This Toolkit brings together academic research and practitioner experience. It has been developed based on the findings from a collaborative PhD project, Wrestling with Social Value: An Examination of Methods and Approaches for Assessing Social Value in Heritage Management and Conservation (2018-2021), which was co-funded by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and the University of Stirling.

Acknowledgements and thanks are due to many people who contributed to this study, through participation in the case studies, as members of the Social Value Reference Group within HES, by attending one of the annual project workshops, or discussing the research in other forums. Thank you all for your generosity, advice, and support. It is hoped this guidance will contribute to the on-going discussions regarding the social values of the historic environment in Scotland and beyond.

Project team: Elizabeth Robson (doctoral student and principal researcher); Siân Jones (Primary Supervisor, University of Stirling); Judith Anderson (Primary Supervisor, HES); Peter Matthews (Co-Supervisor, University of Stirling); Karen Robertson (Co-Supervisor, HES).