Tender for Cultural Heritage and Climate Change Portfolio Consultantion
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Drama
Abstract
How can we produce research that makes cultural voices an essential part of climate planning for the future?
The research produced by the original AHRC/DCMS cohort of nine grants awarded in 2020 has shown that culture needs to be at the heart of climate solutions. Nine collaborative research projects have demonstrated the diverse and disparate ways in which cultural heritage - both tangible and intangible - interconnects sites, rituals, customs, communities and buildings with the natural environment. They have also shown the value of the arts as a means by which humans produce emotional, sensual and social responses within creative industries that build economies which sustain people, places and environments.
In this proposed research consultancy, we will explore how learning from the Cultural Heritage and Climate Change Portfolio can address important gaps in understanding the planning for and adaptation to climate change. Approaches and methodologies that have emerged from within the current Portfolio will be important to sustain and build the impact of cultural heritage research on current and future climate change debates: Global North/South collaborations; learning from and working with the most vulnerable humans; inclusion of Indigenous researchers and research methods; identification of the interdependencies of tangible/non-tangible cultural heritage with climate, nature and justice; commitment to strengthening the global response to climate change by increasing the technical ability of all (policy makers, educators, researchers, cultural heritage organisations, local communities, artists) to adapt and build resilience, and reduce vulnerability; a sharp focus on the necessity to make change happen.
The overall aim of this research consultancy is to provide AHRC and DCMS with recommendations about how the current/expanded portfolio can increase the value and impact of research on cultural heritage within climate planning for the future, by identifying emerging research areas to inform future strategy and advising on the potential shape and structure of future funding opportunities.
We will achieve this through pursuing the following objectives:
- Investigate the potential of the portfolio - (a) Assess the impacts of existing projects (within the cohort of nine grants but also beyond in the wider AHRC portfolio of responsive and thematic modes projects); (b) Identify emerging and under-researched areas (geopolitical areas as well as different aesthetic forms and socio-historic structures of tangible and non-tangible cultural heritage)
- Identify relevant policy areas that cultural heritage and climate change research can address including: Areas of Research Interest (ARIs), Priority areas for Government Departments as well as relevant All Party Parliamentary Groups and contribution to the agenda of future COPs.
- Indicate key social challenges that need to be researched in relation to climate change and cultural heritage in the UK/internationally (e.g. mental and physical health; migration; food security etc.)
- Propose next steps for AHRC/DCMS to take on the strategic responsibility to bring research on Cultural Heritage into the mainstream of climate planning and solutions.
The research produced by the original AHRC/DCMS cohort of nine grants awarded in 2020 has shown that culture needs to be at the heart of climate solutions. Nine collaborative research projects have demonstrated the diverse and disparate ways in which cultural heritage - both tangible and intangible - interconnects sites, rituals, customs, communities and buildings with the natural environment. They have also shown the value of the arts as a means by which humans produce emotional, sensual and social responses within creative industries that build economies which sustain people, places and environments.
In this proposed research consultancy, we will explore how learning from the Cultural Heritage and Climate Change Portfolio can address important gaps in understanding the planning for and adaptation to climate change. Approaches and methodologies that have emerged from within the current Portfolio will be important to sustain and build the impact of cultural heritage research on current and future climate change debates: Global North/South collaborations; learning from and working with the most vulnerable humans; inclusion of Indigenous researchers and research methods; identification of the interdependencies of tangible/non-tangible cultural heritage with climate, nature and justice; commitment to strengthening the global response to climate change by increasing the technical ability of all (policy makers, educators, researchers, cultural heritage organisations, local communities, artists) to adapt and build resilience, and reduce vulnerability; a sharp focus on the necessity to make change happen.
The overall aim of this research consultancy is to provide AHRC and DCMS with recommendations about how the current/expanded portfolio can increase the value and impact of research on cultural heritage within climate planning for the future, by identifying emerging research areas to inform future strategy and advising on the potential shape and structure of future funding opportunities.
We will achieve this through pursuing the following objectives:
- Investigate the potential of the portfolio - (a) Assess the impacts of existing projects (within the cohort of nine grants but also beyond in the wider AHRC portfolio of responsive and thematic modes projects); (b) Identify emerging and under-researched areas (geopolitical areas as well as different aesthetic forms and socio-historic structures of tangible and non-tangible cultural heritage)
- Identify relevant policy areas that cultural heritage and climate change research can address including: Areas of Research Interest (ARIs), Priority areas for Government Departments as well as relevant All Party Parliamentary Groups and contribution to the agenda of future COPs.
- Indicate key social challenges that need to be researched in relation to climate change and cultural heritage in the UK/internationally (e.g. mental and physical health; migration; food security etc.)
- Propose next steps for AHRC/DCMS to take on the strategic responsibility to bring research on Cultural Heritage into the mainstream of climate planning and solutions.
