| Assessment area | Criteria |
| Structure of the organisation | The organisation provides a comprehensive overview of the business, demonstrating cohesion and unity across its structure. |
| Conflicts of interest/Ethics | The organisation demonstrates a strong commitment to ethical standards, providing clear examples of how potential or actual conflicts of interest are identified and managed. It consistently upholds the CIfA Code of conduct. |
| Staffing and employment | The organisation is able to recruit and retain suitably qualified and competent staff. |
| Approach to professionalism and professional accreditation | The organisation actively promotes CIfA accreditation and professional standards, embeds them into policy and practice, advocates for CIfA values externally and contributes positively to the wider profession. |
| Training and CPD | The organisation demonstrates a commitment to staff training and CPD, in line with the CIfA policy statement on ‘The use of training posts on archaeological projects’. It identifies both individual and organisational training needs, uses appraisals to support development and provides structured training for new starters and role transitions, ensuring training goes beyond basic requirements. |
| Volunteers, outreach and public benefit | The organisation works in line with the CIfA policy statement on ‘Volunteers and students on archaeological projects’. It actively promotes and secures public benefit by engaging stakeholders throughout its projects, clearly defining public benefit objectives from the outset and regularly evaluating work with findings used to improve future practice. |
| Health and Safety | The organisation maintains access to and actively applies expert Health and Safety guidance and support. See the CIfA policy statement on ‘Health and Safety’. |
| Quality assurance | The organisation demonstrates a robust quality management system, ensuring consistent standards across its operations. This includes clear procedures for planning, monitoring, and reviewing project activities, as well as mechanisms for continuous improvement. See the relevant CIfA Standards and guidance. |
| Policies and Guidelines | The organisation maintains clear, accessible policies and guidelines. These documents support staff in understanding their roles, responsibilities, and procedures, and are regularly reviewed to reflect good practice and regulatory requirements. Where the organisation is part of a larger entity, its policies and guidelines should reflect and take account of the specific functions and responsibilities of the Registered Organisation. |
| Commissioning | The organisation follows the CIfA Standard and guidance for commissioning work or providing consultancy advice on archaeology and the historic environment. Advice is impartial and informed by the significance of heritage assets. Commissioners are briefed on risks, costs, and legal duties. Services are procured from competent providers, and post-excavation work and archive deposition are monitored to ensure compliance and address delays. |
| Reports and publications | The organisation produces reports which comply with the relevant CIfA Standards and guidance and other local and national guidance. |
