Evaluating wellbeing with participants in archaeology at the National Trust

Abstract

Wellbeing has not been at the core of the practice of public archaeology in the UK. Instead it is a niche practice focusing on specific therapeutic needs. The idea of wellbeing as a policy objective at a more strategic level has, however, been gaining ground across the arts, cultural heritage and archaeological sectors. The three-month secondment at UCL that is the focus of this piece took place at the end of 2021 and evaluated participatory archaeology in order to understand the outcomes of archaeological activities involving volunteers at the National Trust. This fitted with the Trust archaeologists’ aspirations to integrate wellbeing evaluations into their participatory projects. While mental health is a core focus of wellbeing in the heritage agenda writ large, National Trust priorities determined that it was not the focus of this project. Rather, the aim was to help the Trust build an evidence base for reflective practice to inform future programmes and to support the development of a bespoke evaluation framework and strategy for participatory archaeology for its volunteers and visitors. Considerable work had already been undertaken by the Trust staff to inform them about wellbeing, public benefit, nature connection and evaluation, although consultation with their archaeologists and partners in the sector revealed organisational needs for strategic guidance on evaluating participation in archaeology.