Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers

What Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers does

The Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers (FAME) is the recognized trade body for development-led archaeology in the UK and Ireland, operating as a private company limited by guarantee from a registered office in Brockley Cross Business Centre, London. It serves commercial archaeological businesses engaged in fieldwork, assessment, and consultancy driven by development and infrastructure projects, providing them with a unified advocacy voice, business support services, and access to specialist advice.

FAME's core offering is a membership subscription that bundles unlimited access to qualified specialists for HR, employment law, health and safety, legal, tax, and VAT matters; health and safety updates and guidance; advocacy with regulators, government, and adjacent professional bodies; innovation and research facilitation; and a members library of resources. Beyond core services, FAME convenes member events such as the annual FAME Forum and the recently revived Commercial Archaeological Geophysics Seminar, and produces sector-specific guidance such as the 2026 Archaeology and Solar Farms Good Practice Guide, developed in partnership with Solar Energy UK, CIfA, ALGAO, and Historic England. It is also building environmental sustainability tools for the sector.

The business model is a non-technology, community-led go-to-market: revenue comes from recurring annual membership subscriptions; the CEO function is delivered via an outsourced consultancy contract (currently Cognaterra Ltd from August 2026, previously Headland Archaeological Services); and the organization is governed by a board elected at its AGM. There are no external investors, funding rounds, or parent-company ownership structures disclosed, and no public revenue, headcount, or pricing figures are available.

Name

Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers

Legal name

Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers Ltd.

Website

https://famearchaeology.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FAME is the UK and Ireland trade body for development-led archaeology, providing commercial archaeological firms with membership-based advocacy, business support, health and safety guidance, and specialist advice on HR, legal, and tax matters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association Services

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAHAA

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

Keywords

• Trade association services
• Archaeological business support
• Industry advocacy representation
• Safety compliance advisory
• Employment law consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership subscriptions: FAME generates revenue through membership fees from archaeological businesses and organizations in the UK and Ireland. Members receive business support services, health and safety updates, HR and legal advice access, and representation within the profession.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

FAME is the trade body for development-led archaeology in the UK and Ireland, representing archaeological businesses that deliver work in response to development and planning requirements. Its core offering consists of membership services covering business support, health and safety guidance, employment law and HR advice, advocacy on behalf of the sector, innovation and research initiatives, and environmental sustainability resources.

Product overview

FAME (Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers) is the trade body for development-led archaeology in the UK and Ireland. Rather than a unified software platform, FAME offers a portfolio of member services including business support (HR, legal, health & safety advice), advocacy, innovation and research facilitation, environmental sustainability tools, publications and guidance documents, and member events such as the annual FAME Forum and Commercial Archaeological Geophysics Seminar. The organization also develops sector-specific guidance like the Archaeology and Solar Farms Good Practice Guide in collaboration with industry partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Support Services Provides FAME member archaeological businesses with general business support resources to help them operate commercial development-led archaeology practices. Targeted at owners and managers of UK and Irish archaeological firms.
• Health and Safety Advisory Sector-specific health and safety guidance and advisory for archaeological firms running field operations on development sites. Targeted at FAME member firms and their site managers.
• Employment Law and HR Support Employment law and human resources advice tailored to the development-led archaeology workforce for FAME member firms. Targeted at HR leads and managing directors of archaeological consultancies.
• Advocacy and Representation Representation of the development-led archaeology sector in engagement with government, planning authorities, developers, and other stakeholders. Targeted at FAME member firms collectively.
• Innovation and Research Programme Programme of innovation and research initiatives for development-led archaeology, accessible to FAME members. Targeted at member firms seeking sectoral R&D collaboration.
• Environmental Sustainability Resources Environmental sustainability resources and guidance for archaeological firms undertaking development-led work. Targeted at FAME member firms operating field operations with environmental considerations.
• FAME Forum Annual FAME Forum conference serving as a knowledge-exchange and networking event for the development-led archaeology sector. Targeted at member firms, archaeological professionals, and sector stakeholders.
• Commercial Archaeological Geophysics Seminar (CAGS) Specialist seminar on commercial archaeological geophysics, run as a paid knowledge-exchange event. Targeted at archaeological geophysics practitioners and member firms.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cognaterra LtdcoreOthers · 1 August 2026Providing the Chief Executive Officer role for FAME on a consultancy basis, effective August 1, 2026. Cognaterra brings specialist combination of cutting-edge information technology and management consultancy experience to help FAME develop services for members.
• Magnitude SurveysminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026FAME member hosting the Commercial Archaeological Geophysics Seminar (CAGS) in Bradford on July 9-10, 2026, marking the return of CAGS after a 12-year break.
• Solar Energy UKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Collaborated on the Archaeology and Solar Farms Good Practice Guide, providing clear guidance for managing archaeological requirements throughout large-scale solar farm projects. This partnership brings together two industries to establish consistent archaeological investigation practices.
• Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Partnered on the Archaeology and Solar Farms Good Practice Guide, contributing professional archaeological expertise to the guidance document.
• Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Collaborated on the Archaeology and Solar Farms Good Practice Guide, representing local government archaeological perspective.
• Headland Archaeological ServicesminorOthers · 1 January 2024Previously provided the CEO role through Kenneth Aitchison. The contract has been transferred to Cognaterra Ltd effective August 2026.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC): The professional body for building conservation practitioners in the UK and Ireland. Comparable to FAME as a sector-specific trade association offering advocacy, specialist advice, and continuing professional development to a small professional constituency.
• Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA): The professional body representing archaeologists in the UK and internationally. CIfA is the closest comparable organization to FAME, serving overlapping constituencies (archaeology practitioners and businesses) with advocacy, accreditation, and standards — and is also an active FAME partner on the Solar Farms Good Practice Guide.
• Council for British Archaeology: An independent charity advocating for archaeology and heritage in the UK, with a member-based structure and policy/advocacy remit. It is structurally analogous to FAME as a membership organization championing the archaeology sector, though with a broader public-interest framing.
• Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO): The UK association representing local-government archaeological officers and curators. ALGAO addresses the public-sector counterpart to FAME's commercial-archeology membership, making it directly comparable in mission, advocacy function, and member-services structure.

Broad incumbents

• National Trust: A major UK conservation charity with a large membership base, advocacy function, and heritage-preservation remit. Comparable as a subscription-driven heritage organization, though at substantially greater scale and with a broader remit than FAME.
• Museums Association: The UK membership body for museums and galleries, providing advocacy, professional development, and sector guidance. While broader than FAME, it operates a comparable subscription-driven trade-association model serving cultural-heritage institutions and adjacent professionals.
• Historic England: The public body that funds and advises on heritage in England. Historic England is both a FAME partner (funder of the Solar Farms Good Practice Guide) and a stakeholder shaping the regulatory environment in which FAME's members operate, making it a comparable sector anchor.
• English Heritage Trust: The self-funded charity managing the National Heritage Collection of historic sites in England. Operates in the same cultural-heritage sector as FAME's members and provides a comparable membership model for heritage-engaged audiences and professionals.

Regional players

• Historic Environment Scotland: The Scottish public body overseeing historic environment policy. Regionally scoped but structurally analogous as a heritage-sector convening and funding body — and the former employer of one of FAME's new board members.

Others

• National Lottery Heritage Fund: The largest dedicated funder of heritage in the UK, distributing grants that flow through FAME's member organizations. Comparable as a heritage-sector ecosystem participant and an indirect enabler of the demand environment FAME's members operate in.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/federation-of-archaeological-managers-and-employers
• Xx.com/famearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers