December 2019
December’s Heritage Chat provided an opportunity for various organisations and individuals working in the heritage sector to share what they achieved in 2019 and what they hope to achieve in 2020. Participants were asked to share examples of work they carried out that related to heritage2020 priority areas including:
- Heritage and the High Street
- Historic Environment Sector Apprenticeships
- Local Planning Authority Capacity for conservation and archaeology services
- Transfer of heritage assets from public ownership
- Improving diversity and inclusion practice
- Charging the culture of youth and heritage engagement
- Strengthening research collaboration between the high education and historic environment sectors
Participants were then asked to share anything more broadly that they were proud of. The summary of the chat shows just how much wonderful work took place in the sector in 2019. Read it here.
November 2019
November’s #HeritageChat explored how the growth of citizen heritage science projects can be improved. In particular, discussions focused on what types of citizen science projects are particularly effective in engaging people with heritage and provided an opportunity for people and organisations who have experience in organising such projects, to provide tips to others looking to do so. Advice was offered on determining audiences, the best methods of collecting data and the pitfalls to look out for. Existing guidance on running a citizen science project was also shared. You can read a full summary of the discussions here.
October 2019
October’s #HeritageChat explored why the 16-24-year-old age group are underrepresented in terms of engagement with heritage, which is currently a key focus of the H2020 Public Engagement working group. Both the 2017/18 and 2018/19 DCMS ‘Taking Part’ Surveys revealed that this age group visited heritage sites less frequently than other age groups between 25 and 74. In light of this, the working group want to ensure a greater emphasis is placed on involving young people in all aspects of work in heritage and the historic environment. To do this, they used the chat as an opportunity to learn about the work that is already happening and source ideas from heritage professionals and students about what could be improved.
Discussion points during the hour included whether the statistics reflect the everyday experience in the sector, what problems there are that impact upon a ‘heritage offer’ for 16-24-year olds, and whether low engagement could also be caused by perceptions of heritage among the age group. Participants also shared what has worked and been popular in their experience and ideas of what could increase engagement in the future.
You can catch up on all the conversations that took place here.
September 2019
September’s #HeritageChat followed on from our previous chat in June about Historic High Streets and the future role they will play in society. This time the Constructive, Conservation and Sustainable Management working group chose to discuss what non-funding support could help local authorities and communities to regenerate their historic high streets. Participants looked at what role national organisations could play in this and what skills gaps there are that inhibit progress. Throughout the chat, excellent examples were shared of communities coming together to support their local high streets. You can read a full summary here.
July 2019
July’s #HeritageChat provided an opportunity for us to gather feedback on our newly published scoping study into the nature and strength of collaboration between the heritage sector and UK higher education institutions. We asked participants to respond to our findings but also share their experiences of university collaboration in relation to the historic environment. Additionally, we asked people how they think such collaboration can be improved for the future and what resources are currently available to aid the process. You can catch up on the discussion here.
June 2019
June’s #HeritageChat explored all things ‘Heritage and the High street’. Participants discussed the future role high streets will play in society and how they can be best used now. Also discussed was the information that is currently available for communities wishing to get more involved in the future of their high streets and what is missing in this regard. A popular talking point was Historic England’s newly announced High Streets Heritage Action Zone programme and how its funding should be targeted to maximise impact. You can catch up on all the discussions in our summary here.
The future of our high streets is a priority concern for our Constructive Conservation and Sustainable Management working group. Click here to read about all the work they have been doing on this topic, including creating an activity mapping document.
May 2019
May’s #HeritageChat explored ‘emergency preparedness in the historic environment sector’, a theme that has been discussed frequently in the media following the tragic fire at Notre Dame. The chat provided participants the chance to explore lessons for the future and share with each other their wisdom and experience. Questions explored included: how historic buildings can plan to effectively respond to an emergency; what guidance and networks exist to help with this process; and what we need to think about in terms of managing communications during and after an incident. You can catch up on the ideas that were explored here.
April 2019
The April #HeritageChat was led by the CIfA Voluntary and Community Special Interest Group and explored how the legacies of archaeological community engagement in place making can be improved. Discussions focused on what exactly is meant by ‘place making’ in this context and what it means to communities in practice. Also explored was the role archaeology can play in influencing the design of new places before construction, and particularly, in consideration of health and well-being. Catch up on all the discussions here.
The topic will be explored in further detail at a session of the CIfA 2019 conference where comments made during the chat will also be discussed.
March 2019
Our March #HeritageChat explored all things technology and innovation in the historic environment sector. Participants discussed how technology is shaping research in the sector and what opportunities new technologies present for public engagement. There was also a focus on the digital skills that need to be developed in the sector and how the sector can work together to deliver the goals of ‘Culture is Digital’.
Read an extended summary of the chat here.
February 2019
Our February #HeritageChat explored how heritage professionals can encourage communities to share their heritage with them and what communities want most from the heritage sector. Also discussed were approaches to strengthening links between heritage organisations and community groups, and particularly with social groups who do not normally access heritage. The role technology can play in initiating and developing these relationships was also a prominent theme in the chat.
Read a summary of February’s chat here.
January 2019
Our January #HeritageChat explored how infrastructure projects can be used to connect communities with place. Discussions focused on when there is greatest potential for engaging communities, how communities can take a leading role in interpretation and be involved in post-excavation research, and what problems ‘client confidentiality’ poses to community engagement. Read the summary here.
December 2018
Our December #HeritageChat explored how the impact of collaborative working can be maximised in the historic environment. Discussions focused on the benefits of collaboration, what the key attributes are of successful collaboration, and what the common challenges are in the historic environment when trying to work together. Attention also turned to how we can effectively measure the impact of collaboration and whether there is a model or framework for collaboration that the sector should encourage people to use. Read the summary here.
November 2018
Our November #HeritageChat provided a forum to discuss the Historic Environment sector’s relationship with health and wellbeing. Participants explored in what ways the sector can help to address health and wellbeing issues, how we can make the public more aware of the benefits of actively engaging with heritage, and how we can ensure communities throughout the UK have equal access to programmes. It was concluded that as a sector we need to embed wellbeing into institutional thinking, and, in the final stages of the chat, attention was drawn to the need to have meaningful evaluation frameworks to measure the impact of heritage activities on general wellbeing. Read the summary here.
October 2018
Our October #HeritageChat was on the topic of apprenticeships in the Historic Environment. Topics discussed included how employers should approach recruitment, how apprenticeships can help the sector and examples of good practice. The chat also provided a forum for individuals and organisation to learn about and share their understanding of the new government guidelines on apprenticeships. Read the summary here.
September 2018
Our September #HeritageChat explored mobile heritage. Participants identified the issues that pose the greatest risk to keeping historic transport mobile, including new legislation, access to fuel and a potential shortage in skills, before going on to suggest ways of addressing them. Also raised as talking points were ways of increasing collaboration between heritage institutions and the owners of historic transport, the separation of horse drawn transport from conversations about mobile heritage, and finally, the conundrum of fabric vs operation within mobile heritage. Read the summary here.
July 2018
Our July #HeritageChat provided a forum for institutions and individuals to share lessons learnt from their own past experiences about what encourages young people to engage with heritage. Greater collaboration with the creative industries, the adoption of a shared authority approach and the role of interactive technologies were all raised as talking points. Moreover, lessons to be learnt from social action programmes and natural heritage were discussed, as well as where and when conversations between heritage institutions and young people should be happening. Read the summary here.
June 2018
Our June #HeritageChat explored new uses for historic buildings. Topics discussed included the need to maintain historic value whilst embracing any new uses, how best to communicate the positives of re-using historic buildings and related funding issues. Also explored was the potential to encourage new uses for historic buildings by embracing the government’s current focus on ‘place’. Read the summary here.
May 2018
Our May #HeritageChat explored how best to improve links between research and practice and was led by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists with support from the Heritage 2020 Discovery, Identification and Understanding group. Conversation touched on organisational research agendas, cross-sector research and resources, and innovative models that could be introduced by universities to support the research pursuits of heritage professionals/volunteers. Read the summary here.
April 2018
Our April #HeritageChat picked up the theme that Heritage 2020 working group members discussed at their annual Foresight workshop: ‘What’s over the digital horizon for heritage?’. We tweeted about how digital technology can be used to stimulate engagement with new audiences, how we can use technology and data to better understand audience needs, what new digital skills the sector needs and what the opportunities are for the historic environment sector to forge partnerships with tech organisations. Read the summary.
March 2018
In March, #HeritageChat explore Industrial Heritage – led by Dr Nicola Palmer from the Doctoral School of Sheffield Hallam University. The conversation touched on questions of sustainable management and reliance on volunteers, alternative modes of engagement with industrial heritage (from urban exploration to steampunk), and existing and potential future collaborations between industrial heritage sites and industrial bodies. Participants discussed the impact of such initiatives as the Brownfield Registers for unidentified industrial heritage, Industrial World Heritage status and the opportunities arising from the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage. See the summary here.
February 2018
February’s #HeritageChat picked up on the topic explored a year ago at the Heritage 2020 Foresight workshop ‘Diversity in the historic environment sector’. Last year’s workshop concluded that there are three key areas in which action is needed to address diversity issues: data, process and perception. You can read the report on the workshop here.
The questions that were used as prompts during the chat were:
- Is the issue of class overlooked in conversations about diversity in heritage?
- How can we best enable those from working class backgrounds to participate equally in a sector dominated by part-time and casual contracts?
- Does the intersection between class and ethnicity in part explain the underrepresentation of BME in heritage?
- How can targets be used effectively to drive improvements in diversity?
- Does the historic environment sector need a self-assessment process to enable an organisation to evaluate its performance – and a toolkit to address areas for development?
- Where are there examples of innovative practice in improving diversity that could be shared with the historic environment sector?
A summary of the #HeritageChat is now available on our archive page: ‘Diversity in the heritage sector’
This session was led by Heritage 2020 tweeting as (@HeritageChat) and The Heritage Alliance (@heritage_ngos).
January 2018
If you missed January’s #HeritageChat on the topic ‘Evaluation: How can the heritage sector better share evaluation data and create a shared evidence base?’, you can catch up by viewing our summary on our archive page. The chat was led by ERS Research & Consultancy alongside Heritage 2020.
December 2017
You can also catch up on December’s #HeritageChat on the topic‘Heritage and high streets – which way next?’ by viewing our summary. The chat was led by Heritage 2020 and tied into the Constructive Conservation and Sustainable Management group‘s work on high streets and recent workshop held on the 6 December 2017.
November 2017
The first session was held on 16 November 2017 on the topic of ‘Innovation and entrepreneurship in the heritage sector – are we doing enough?’ and was led by the Historic Houses Association. It is archived on our website.
