, our e-mail news alerts keep members up to date across their many specialist interests, and bursaries are regularly available for events. So for the current financial year, we’re focussing on expansion by increasing our membership, not by increasing subscriptions. It’s clear that the best way to support our members just now is to make sure that they continue to invest in their skills.
This strategy also helps IHBC members best position themselves as professionals able to harness the full potential of the historic environment as a uniquely diverse sustainable resource for future generations. We can draw on the remarkable and largely unsung embodied energy of the historic environment, or on the potential of natural materials and sympathetic traditional design to support biodiversity, or on the social benefits it contributes to our health, wealth and happiness. Whichever benefits we seek, we need the rounded understanding of true conservation professionals, working to the professionals skills sets supported by the IHBC, to guide in managing the historic environment as a sustainable resource for the future.”
