The Award for Conservation

This Award celebrates excellence in completed conservation or restoration projects in museums, galleries, historic buildings, libraries and archives.

What is the Award for?
The Award is made for a project judged to be the best of those submitted. To be eligible, projects may focus:

on the conservation of individual items or collections, on the decorative elements or fixtures associated with a historic building, or on monuments and sculptures, or
on improving the environment in which collections are housed.

Who is eligible to apply?
Conservators or teams working in the public or private sectors. The application must be supported by the individual(s) or organisation(s) commissioning the work.

Timetable and Judging
Entrants for the Award for Conservation should submit a short application by 30 September 2003, using the printed or electronic application form provided. These will be sifted and considered for short-listing by the Conservation Awards Screening Panel. Only short-listed candidates will be asked for full details of their projects. All short-listed candidates for the Award for Conservation will be informed in early November and asked to submit full details of their projects by mid-January 2004.

Members of the Judging Panel will visit all the short-listed projects in the spring of 2004 in order to meet those involved and see the outcome of the projects at first hand.

Criteria for assessment for the Award for Conservation

In considering applications, the Judging Panel will be looking for some or all of the following features:

(1) Execution of the project

Exemplary and innovative conservation work that may influence future practice.
A well-planned project, with clear methodology and good documentation.
Effective management of the resources used.
High quality of collaboration with colleagues and others.

(2) Communication of the project

Effective communication to the wider community of the conservation work and the significance of the items or collections conserved.
Improvement in the quality of physical and intellectual access achieved through the conservation work.

The Judging Panel will take into account that not every project will be able to demonstrate all these features.

Conditions of application

The work must be carried out in the UK.
The outcome of the project must be accessible to the public in the UK.
The project must be completed between 1 March 2002 and 30 June 2003.
Joint applications from conservators or others working in collaboration are accepted.
All applicants must be clearly identified on the application form.
Applications may be made for both the Award for Conservation and the Anna Plowden Trust Award (on separate forms).
The decisions of the judges are final.