One of the main aims of the UKRI project was assessing the level of public benefit provision in the archaeology that happens through the development system. I worked closely (albeit remotely!) throughout lockdown with Dr Harald Fredheim who led on this phase of research. Harald came from a research background in critical heritage and museum studies, so had a unusual perspective on our sector, resulting in a wide-ranging approach to this thorny problem.

The first conclusion we reached when starting this research was that the development-led archaeology sector did not really have a widely accepted definition of what our public benefit might be, or how to provide it.

During our initial conversations with colleagues some voiced the opinion that because the work happens within the planning framework, (which is within the public sector of course as these decisions are made by public servants in local councils) that was enough to be providing public benefit.

We disagreed but found that assumption to be fascinating so we interrogated it. We also considered how some of the major organisations working in this field (pun intended!) were charities, with additional responsibilities therefore to aim their outcomes at the public. We also had thoughts about that…and how a charitable status can perhaps mask an approach that is still internally-facing, and exclusionary.

The report is a mixture of academic research, our experience of the archaeological sector, and a look into other sectors that could be useful in terms of how they measure their public benefit and impact. It is very much intended as a conversation starter, and we have worked further on various aspects of it since we initially wrote it – it was the catalyst for much of what has followed. Huge thanks are due to our colleagues who commented and edited the text, to Tracy Wellman for the design and production and of course in particular to Harald, without whom none of this would have happened!

Public benefit