Evaluating Participatory Practice in Archaeology

When

6th April 2022

What

In this paper we present a proposal for the creation of a standardized evaluation model for participatory/public/community archaeology and heritage initiatives. The proposal is the result of discussions during a Spring School that the University of Padua and the MAG Museum of Alto Garda, Italy, organized between 9 and 15 April 2018. The Spring School brought together international practitioners to compare experiences and share visions for the sustainable future of archaeology and heritage management. We reflect on the process of bringing together our thoughts and views into one place, and on the theoretical and practitioner contexts that inform our proposed model.

The authors of this paper are the following: Gemma Tully, Lara Delgado Anés, Suzie Thomas, Adrian Olivier, Francesca Benetti, Alicia Castillo Mena, Alexandra Chavarria Arnau, Mia Rizner, Katharina Möller, Raimund Karl, Akira Matsuda, José María Martín Civantos, Gian Pietro Brogiolo, Nekbet Corpas Cívicos, Francesco Ripanti, Julia Sarabia Bautista & Sonia Schivo.

Where

Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage, Volume 9, 2022 – Issue 2, pp. 103 – 119.

Why

The lack of a standardized evaluation model for community archaeology and heritage initiatives ignited the discussion during the Spring School in Tenno. With this paper, the authors aim to extend the debate and make a proposal for an evaluation model to be used in case-study research. The model is intended for researchers and practitioners planning to carry out archaeological and heritage projects with communities. The authors invite readers to try using some or all of the sections of the model in their own work and to contribute to further refinement of the approach.