Social values of National Trust for Scotland heritage places: Towards an organisational approach
This project focuses on the social values of heritage places (both natural and cultural) within the National Trust for Scotland estate.
Principal Investigator: Professor Sian Jones
Research Fellow and Co-Investigator: Dr Elizabeth Robson
Project Manager on behalf of the Trust: Paula Whitelaw
Over the last three decades there has been growing emphasis on the social value of heritage, which refers to the significance of historic places to contemporary communities, including people’s sense of identity, belonging, and place.
The challenges of identifying the dynamic and plural values involved are widely recognised, but there has been less attention how institutional systems and processes might incorporate the kinds of methods required, and the multiple and complex social values they reveal, in terms of routine heritage practice.
The aim of this project is to develop a strategic approach to the social values of heritage places (both natural and cultural) within the NTS estate. In doing so we also seek to advance wider knowledge and understanding of how heritage organisations can address the multiple and complex knowledges that social values assessments reveal.
Implemented over three years (2023-2026), the project will include several pilot social value assessments, encompassing a range of Trust properties with diverse profiles. The pilot studies, together with activities involving Trust staff and volunteers, will provide the basis to pull together broader implications across the organisation.
The project has the potential for significant impact on both academic understanding and professional practice.
The project has the potential for significant impact on both academic understanding and professional practice. It offers an important test case in the adoption of approaches, methods and techniques developed by University of Stirling researchers for dealing with social values in everyday heritage management and conservation.
Whilst the research context is a national one, similar challenges of understanding and working with social values are faced by heritage management organisations around the world, albeit mediated by different cultural and political contexts.