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UK National Heritage Science Strategy report 2 now available |
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 In 2006 the UK House of Lords Science and Technology select committee published an inquiry report on science and heritage. One of the recommendations of that report is the development of a national strategy for heritage science. Since October this year, a project has been underway to produce this strategy, which will be underpinned by three reports currently in preparation.
The second of these reports has now been completed and can be downloaded from the document library section of the National Heritage Science Strategy website . The final report and the strategy itself will be available later in the year.
This second report covers the use of science to enhance our understanding of the past. It reviews the principal drivers for scientific investigation, highlights the kinds of enquiries that heritage practitioners make about the past and indicates the range of scientific techniques that are available to address these questions. A range of subject and sub-sector specific recommendations are given, from which three general themes have been drawn. These cover the development of new and current tools and improving access to existing equipment; raising awareness of existing techniques and their application; and issues surrounding data use, curation and management. The report also highlights disparities in the quantity of science used within different parts of the heritage sector, and shows how results from heritage science investigations can and should be used to further public understanding and engagement with historic buildings, collections and sites.
The report will be available on the NHSS website for the duration of the strategy development and until the 4th September we are seeking the sector's views on this report. There is an online form which you can use to tell us briefly what you think of the report or you can download a Word document if you wish to submit more detailed comments. The comments provided will be summarised in a report made available on the NHSS website, and although the main report will not be updated as a result of the comments, the summary of responses will be used as part of the evidence base when the strategy is produced. A summary of the responses received for report 1 is now available on the NHSS website.
As part of the strategy development, there will be a stakeholder meeting held in London on the 25th November (venue to be confirmed). Potential participants should register their interest in attending this meeting by either sending us an email or by filling out the relevant section on the report 2 response form. Once arrangements for the day have been finalised we will send out notification to anyone who has expressed an interest in the event and a wider, open invitation, will go out to the whole sector; spaces will be filled on a first come-first served basis.
If you would like any further information about the strategy, the first two reports, or the stakeholder meeting, please contact the strategy coordinator Jim Williams at
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