JPI Kulturarv - JPI CH Heritage Values Network

The heritage values network aims to instigate a European, transnational research network comprised of academics, practitioners and policy-makers around the theme of heritage values. It is a collaborative project, coordinated by University College London (UK), and partnered by NIKU (Norway), University of Barcelona (Spain), Technical University of Eindhoven, Leiden University and the company Common Sites (all Netherlands). The project addresses the problem that 'heritage values' are often conceptualised and assessed differently by different disciplines and sectors. This often results in miscommunications and complexities. The reasons for this are not clear, but the topic of heritage values is becoming increasingly important and urgent (as stated in recent EU documents, such as the Council of Europe?s recent conclusions on Cultural Heritage in May 2014, and the European Commission?s response in July). By building a network where policy makers, practitioners and academics from different disciplines and countries can work on these issues together holds the opportunity to identify potential causes and solutions, and to find directions for rigorous research in the future. The project includes three related workshops, which address Conceptualising Heritage Values (Eindhoven, July 2014), Assessing and Measuring Values (Oslo, Oct 2014) and Engaging the Public (Barcelona, Feb 2015). The organisation of the workshop in Oslo has been developing since the kick-off meeting. Much of the time has been spent on inviting participants, but the theoretical framework has been refined to maximise the future activity. This includes developing new ideas and directions (such as semantics), building discussions around existing methods from other fields (such as political science, and case-based learning and teaching) and historical research into Norwegian case studies for in-depth discussion (Ekebergparken).

The proposed project will initiate a European, cross-disciplinary dialogue between heritage practitioners, researchers and policy makers on ?heritage values? through the conduct of three networking workshops in Eindhoven, Oslo and Barcelona respectively. The term ?heritage values? refers to the meanings and values that individuals or groups of people assign to heritage (including collections, buildings, sites, landscapes etc). The meetings will bring together academics, policy makers and heritage practiti oners to discuss through interactive and innovative sessions: a) How are heritage values understood by policy makers, heritage professionals (e.g. conservators, archaeologists, architects, historians) and heritage theorists across Europe? b) How can herit age values be assessed, measured and prioritized by policy makers and heritage practitioners in Europe? c) How can the public be involved in the assessment process of heritage values? There is great ambiguity regarding the term ?heritage values? and how t his is conceptualized in different disciplines, practices and countries. In addition, there is limited research on methodological tools that can be used for assessing the diverse range of values that different individuals or groups of people assign to a w ide array of heritage sites. Current methods focus mostly on measuring the economic benefits of heritage. More importantly, our limited current knowledge is based on research conducted predominantly in Anglophonic countries. The proposed project argues th at a transnational approach to this subject will unpack the influence of cultural contexts on understanding and assessing heritage values. This process will facilitate the development of a conceptual and methodological framework on heritage values that ca n be shared by heritage organizations in Europe. The proposed project will ultimately lead to collaborations between European consortium members for the creation of a European research proposal.