Public Benefit: the challenge for development-led archaeology in the UK

Sadie Watson

doi:10.11141/ia.57.1

Abstract

The challenge of providing public benefit from development control archaeology has been a concern across Europe after both the Valletta and Faro conventions encouraged the view that the public must be the key beneficiaries of archaeological work, and since then the theoretical concept of public benefit has become well recognised across our profession. However, it seems to me that the archaeological sector does not yet provide this in a meaningful way or know how to maximise the public benefit potential of our work; indeed, this is acknowledged at the highest levels (e.g. British Academy 2017, 33). The EAC established their Working Group on 'Making the Case' to investigate examples of best practice and provide a practical toolkit for the better articulation of public benefit arising from development-led archaeology (EAC 2019). In the UK the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists has published a briefing document that outlines the potential for public benefit offered by archaeology (CIfA 2020). This dovetails well with a new research project, funded by United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) and hosted at Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), intended to ensure that public benefit is at the heart of decision-making throughout the development control sector in the UK (MOLA 2019). This article provides an introduction to the rationale behind this project and outlines how the project ambitions could be achieved through a careful navigation through the complex structures of development programmes' procurement and management.

Highlights

SummaryThe challenge of providing public benefit from development control archaeology has been a concern across Europe after both the Valletta and Faro conventions encouraged the view that the public must be the key beneficiaries of archaeological work, and since the theoretical concept of public benefit has become well recognised across our profession
The EAC established their Working Group on 'Making the Case' to investigate examples of best practice and provide a practical toolkit for the better articulation of public benefit arising from development-led archaeology (EAC 2019)
The lack of established evaluation procedures for development control archaeology stands in contrast to recent developments in the wider cultural and arts sector, which understands the need to provide assessments of impact and public benefit, in relation to its value to individuals and society (Crossick and Kaszynska 2016, 159)

Summary

The challenge of providing public benefit from development control archaeology has been a concern across Europe after both the Valletta and Faro conventions encouraged the view that the public must be the key beneficiaries of archaeological work, and since the theoretical concept of public benefit has become well recognised across our profession. In the UK the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists has published a briefing document that outlines the potential for public benefit offered by archaeology (CIfA 2020) The lack of established evaluation procedures for development control archaeology stands in contrast to recent developments in the wider cultural and arts sector, which understands the need to provide assessments of impact and public benefit, in relation to its value to individuals and society (Crossick and Kaszynska 2016, 159). The subsequent establishment of the Centre for Cultural Value (Leeds University 2020) is intended to influence cultural policy through rigorous research and evaluation The focus for this is the arts, culture and heritage sectors, again development-control archaeology was not well represented. It will establish relevant and useful criteria, with the aim of positioning public benefit as the focus for future projects

The Challenge with Commercial

A Collaborative and Consultative Way Forward

Archaeology and Construction

Conclusions