The IHBC has launched the pilot for a new resource offering digital access with search facilities to select entries to the IHBC’s celebrated Annual Gus Astley Student Award, while seeking more suggestions and offers on future content on this ‘characteristically pragmatic approach’ by the IHBC to disseminating knowledge.
… Thoughts and feedback are very welcome, and also suggestions for new content…
IHBC Director Sean O’Reilly said: ‘This is a pilot giving access to data that could be critical in shaping conservation practice standards and securing conservation outcomes.’
Our characteristically pragmatic approach is clear: open access to digitised copies accessible via a controlled platform, with search facilities that enable easy access to knowledge while restricting the potential for plagiary.’
‘Thoughts and feedback are very welcome, and also suggestions for new content from authors and others. The online listing of titles etc. gives you a taste pf the content, and any suggestions we’ll follow up to assess at what point investment in their publication here can best be justified.’
… we have the ‘research’ thread in our CREATIVE Conservation Fund in place to underpin the work…
‘Of course these are not ‘magic wand’, moments – it’s taken us 10 years and more to get here. However, now we have the ‘research’ thread in our CREATIVE Conservation Fund in place to underpin the work, we are able to look at a sustainable strategy to get this critical celebration of student research in the UK into a more public, and more productive domain.’
‘So have a look at the list of titles, going back to our first year of the award, and let Michael Netter – our Professional Services Office – know of what you would like to see published.’
… facility allows valuable research to be made available and searchable to anyone…
IHBC’s Education Secretary Chris Wood said: ‘This is a most welcome creation from the IHBC. The facility allows valuable research to be made available and searchable to anyone, and to the benefit of conservation.’
‘This has been a long cherished aim and once this pilot system has been established, it should be possible to extend the model to include other high quality, practice-focussed research.’
Bob Kindred, IHBC’s Research Adviser is a past trustees to the Gus Astley Memorial Fund, which both financed the original Student Award programme and also helped core-fund the new CREATIVE Conservation Fund.
Bob said: ‘I’m very pleased to see this further development of the Gus Astley Student Awards. Since their inception in 2007 much valuable research has been completed and original thinking undertake by post-graduates and this deserves to be more widely shared.’
… some of the best work ….will help inform the sector and stimulate more contributions…
‘I hope some of the best work now being added to the Institute’s website will help inform the sector and stimulate more contributions from candidates for the GASAs in future.’
‘Gus was a seminal figure in the development of this organisation and was an enthusiastic advocate of work that would promote best conservation practice and help raise professional standards and this latest initiative is in keeping with those aims.’
Aimee Felton, winner of the IHBC Gus Astley Student Award in 2012, and the IHBC’s very first Associate member, said: ‘This is yet another great resource for the industry provided by the IHBC.’
… yet another great resource for the industry…
‘It offers everyone the ability to access the hours of detailed research and unique perspectives on a cross section of topics and issues in a searchable and functional format.’
‘It’s a great pleasure to see my own work join what will be such a broad cross section of academic texts. It also offers me the opportunity to pick up some of the loose threads I left back in 2012!’
Anthony Gwynne, whose entry was received only in 2020, said: ‘I am very pleased that the IHBC is providing public access to papers that provide valuable information of new research, learning, views and opinions carried out by students and others for the benefit of our built heritage’.
The IHBC writes:
The IHBC’s ‘Student Award Research Access Programme’ is a public service that offers digital access to select submissions to the IHBC’s IHBC Gus Astley Student Award (GASA). Typically these are post-graduate research submissions produced to a standard approaching, equivalent to, or ahead of that found in professional practice.
The IHBC’s GASA awards programme has been celebrating student submissions relating to conservation since 2007. Typically, the IHBC receives more than 35 submissions each year. See here for our Terms of submissions and judging.
To encourage access to this important body of research work, since 2007 the IHBC has listed the titles of submissions and related details. That posting is agreed by author(s) at the point of submission, and may be found and searched HERE.
Some GASA award submissions have been deemed of such special relevance to conservation practice and research that they merit enhanced access.
When agreed with the author(s), these submissions have been posted on this service as digital publications – ‘Flipping Books’ – under the ‘IHBC’s GASA Digitisation programme’. Using this approach means that users are not able to download content, out of respect to the authors.
Images or content subject to copyright or judged subject to copyright are ‘redacted’ – e.g. through removal.
Any copyright content not redacted should be notified to the IHBC by emailing contact@ihbc.org.uk.
See more at gasa.ihbc.org.uk
See the Guidance
Search the listing of entries at entries
See and donate to the CREATIVE Conservation Fund
See Aimee’s submission to Oxford Brookes University, as redacted Securing a future: Non-heritage focused organisations’ approach to listed building maintenance.
See Anthony’s submission to Cardiff University as redacted: ‘Are the Building Regulations fit for the purpose of upgrading traditional, historic and listed buildings using modern applications in Wales?’
See more on the Brighton School at brighton2021.ihbc.org.uk
