Ulster and Western Scotland; Follow-up funding for community heritage research

通过我们的第一阶段互联社区项目，阿尔斯特大学在阿尔斯特和苏格兰西部建立了一个研究人员网络，包括女王大学、贝尔法斯特、历史苏格兰、北爱尔兰环境署、基尔马廷博物馆以及各种学校和社区团体。通过考古调查和调查，我们正在加深对中世纪时期的了解和理解，当时东北阿尔斯特和苏格兰西岛因一套共同的文化传统、语言和政治结构而内在地联系在一起。在近代史上，这些联系几乎消失了，所以我们的目标是建立对这种共同过去的认识，创造机会来探索、质疑和分享跨越社区边界和世代之间的历史叙事，并挑战当代对身份和地点的定义。我们的研究人员和社区的伙伴关系增进了社区的知识和理解，发展了社区遗产技能，并启动了由社区领导的新的考古研究项目。通过这种方式促进社区学习，我们的目标一直是为社区的可持续性和复原力做出贡献(佩林，2011)。通过第二阶段的后续资助，我们将发展这个研究网络，为其他感兴趣的团体提供参与研究的机会，并为加强项目社区的参与、学习和可持续发展做出重大贡献。研究网络的优势在于研究小组所代表的知识广度，以及小组成员在社区与历史环境接触方面已经拥有的丰富现有经验。我们能够支持团体发展考古研究、测量和挖掘技能，并通过开发解释资源和学习活动，让更多的受众参与他们的研究。通过该项目，我们的网络还旨在开发社区学习和参与的最佳实践模式，展示历史环境在社会学习、可持续发展和繁荣方面的潜力，使社区能够应对当代关键的社会和经济挑战。此外，该项目将涉及社区成员、考古学家、学校和文物专业人员之间的密集边界工作，为各自的社区共同创造重要的新遗产资源，并提高研究网络，特别是参与群体的社会学习能力和适应能力。一个并行的定性研究方案将研究和评估社会学习--遗产知识--共同生产--适应能力进程，并制定框架，将这种学习转化为其他遗产背景。

Through our Phase 1 Connected Communities project, the University of Ulster has established a researcher network across Ulster and Western Scotland including Queen's University, Belfast, Historic Scotland, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Kilmartin House Museum and a diverse range of schools and community groups. Through archaeological survey and investigation, we are developing knowledge and understanding of the medieval period, when North East Ulster and the Western Isles of Scotland were intrinsically linked by a common set of cultural traditions, language and political structures. In recent history, these connections have all but disappeared, so we aim to build awareness of this shared past, creating opportunities to explore, question and share historic narratives across community boundaries and between generations, and challenging contemporary definitions of identity and place. Our researcher-community partnerships have enhanced community knowledge and understanding, developed community heritage skills and initiated new community-led archaeological research projects. In boosting community learning in this way our aim has been to contribute to community sustainability and resilience (Pelling 2011). Through Phase 2 Follow-up Funding, we will develop this research network, to provide opportunities for other interested groups to engage with the research, and to make a substantial contribution towards enhancing participation, learning and sustainability in project communities. The strength of the research network lies in the breadth of knowledge represented by the research team and the substantial existing experience that team members already have in engaging communities with the historic environment. We are able to support groups in developing archaeological research, surveying and excavation skills and in engaging wider audiences with their research through developing interpretive resources and learning activities. Through the project, our network also aims to develop a best-practice model for community learning and engagement that will demonstrate the potential for the historic environment to deliver real benefits in terms of social learning, sustainability and prosperity, enabling communities to address key contemporary societal and economic challenges.Additionally the project will involve intensive boundary working between community members, archaeologists, schools and heritage professionals to co-produce a significant new heritage resource for the respective communities and enhance the social learning capacity and adaptive capacity of the research network, and the participant groups in particular. A parallel programme of qualitative research will research and evaluate the social learning-heritage knowledge co-production-adaptive capacity process and develop frameworks to transfer this learning to other heritage contexts.