Community Archaeology Bursaries: Candidate Host Organisations

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Background to Project
Purpose of Community Archaeology Training Bursaries
Benefits of becoming a Host Organisation
Contribution of Requirements from Candidate Host Organisation
Management of Bursaries
Timeframe
Bursary Terms of Employment
Monitoring
Publicity
Bursary Budget and Host In-Kind Contributions
Application Process
Submission

Appendix 1: Criteria for Selecting Community Archaeology Bursary Host Organisations and list of acceptable forms of evidence (PDF 429KB).
Download this information as a PDF: Information for Candidate Host Organisations (PDF 636KB).

1. Background to Project

The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) has been awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (with additional support from English Heritage, Cadw and the Welsh Archaeological Trusts) under its Skills for the Future Programme to run a Community Archaeology Bursaries Project. This project will provide 9 paid bursary placements per year in the specialism of community archaeology. In order to view the agreed project Training Plan, please email bursaries for an electronic copy to be sent to you.

The CBA is now inviting archaeological and heritage organisations to apply for the opportunity to host these year-long learning bursaries.

2. Purpose of Community Archaeology Training Bursaries

Skills for the Future funding was made available to provide paid training opportunities in the heritage sector, in response to the impact of recent changes in the economic climate. CBA research has also identified gaps in community archaeology training and professional development which this project will help to fill.

This project will provide 27 twelve-month long workplace bursaries per year over a three-year period (9 per year). The bursaries will help provide opportunities for individuals wanting to make a future career in community archaeology, and to learn the skills needed to work effectively with communities with a diverse demographic.

We envisage that the individuals who will apply for these bursaries will include:

Out of work professional archaeologists who have a lower chance of re-employment either because of lack of formal qualifications or because they have only been practising archaeologists for a short time.
New entrants to professional archaeology, specifically non-vocational archaeologists, who wish to undertake a career change but may feel that they lack professional experience or formal qualifications to secure archaeological employment.

The host organisations for the Year 1 and Year 2 placements (commencing in Spring of 2011 and 2012 respectively) have already been selected. Candidate Host Organisations (CHOs) are sought for Year 3 placements (commencing in Spring of 2013) .

3. Benefits of becoming a Host Organisation

Hosting a bursary has many benefits for your organisation, aside from the intrinsic work of the post itself.

Applications to host a bursary will be assessed by the Community Archaeology Bursaries Project Board against a set of criteria. This will help establish and evidence a proven track record of effective, high quality community work. If selected, this provides an esteem indicator for hosts as recognised centres of best practice for community archaeology and engagement skills.

Hosting a bursary will also provide an opportunity for your existing staff to experience continuing professional development (CPD) through the development of mentoring and supervisory skills in their interactions with the placement holder. As part of this process, staff at the host organisation will be offered training and mentoring to assist them with delivering this support to the placement holder.

If your organisation is unsuccessful, this may not be indicative that the organisation does not demonstrate good practice in community archaeology. A broad range of criteria are considered, including the range of activities carried out and also geographic location. The selection of bursary hosts is a completely objective process, and you are welcome to contact us for feedback regarding your application.

4. Contribution of Requirements from Candidate Host Organisation

The CABP is a training scheme designed to provide high quality on-the-job training for its recipients, including assessment for an NVQ in Archaeological Practice at level 3. The focus should be on the learning experience of the placement holder, rather than the personnel needs of the organisation. Hence, CHOs need to demonstrate their suitability as a host organisation, through their compliance with the management requirements outlined below and via evidence provided through their application to become a Candidate Host Organisation.

5. Management of Bursaries

CHOs are expected to provide the highest quality of management; including training, support for learning and constructive feedback. It is expected that there will be a line manager, a mentor and one or more supervisors, including specialists, made available to the placement holder. Organisations will need to demonstrate that full support and training will be provided in order to achieve the proposed learning goals. It is expected that the placement holder will have regular access to the specialist support required to gain the skills specified in the training plan. We recommend that the supervisor and mentor roles are adopted by different members of staff, although the line manager and supervisor may be combined.

Additional support will be provided, both to the host organisation and the placement holder, by the CBA. This support will be provided primarily by a Bursaries Coordinator (BC), employed at the CBA office in York. The BC will guide both the host organisation and the placement holder in collating the necessary paperwork for the project. They will also co-ordinate project evaluation, coordinate arrangements for recruitment, assist with planning and delivery of events by the placement holder, and, if necessary, liaise in instances of dispute.

6. Timeframe

We expect the bursaried placements for Yr 3 to run from April 2013 to March 2014; with interviews for placements scheduled to take place in early February 2013. Typically interview panels will comprise one or more staff from the host organisation and one or more staff from the CBA, including the BC.

7. Bursary Terms of Employment

The bursary is a paid placement and the bursary holder will receive full payment as specified below. The host organisation will be the placement holder’s employer and the salary will be paid through the host organisation, with reimbursement claimed quarterly and retrospectively from the CBA.

Each placement holder will be allocated a small budget during their placement to cover travel and subsistence, equipment and out of pocket expenses (£300 total). Proof of expenditure for the full amount spent, in the form of receipts, must be submitted to the CBA during the placement year. Any money not spent will be retained by the CBA.

Placement holders may be asked to undergo a Disclosure check with the relevant Disclosure body and this will be made clear in all materials relating to the appointment of bursary holders. Host organisations will be asked to cover the cost of the Disclosure check as in-kind support (see Section 10). The BC will be able to offer advice on obtaining Disclosures through a third party umbrella body for any organisations that are not able to submit Disclosures as a registered body in their own right.

8. Monitoring

Identified supporting staff within the host organisation will be expected to monitor the progress of the placement holder and complete at least two formal reviews during the placement. The CBA should be kept informed of these reviews and copies of the relevant documentation should be made available. In addition, the Bursaries Coordinator will carry out formal evaluation of the placement through collation of feedback from both the host organisation and the placement holder.

9. Publicity

Formal opportunities for publicising the Community Archaeology Bursaries Project will be identified by the host organisation and the CBA in advance of, and during, the placement. Opportunities for publishing material arising from the placement should be sought wherever possible. The support of the CBA, the HLF, and English Heritage or Cadw (as appropriate) should be acknowledged in any publications or promotional material arising from the placement. The CBA can supply copies of logos on request. Please note that the HLF require to see any publicity material ahead of its release, and communication of this should be directed via the CBA.

The administration of the recruitment process for placement holders, including; promotion, advertising, collation and short-listing will be led by the CBA with input from the host organisations. In cases where host organisations feel they need to take a stronger role (for example if there are specific requirements) this must be agreed in advance with the CBA.

10. Bursary Budget and Host In-Kind Contributions

The salary received by the bursary holder (£16,943 p.a. in 2013/14) will be reimbursed by the CBA. In addition to this, a further 8.5% (£1,440 p.a. in 2013/14) is offered towards the hosts’ National Insurance contribution and 6% (£1017 in 2013/14) for hosts’ pension contributions.

There is also a networking budget provided for the project of £750 per year to be used, as deemed appropriate by the CBA, for bursary holders to attend appropriate conferences, training and off-site meetings. The BC will co-ordinate annually, how best to make efficient use of this budget; however it is generally expected this will be used to subsidise costs of attending an archaeological conference where the bursary holders will give papers relating to their placements.

Bursary holders will be expected to undertake an NVQ level 3 via the IfA throughout their placement time. This will be paid for by the CBA.

The CBA hold a small annual budget for the purposes of recruiting trainees and for publicising the project. The CBA will co-ordinate effective use of these budgets in collaboration with host organisations.

The CHO will be expected to provide proof of a minimum ‘in-kind’ contribution to each bursary. This can be in which ever form is appropriate to the CHO and can take the form of staff supervision and line management time, Disclosure check (if needed), desk space, allocation of appropriate equipment (including a computer), stationery, and any other general overheads.

In terms of costing, this in-kind contribution would be expected to equate to c3% of the total placement cost as detailed above (£19,700 in 2013/14), eg a minimum of £591 per bursary during 2013/14. The CHO will be required to provide proof of the monetary value of this in-kind contribution, either by way of receipts, eg for out of pocket, non-reclaimed costs, or, for staff time, by way of a signed, validated outline of staff daily rates and time spent on the project.

11. Application Process

Please read all parts of this section very carefully.

a. Selection Criteria

Appendix 1 (PDF 429KB) lists the selection criteria and the documentation that should be provided to support the criteria. Please study these carefully and consider the evidence that you can provide in your application.

The criteria considered ‘Essential’ must take precedence in the selection procedure, but any ‘Desirable’ criteria that can be met will of course strengthen your case. If you consider that you have a strong case for hosting a bursary but you cannot meet all of the ‘Essential’ criteria you should provide alternative information as to why your organisation should be considered, including reasons why the criteria cannot be met.

b. Compiling an Application

An application must be compiled and submitted by all organisations wishing to be considered as a CHO. The application must be submitted electronically or as a paper portfolio, and must comprise the following components:

Covering letter
Statement of why your organisation wishes to be involved in the Community Archaeology Bursaries Project: This should not exceed two sides of A4, and should summarise the key benefits and experiences that your organisation can offer to a bursary holder; briefly outlining what activities/experiences you would plan for the 12 months of the placement; as well as the particular benefits and experiences that your organisation would gain from hosting a placement.
Checklist of documents: a pro forma provided to applicants to assist with checking that all relevant documents are enclosed/attached with the application. Cross-referencing documents with the selection criteria helps with identifying which documents act as evidence for which criterion. Documents may be used to cross-reference with more than one of the criteria if appropriate.
- The Checklist includes the application form (Word 2003 DOC 866KB). Please fill in, save and return this application form electronically wherever possible, as part of the CBA’s commitment to our Environmental Policy.
Supporting Material to demonstrate meeting of selection criteria as described in the checklist.

Please remember; these are training placements, not funded staff posts, and therefore we are looking for organisations that can demonstrate commitment to the training and development of a bursary holder “on the job”.

c. Partnership options

If you are aware of another organisation in your region that is also interested in contributing to the placement experience, you are welcome to submit a joint application. For this, you will need to include an additional document specifying how the placement would be split in terms of timescale, location of placement holder and management and mentoring arrangements. You would also need to specify how financial arrangements would be made and dealt with – for example, if a lot more travel would be involved due to the partnership we are unable to increase the placement holder’s travel budget. If you wish to discuss potential partnership hosting, or would like to find out if there are any organisations in your region that may be in a position to partner with your organisation, please contact the CBA via the details below to discuss this further.

12. Submission

All applications must be submitted no later than 1pm on Monday 11th June 2012. Please send the required documents to Community Archaeology Bursaries Project by post to the main CBA address, or via email.

Please note that if you are sending an electronic application, our email accounts will not accept more than 10 MB, so please break up your application into several emails if necessary. We also recommend requesting a read receipt for all of your emails so that you can be sure that your emails arrived safely.

Decisions will be made and successful hosts notified by the final week of August 2012. The Community Archaeology Bursaries Project Board’s decision is final. If you have a query regarding the selections made, you are welcome to contact us for feedback regarding the decision made in relation to your organisation.

To discuss the application process or raise any other queries, please contact Phil Pollard via email or phone the main CBA office.

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