Internet Archaeol 15. Paul Gilman. Recent developments: partnership and vision

1.4 Recent developments: partnership and vision

Recent years have seen much greater co-operation between the key national organisations with an interest in the development of English SMRs: RCHME, English Heritage, ALGAO, who signed a 'Co-operation Statement' containing agreed key principles governing SMR development (RCHME, English Heritage, ALGAO, 1998). The partners to this statement share a vision of a national network of heritage records maintained to common standards and accessible to a wide variety of users. Since 1998, this partnership has underpinned a number of projects, including the recent SMR assessment and preparation of a framework document for the Heritage Lottery Fund to guide bids from SMRs for funding. The challenge for the future is not merely for the partnership to continue but whether it can successfully influence both national and local government to provide greater stability, if not increased resources, to support the development of SMRs.