Held in Trust Philosophy, Ethics, and Collaboration Survey 2021

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the 2021 FAIC Held in Trust survey of the conservation/preservation profession. We are undertaking this research to build a profile of current practices and future needs of the conservation/preservation profession. The current survey focuses on the roles that philosophy, ethics, and collaboration play in your work. We estimate that it will take 12-15 minutes to complete.

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Eric Pourchot, FAIC Institutional Advancement Director, at epourchot@conservation-us.org

Confidentiality
FAIC has put into place strict rules to safeguard the confidentiality of the information collected. All information will be analyzed and presented in an aggregate format, and in such a way that specific responses cannot be tied to a particular individual or institution.

Thank you for your participation!

First, just a couple of questions about you....

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* 1. How many years have you been in the conservation/preservation field (including years in training)?

0-5 years

6-10 years

11-20 years

More than 20 years

I'm not in the conservation/preservation field

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* 2. Which one of the following BEST describes your current work situation?

Large Museum

Small Museum or Historic Site

Proprietor of a Private Practice

Employed at/Contracted by a Private Practice

Regional Conservation Center

Library or Archive

University (other than a university museum, library, or archive listed above)

Government Agency (other than an institution listed above)

Student

Retired or currently unemployed

Other (please specify below)

Other:

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* 3. Your conservation/preservation work consists primarily of (select all that apply):

Treatment

Research/Analysis/Science

Preventive

Education

Administration

Collections Management

Collections Care

Documentation

Collaborative Work with Communities

Allied Field

Not currently engaged in conservation-related work

Other (please specify)

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* 4. What are your main specialty areas? (Select all that apply.)

Archaeological Materials

Archaeological Sites

Books

Buildings

Contemporary

Cultural Landscapes

Electronic Media

Indigenous Materials

Monuments

Natural History

Objects

Paintings

Photographic Materials

Textiles

Other (please specify)

Conservation Philosophy

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* 5. What does "conservation philosophy" mean to you? (Select all that apply.)

Professional ethics, such as the AIC Code of Ethics

Principles, such as minimal intervention

Concepts, such as authenticity or artist's intention

Values, such as the historic or aesthetic value of an artifact or a place

Theories, such as those of Cesare Brandi

Other (please specify)

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* 6. How often does conservation philosophy (as you understand it) influence your work?

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

For the purposes of standardizing the remainder of this survey, we define conservation philosophy to be the theories or conceptual frameworks that guide the conservation of cultural heritage.

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* 7. How often does conservation philosophy (as defined above) influence your work?

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

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* 8. How often do you actively consult resources (e.g., books, articles, lectures, colleagues) about conservation philosophy?

Daily

About once a week

About once a month

A few times a year

Once a year or less often

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* 9. Do you think your work (e.g., treatment, research, decisions) inevitably reflects certain philosophies of conservation?

Yes

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* 10. How likely is it that you would publish or share these or other conservation philosophies?

Unlikely

Somewhat likely

Very likely

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* 11. Why or why not?

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* 12. How were you educated about conservation philosophies? (Select all that apply.)

College, graduate, or other training courses

Public lectures, symposia, or similar events

Reading

I was not trained in conservation philosophy

Other (please specify)

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* 13. To what extent have you been exposed to non-western philosophies of conservation (e.g., indigenous philosophies)?

A great deal

A moderate amount

A little

Not at all

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* 14. How often do you use the research or concepts of other disciplines (e.g., archaeology, anthropology, material culture, art history) in your work?

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

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* 15. Do you think that the existing conservation philosophy literature and training is adequate?

Yes

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* 16. If no, what is missing?

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* 17. Would you be interested in learning more about conservation philosophy?

Very interested

Somewhat interested

Not so interested

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* 18. Are you interested in receiving more training on alternative and non-western philosophies of conservation?

Very interested

Somewhat interested

Not so interested

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* 19. What form(s) of information or training about conservation philosophy would be most helpful to you? (Select all that apply.)

Lecture

Article

Workshop

Website

Podcast

Video

Other (please specify)

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* 20. What are the main obstacles to considering conservation philosophy in your work? (Select all that apply.)

Lack of interest

Lack of time

Lack of relevance

Lack of funding

Lack of familiarity/comfort

Lack of institutional support

No obstacles

Other (please specify)

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* 21. How strongly do you agree with the following statements?

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly agree
“It is important to publish/share my work in the conservation/ preservation field.”	“It is important to publish/share my work in the conservation/ preservation field.” Strongly disagree	“It is important to publish/share my work in the conservation/ preservation field.” Disagree	“It is important to publish/share my work in the conservation/ preservation field.” Agree	“It is important to publish/share my work in the conservation/ preservation field.” Strongly agree
“It is important to publish/share my work beyond the conservation/ preservation field.”	“It is important to publish/share my work beyond the conservation/ preservation field.” Strongly disagree	“It is important to publish/share my work beyond the conservation/ preservation field.” Disagree	“It is important to publish/share my work beyond the conservation/ preservation field.” Agree	“It is important to publish/share my work beyond the conservation/ preservation field.” Strongly agree

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* 22. What are the main obstacles to your sharing or publishing your work beyond the conservation/preservation field? (Select all that apply.)

Lack of interest

Lack of time

Lack of relevance

Lack of funding

Lack of familiarity/comfort

Lack of institutional support

No obstacles

Other (please specify)

Collaborative Practice

For the purposes of this survey, we define collaborative practice as: an approach to conservation/preservation in which cultural heritage is contextualized as fully as possible by engaging communities or individual stakeholders such as artists in the conservation/preservation process, which becomes a shared endeavor between the conservation/preservation specialist(s) and collaborating partner(s). In collaborative practice, parity is sought between the conservation/preservation specialist(s), who offer a certain type of expertise, and the collaborating partner(s), who bring perspectives and expertise that are otherwise unavailable. A shift in authority from the preservation specialist(s) to the collaborator(s) is key to a successful engagement.

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* 23. Given this definition, do you consider your work in conservation/preservation to be collaborative?

Not at all

Somewhat

Fully

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* 24. Does this definition match your own understanding of collaborative practice in conservation/preservation?

Not at all

Somewhat

Fully

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* 25. If the definition does not match your understanding, how does it differ?

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* 26. Do you collaborate within the field? (with other conservation/preservation specialists)

Not at all

Sometimes

Often

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* 27. Do you collaborate outside the field? (allied fields, stakeholder communities, artists, etc.)

Not at all

Sometimes

Often

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* 28. If you are not currently working collaboratively, what prevents your work from being collaborative? (Select all that apply.)

Lack of funding

Lack of training

Lack of connection to communities

Lack of internal protocols

Lack of relevance

Lack of interest

Lack of time

None of the above - I work collaboratively now

Other (please specify)

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* 29. What would help you to work more collaboratively? (Select all that apply.)

Funding

Training

Time

Building a relationship with stakeholder communities

Building a connection with other professionals

Updated internal protocols

No help needed

Other (please specify)

Code of Ethics

The following is excerpted from the AIC Code of Ethics preamble:

“The primary goal of conservation professionals, individuals with extensive training and special expertise, is the preservation of cultural property. Cultural property consists of individual objects, structures, or aggregate collections. It is material which has significance that may be artistic, historical, scientific, religious, or social, and it is an invaluable and irreplaceable legacy that must be preserved for future generations. “

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* 30. Does this statement describe the goals and scope of conservation/preservation as you understand it?

Not at all

Somewhat

Fully

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* 31. What words come to mind when you read this excerpt or think of the Code of Ethics?

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* 32. To what extent do you consult the Code of Ethics (directly or indirectly) in your work?

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

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* 33. Do you think the Code of Ethics should address the conservation/preservation of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage?

Yes

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* 34. What, if anything, should be added to or changed in the Code of Ethics?

The Big Picture

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* 35. Thinking of everything that your conservation/preservation work encompasses, what is currently your biggest challenge?

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* 36. Thinking ahead to the future, what do you think your biggest challenge will be ten years from now?

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* 37. If you have additional thoughts about conservation/preservation philosophy, collaboration, and/or ethics, please share them below.

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* 38. If you are willing to be contacted for follow-up, please provide your contact information below. Otherwise, please skip to the "Done" button.

Name

Email Address

Phone Number

Thank you for your participation! Please click the "Done" button to save your responses and exit from the survey.