Chartered Institute for Archaeologists

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The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) is one of the world's two largest professional associations in the field of archeology and archaeological preservation. It represents and sets high professional standards and strict ethical guidelines for archeology as a profession. The aim of the CIfA is to increase the benefits that archeology brings to society. The essential instrument for achieving this goal is the definition and guarantee of mutually agreed professional standards for individuals as well as organizations (specialist companies) and correct ethical behavior for all professional archaeologists.

Name and story

Today's CIfA was founded in England in 1982 as the “Institute for Field Archaeologists” (IFA) as a consequence of the needs and concerns of excavation archeology at the time. In 2008, the name was changed to "Institute for Archaeologists" (IfA) due to the increasing diversity of the members, which now encompassed all areas of archeology. The self-image that has existed since the founding of the organization, namely the protection of human remains in, below and above the ground, their documentation and analysis as well as the conservation of archaeological artifacts, remained unchanged. A full-time director has been employed since 1993; the position was filled in 1997 by Pete Hinton. This step led to a profound strengthening of the institution, because the establishment of an effective professional association can only be achieved with full-time employees.

The 'C' of the organization that bears the name today refers to a royal charter awarded on December 9, 2014 - granted by Queen Elizabeth II - which states that the CIfA is now officially recognized in Great Britain. This certifies that it is permanently stable and leading in its field and that the British state supports the cause and role of the CIfA. The charter confirms that the CIfA pursues a legitimate interest for the benefit of the public, it has the status of a quasi public organization. It is particularly important that its members officially enjoy the same esteem as other professions and that the CIfA has since then been entitled to award the title “Chartered Archaeologist”, a legally protected professional title that only members of the CIfA are allowed to use.

Organization and structure

At the beginning of 2018, the CIfA had over 3,500 personal members and 80 accredited organizations from 39 countries. All its members are obliged to comply with the regulations of the CIfA regardless of national borders. The CIfA comprises several interest groups for various specialists, such as B. Draftsmen, geophysicists or anthropologists working in archeology. The annual turnover of the CIfA is around one million euros, the institute maintains a staff of thirteen (equivalent to ten full-time positions) who are supported by more than 100 volunteers. The financial resources are based on the membership fees of all registered professional archaeologists. The contributions are set according to the individual income: Those who earn more pay higher contributions. In the 2010s, after more than 30 years, the CIfA gained a sufficient economic basis to be able to work stably and effectively.

CIfA as a professional association

A professional association is characterized u. a. through an explicit professional ethics (“code of conduct”). He develops conditions for membership and maintains them, he demands the approval of and compliance with professional ethics and evidence of the professional abilities of the members as well as their continuous training. He carries out objective and transparent disciplinary proceedings, for example in the event of violations of professional ethics. In addition, it represents the profession and protects the public, users and clients from any unsatisfactory practice on the part of individual members. A professional association does not primarily serve its members and their interests, but rather ensures that the professional activities of its members benefit the public. In contrast to a trade union , the task is not primarily to improve the pay and working conditions of its members. The CIfA does give recommendations for specific wage ranges for the respective qualification levels of its members, but the focus of its activities is on the introduction and improvement of standards as well as the establishment of a clear professional profile. However, this in turn also indirectly helps to improve wages and working conditions in archeology. 

In September 2017, the CIfA, as a professional association, formally agreed on a close, work-sharing collaboration with the large European non-governmental organization for archeology, the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), which sees itself more as a scientific and (technical) political organization.

Profession archeology

A core concern of the CIfA is the professionalization of archeology. This starts with defining what a professional archaeologist is. As understood by the CIfA, a professional archaeologist is a person or possibly an organization that has been formally accredited by a professional association. This means that he / she has an appropriate level and range of archaeologically relevant skills and that these skills can be measured against established professional standards. In addition, this person resp. Organization based on explicit professional ethics and is ready to continuously develop his / her skills throughout his / her entire working life and accepts the supervision of his / her colleagues. An accreditation by the professional association is a confirmation of the respective professionalism, whereby the career / competitiveness is strengthened.

Ethical competence and quality assurance

By joining, the members of the CIfA agree to the ethical guidelines and confirm that any violations they may be accused of will be assessed in accordance with these guidelines. If the CIfA asks for an application, the ethical competence can also be checked in advance.

The quality management of the CIfA is based on explicit standards and guidelines. These are written and discussed by practicing members of the CIfA. It is therefore a generally accepted technical consensus. The expected quality of the respective products or services is defined by these documents. Standards usually contain only a few strategically formulated sentences and rather outline the desired result. The more detailed guidelines, on the other hand, define good archaeological practice and thus the technically and ethically correct path to the result.

At the CIfA allegations can be brought against members, against other archaeologists and also against citizens. Violations of the code of conduct, standards and guidelines are checked by an elected committee on the basis of the evidence and statements available and professionally negotiated in a quasi-legal process. In 2016 and 2017, the number of such review procedures was around two per month. If a violation is proven, this can and will lead to the imposition of sanctions, up to and including the revocation of accreditation as a professional archaeologist or professional institution for accredited members.

In addition to the subject of technical skills, a lot of effort is made to define employment standards for archaeological skills that serve as the basis for training and further education as well as for job advertisements.

Membership for individuals

The CIfA has different degrees of membership. There are two grades for non-accredited (and non-voting) members (student members / students and supporting members / affiliates ) and three grades for accredited members (with voting rights): practicing member (PCIfA, practitioner ), associate member (ACIfA, associate ) and full member (MCIfA, member ) provided. The focus here is on the actual competence of the individual, not a possibly existing academic degree or the length of his experience. For this purpose, the CIfA measures the professional competence using a matrix. Candidates must prove their competencies in the areas of (a) knowledge / specialist knowledge, (b) personal responsibility / independence, (c) dealing with complexity and (d) understanding connections. The classification is based on statements about one's own competence along the terms of this matrix and a portfolio of work. For experts in special fields within archeology (e.g. museums, physical anthropology, etc.) there are adapted variants of this competence matrix. Applicants also need two detailed letters of reference. The classification of a person is carried out by a committee made up of archaeologists who are already accredited by the CIfA.

Membership for organizations

For some years now, the CIfA has also enabled the accreditation of institutions ( Registered Organizations ), e.g. B. from excavation companies . The reason for this was that a high proportion of the work in the practical preservation of monuments takes place on the basis of contracts with specialist companies. Organizations are accredited for three years each, they follow professional ethics and standards, they have internal quality assurance procedures and a competent team including procedures for training and further education. In addition, the quality of work (i.e. standards of excavation documentation, reports, publications, archiving), the workplaces, the suitability of the management staff (MCIfA) and the quality of the archaeological products and processes are checked by a committee of colleagues from other organizations accredited by the CIfA checked. Organizations interested in or already accredited in accreditation accept that references from other colleagues will be obtained and taken into account. Organizations are accountable for allegations, in which case the process is aimed more at improving future practice and less at - although it does - impose sanctions.

CIfA Germany

A national group CIfA Germany was founded in July 2017 with the aim of establishing a professional, professional association for archeology in Germany as well. Although there are various, very active and important associations and associations of archaeologists in Germany, in the opinion of many archaeologists none of these organizations is currently in a position to form a professional representation of the entire German archeology. With regard to the working conditions in many areas of work in German archeology, however, imbalances and grievances are increasingly being perceived and discussed, as may be the case. a. the web-based lecture (March 6 - June 9, 2017) and conference (Mainz, July 4, 2017) 'A professional association for archeology?' organized by the German Society for Prehistory and Early History pointed out. As a result, on June 1, 2017, CIfA Great Britain officially offered to assist its German colleagues in establishing a professional association.

In February 2018, the formal establishment of CIfA Germany as an "area group" of CIfA was announced. The first regular general meeting took place on May 12, 2018 in Munich. The following were elected to the board: Michaela Schauer MA (President), Prof. Dr. C. Sebastian Sommer (Secretary) and Dr. Jan Schneider (Treasurer). CIfA Germany is aimed at everyone who works in archeology in Germany, i.e. not only archeology but also all neighboring disciplines that work closely with it. The aim of CIfA Germany is to establish a professional association - following the example of CIfA - according to German law and to make all necessary adjustments to German conditions and needs. This is supported by a managing director / coordinator position financed by the CIfA, which is staffed by a CIfA-accredited German archaeologist.

literature

Web links

CIfA (UK) website. CIfA, accessed September 30, 2017 (English).

CIfA Germany website. CIfA, accessed September 30, 2017 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The other major professional organization in archeology is the US “Register of Professional Archaeologists” (RPA), founded in 1998 with around 2,600 registered members (as of late 2013, newer figures not available); RPA website. RPA, accessed September 30, 2017 .
  2. ↑ CIFA and charter. CIfA, accessed September 30, 2017 (English).
  3. ↑ DGUF conference 2017: A professional association for archeology? DGUF, July 4, 2017, accessed September 30, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Offer to found CIfA Germany. CIfA, June 1, 2017, accessed September 30, 2017 (English).
  5. ↑ Rob Lennox: CIFA Announces the formal launch of CIFA Germany. CIfA, February 12, 2018, accessed on March 29, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Michaela showers: Board CIFA Germany. CIfA, May 12, 2018, accessed on May 22, 2018 (English).