How will the project benefit researchers?
Oliver: This project provides a fantastic platform for academics to really change the way people understand important stories or ideas through some of the country’s most significant heritage sites, while giving their research greater impact.
Alice: Many of our projects will be led by DPhil (PhD) students, and it is a great opportunity for them to gain applicable industry experience if they want to consider a career in the heritage sector. They will also be able to conduct new research, create valuable resources, and share their expertise.
What can we hope to see in the coming years?
Charles: The research and data developed through the project will be consolidated into accessible resources about history, culture and the natural environment, which will be used to enhance existing interpretation on our website and in our room guides and guidebooks, as well as for staff and volunteer training.
Alice: We want the resources to be available at every step of the visitor journey and an important part of that is making them available online. We hope to develop a Wikipedia-style resource for discovering information about heritage sites in the UK. The resource will draw out connections between objects, places, properties and people to allow visitors to gain a better understanding of their wider historical, social and geographical context.
Oliver: Over the next two years we will establish a clear methodology for sharing knowledge between these two leading organisation which we hope will have a significant and lasting impact upon the work of both. In doing so, we will establish a blueprint for collaboration that can be adopted by other academic institutions and heritage organisations across the UK, thereby encouraging further stories about places to be told and enriched through research.
If you would like to find out more about the project please visit the TVCHP website. Oliver and Alice welcome researchers with ideas for collaborations to get in touch, please send an email to oliver.cox@humanities.ox.ac.uk or alice.purkiss@humanities.ox.ac.uk
