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The IHBC\u2019s Chair David McDonald has offered the following interim statement on our plans and operations, in advance of determinations by our trustees who will meet (online) next Thursday to agree a forward strategy across our suite of current plans.<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
David McDonald writes: \u2018Like me, you are probably feeling rather overwhelmed by the amount of Coronavirus advice that is being emailed to by every organisation that you deal with. Nevertheless, I\u2019d like to up-date everyone with how the IHBC is responding to the current epidemic. In common with the rest of the population, I\u2019m at home and venturing out only for exercise and essential shopping. As we have indicated in previous emails to Members, it is important that we follow all relevant Government Advice. Here, I would like to inform you how the IHBC may be able to support you through these difficult times as well as how it is dealing with its own organisational and business issues.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Whilst we are all primarily concerned about the health and well-being of ourselves, family and friends, for some there will be worries about their employment and income. There is a limit to how much assistance that the IHBC may give, but I would like to remind Members of our crisis support for members with the \u2018Fee Free Year<\/a>\u2019 scheme which was introduced a few years ago to assist those whose employment prospects might be uncertain.<\/p>\n \u2018The scheme enables the IHBC to cover a Member\u2019s fee for a year while they return to normal employment. It\u2019s administered simply, and initially all that is required is an email to our Membership Services Officer at membershipservices@ihbc.org.uk<\/a>.\u2019<\/u><\/p>\n \u2018A reduced subscription rate is also available for Members on limited incomes. Again, enquiries should be made our Membership Services Officer, with full details also online<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Other\u00a0 organisations and link bodies relevant to our interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary membership are offering advice most relevant to their practice areas, from heritage and conservation to development and services, and across the UK.\u00a0 Where we can, we are now offering these in summary as accessible NewsBlog posts to help members keep up to date, and also of course learn from what those outside their more familiar practice (or geographical) areas are doing to help.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018As an organisation, to date the IHBC has been affected differently from many others. \u00a0As we cultivated a \u2018virtual office\u2019 to manage costs in an area little recognised across traditional sectors and disciplines, we have not had to deal with office closures per se<\/em>. \u00a0In-person meetings and events are on hold at the moment however, in line with government guidance, but staff, officers and consultants are still maintaining regular contact by email and phone.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Our immediate concern just now is how do we deal with the IHBC\u2019s Annual School, which is currently scheduled to take place in Brighton on 18-20 June. It looks increasingly likely that we will need to postpone it. To that end, our Trustees will be discussing the issue at an on-line meeting next Thursday, 2 April. We are also looking at how we can assist IHBC Branches to deal with immediate issues relating to meetings and events as well as planning for the future.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018I will provide an up-date on these in a NewsBlog at the end of next week, so keep an eye there for that as well as all our other critical member updates. Until then, stay safe, and if you have issues or concerns where we might be able, do email me or our Director, Sean O\u2019Reilly; though please do appreciate that inevitably we will have to manage priorities in our responses very carefully, so delays should be anticipated.\u2019<\/p>\n IHBC Director Se\u00e1n O\u2019Reilly said: \u2018Clearly the IHBC\u2019s National Office is prioritising crisis mitigation for now, but we are also looking to the future.\u00a0 So even as we explore options around the forthcoming School and Schools, we are looking to make sure the current crisis leads to better services, skills and standards across all the heritage stakeholders, including ourselves as well as, hopefully, others.\u2019<\/p>\n See more on Coronavirus and COVID-19 on the IHBC\u2019s NewsBlogs<\/a> and for more on the crisis support see the NewsBlog<\/a><\/p>\n Find out about IHBC fee support<\/a><\/p>\n See existing plans for the AGM elections<\/a><\/p>\n See information on our current governance plans<\/a>\u00a0and see current plans for progressing CP25<\/a><\/p>\n