National Occupational Standards in
Archaeological Practice

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AA1 Develop policies and guidance for archaeology

AA1.3 Identify and evaluate constraints and opportunities

Performance Required

This will involve:

1. identifying known and potential constraints and opportunities relevant to the investigation and preservation of the historic environment
2. acquiring data required to evaluate constraints and opportunities from appropriate data sources
3. using appropriate methods and techniques to evaluate constraints and opportunities
4. assessing constraints and opportunities against validcriteriato indicate their relative significance and effect on objectives and programme
5. ensuring that constraints and opportunities which are likely to have the most significant impact on objectives and programme are identified, prioritised, summarised accurately and assumptions qualified
6. ensuring that potential risks and benefits to objectives and programme arising from the analysis of< strong>constraints and opportunities are identified, evaluated and incorporated in advice to interested parties.

Occupational Context

1. Constraints and opportunities (arising from):
   • planning policies and legislation
   • short and long term needs
   • site (location, infrastructure, climate, topography, geophysica
   • resources (data, finance, human, materials, time)
   • technological capabilities
   • communications
   • demographic, political, environmental, economic considerations
   • cultural significance
   • interest groups
   • synergy with other projects and initiatives
2. Appropriate data sources:
   • planning processes
   • relevant documentation
   • expert opinion
   • results of archaeological research
   • consultation with interested parties
3. Methods and techniques(may include):
   • physical surveys
   • excavation
   • consultation
   • literature review
   • artefact analysis
   • environmental analyses
4. Criteria (may relate to):
   • cultural / historic value
   • criticality (e.g. rate of deterioration)
   • economic factors
   • practical factors (e.g. construction methods, access, facilities)
   • environmental impact

Knowledge Requirements

You need to know and understand how to:

• Access data sources
• Apply criteria to establish significance
• Assess risks and benefits

You need to know about:

• Sources of data and opinion
• Types of constraint and opportunity to be identified
• Types of survey methods and techniques
• Criteria used to assess significance

Required Skills

• N/A

Evidence Required

You should provide evidence that you can identify and evaluate constraints and opportunities

This will include documentary evidence that includes:

• data acquired for evaluation
• methods and techniques for evaluation used
• constraints and opportunities assessed
• criteria used to indicate significance
• constraints and opportunities with most significant impact
• potential risks and benefits evaluated
• additional relevant considerations and recommendations

The candidate should be questioned, based upon the documentation provided, to explore:

• their understanding of potential constraints opportunities relevant to the archaeological heritage
• their ability to collect data, to process it and to present it to others in a clear, comprehensible format
• their ability to assess the most significant constraints and opportunities in terms of their affect upon archaeological objectives and programmes and, in particular, the risks they pose

Evidence Rules

• The candidate should have been involved in at least 2 substantive areas of policy development.

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Today's date: 8/9/2008
This page last updated: 27/7/2007 16:17