What do you have to do to gain a MIfA? It's easier to get an OBE

[troll]

Occurs to me that this thread ties in nicely with the thread about Government websites accepting IfA Membership as prerequisite to the tender process. My initial reaction is....what other benchmark is currently available to Local Government Officers? A secondary but equally pertinent point is....if Government have/are accepting such validation then they should have faith in the IfA validation system itself. Methinks that legal challenges on the sheer validity of the Government stance on this are likely.......I have been converted to the idea of a Professional Institute for a number of good reasons but I still hesitate to agree that RO status or personal validation (in it`s present form) is an acceptably robust form of validation in legal terms.
For the individual archaeologist, application to the IfA can seem to be a minefield of duplicities laden with ever-moving goalposts. For me- Corporate Membership at any level is sufficient to demonstrate a willingness to work to professional standards and of late, is fast becoming a prerequisite to employment in certain fields. Ultimately, the legal responsibility for the maintenance of professional standards falls to the Local Government Officers. Regardless of an archaeologists` IfA status, if the Mounty thinks you`re crap then you`re crap. A bit blunt I agree but.... Local Government Archaeologists "police" professional standards.....not the IfA.......