Frequently Asked Questions

There is no single agreed definition of social value. For the purposes of this Toolkit, ‘social value’ refers to the significance of the historic environment to contemporary communities, including people’s sense of identity, belonging, attachment and place. The social nature of these related elements means that values are contextual and evolving. There are likely to be multiple social values associated with an historic place, and these may be divergent or contradictory.

This definition of social value draws from international heritage instruments (such as the Burra Charter) and critical heritage approaches. It follows the Scottish Archaeological Research Framework Future Thinking on Carved Stones in Scotland in making a distinction between values and benefits; between “understanding value (the ways in which something is meaningful and relevant to society) and engaging and experiencing (the mechanisms to create social benefits by promoting appreciation of values and of significance – the access, interpretation, learning and tourism that OPIT places in its Value section)” (Foster et al 2016, italics original).

The aim of the Toolkit is to enhance effectiveness in understanding and evidencing the social values associated with the historic environment. In spite of the emphasis on social value in policy, a gap was identified when it came to the assessment of social value in practice. This Toolkit is based on the systematic trialling of qualitative social methods, which have been shown to be effective in capturing the dynamic processes of valuing the historic environment. The case studies show how these methods can be applied in ‘real world’ contexts and how the resulting understandings connect to existing conservation and heritage management processes. It is hoped that this approach complements and goes beyond existing resources for heritage professionals, providing guidance that is both practically and theoretically grounded.

The primary target audience for this phase of the Toolkit is heritage professionals working within institutional contexts who need to understand the social values associated with the historic environment as part of their work conserving and managing the historic environment.

The Toolkit is being published and made publicly available online. It is intended for use by sector professionals, however, as the guidance is modular and scaleable, it may also have wider applications. If there is interest in so doing, we may explore adapting or developing additional materials for other purposes in due course.

The Toolkit is a guide to support practitioners involved in designing, undertaking, or reviewing social value assessments: determining what type of assessment is optimal/possible and considering the implications of the methods used at each stage. There are suggested routes through the content, depending on the process that the practitioner is involved in (see links on home page). However, different sections can also be used as stand-alone guidance and read individually.

The Toolkit has aspects of a workbook, with suggested questions for consideration and reflection, as well as practical tips based on the results from the academic research and informed by practitioner experiences. Users are encouraged to annotate and use the guidance according to their needs.

Do share your feedback on using the Toolkit. Knowing how it is used in practice can help inform subsequent editions and project phases.

In short, no. The Toolkit does not replace or replicate specialist training, though it may be useful as part of on-going, experiential learning and professional development. The Toolkit describes a selection of methods and technical approaches, but it is not intended to function as a self-taught social sciences module or to be used as a handbook to facilitate assessments by untrained staff.

The research underpinning this Toolkit was conducted through a Collaborative Doctoral Award (University of Stirling MATCH Studentship, co-funded by University of Stirling and HES). The project team were 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). The project was ethically approved via the University of Stirling General University Ethics Panel.

Project Website: www.wrestlingsocialvalue.org

If so, please let us know via the details in the Contact Us section.