Icon's Impact: Icon Ethical Guidance
The Start
Our story starts in 2012 when the Icon Board of Trustees asked the Professional Standards and Development Committee to develop a Code of Conduct with the result that from 2014 Icon had no Code of Ethics or Ethical Guidance for use by its members.
The Goal
This was highlighted by members who called for Icon to produce guidance relating to ethics. In 2017 the Board approved the formation of the Ethics Task and Finish Group to create an Icon Code of Ethics. The Ethics Task and Finish Group had a fixed lifespan of six months, which means that the Icon Ethical Guidance should have been released in 2018, when actually it was released in June 2020. This is because creating ethical guidance from scratch with a group composed of volunteers (albeit very knowledgeable and skilled volunteers) is a mammoth task. In total, the production of the Icon Ethical Guidance took 24 months. An amazing feat and one for which all those who gave so generously of their time and knowledge should be justifiably proud and wholeheartedly thanked.
The Process
From the start the process was formulated to be inclusive of all Icon members. There was to be no 'tap on the shoulder'. Everyone was welcome to join the Ethics Task and Finish Group, whether they had joined Icon two weeks before or had been a member for many years. It was at this point the Ethics Task and Finish Group was warned that if we followed this process that 'anarchy' would occur. You'll agree that it didn't. Anyway, anarchy in the form of fresh thoughts and different perspectives is always welcome.
In between meetings we worked on the ideas and documents that would eventually become the Icon Ethical Guidance. How many versions the Icon Ethical Guidance went through is unknown, but it was many, many, many of them.
Icon Ethical Guidance
The Icon Ethical Guidance is a guide for the actions of all Icon members regardless of area of practice or specialism. It breaks from the tradition of rigid Codes Of Ethics which prescribe what is ethical and what is not. The Icon Ethical Guidance recognises that ethics are not fixed but can be debated and argued. It encourages members to reflect on ethics and to apply ethics as appropriate to their practice, specialism and circumstance.
In recognition that ethics are not fixed and that our understanding and application of ethics will change over time, the Icon Ethical Guidance is a living document that will be regularly reviewed and updated. We welcome your feedback. Please contact [email protected]
The Icon Ethical Guidance is made up of four parts:
- Introduction
- Principles of Conservation
- Commentary
- Glossary
In a first for Icon, the Ethical Guidance was edited to ensure that it is dyslexic friendly. A practice which has been extended to subsequent Icon publications. Additonally, the Icon Ethical Guidance includes environmental sustainability, and diversity and inclusion as key considerations in ethics.
Impact
The impact of the development and publication of the Icon Ethical Guidance is manifold.
- It provides Icon with a model of open, inclusive and collaborative working which can be used in future projects.
- It is a truly groundbreaking document which guides members with their ethics rather than telling them what they must do.
- It recognises that the world has moved on since most Codes of Ethics were last updated, making the Icon Ethical Guidance fit for the 21st century, in ways that others aren't.
- It is freely accessible and easily available, and may be used by others to inform their own policy development around ethics in the cultural heritage sector
- It demonstrates Icon's clear commitment to high professional standards
- It is a key document for Icon which demonstrates the need for high professional standards to both Icon members and the public.
