Curating organisational knowledge
in cultural heritage management
Research project information
‘wasted effort to recreate the same thing individually without collaboration’
Golant Media Ventures 2018, p15
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The sector is missing a ‘simple implementation toolkit providing accessible guidance on tools and models that are suitable for heritage organisations, including collating resources that are already available for free’ (BOP Consulting, 2012, p. 16)
Research abstract
Cultural heritage organisations have been under considerable pressures for at least half a century resulting in closures and reduction of service. The literature shows that the sector lacks up-to-date, accessible organisational knowledge to deal with the increased operational requirements caused by these pressures. This PhD research develops an organisational knowledge design for cultural heritage.
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This PhD research develops an organisational knowledge curating design for cultural heritage, through the appreciative, synergic application of boundary objects (objects in shared spaces that enable knowledge interaction and cross-understanding) (Star, 1989, 2010; Brown and Duguid, 1998). This is achieved by studying how the presence of, and practices around, organisational artefacts (specifically operational manuals, toolkits, and software) enable (empower) individual and team performing practices, and improve organisational performance (delivery of objectives). The study aims to contribute new knowledge in cultural heritage management relating to sustainable organisational development (sector identity, organisational behaviour, and sustainable change) (Howard, 2003; Messenger and Smith, 2010; Smith, 2010; Taylor and Verdini, 2021).
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The study contributes to organisational theory through the conceptualisation of organisational artefact as boundary object (Star, 1989, 2010; Brown and Duguid, 1998). Applying Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider, Whitney and Stavros, 2008) upon the Socialising, Externalisation, Combination, Internalisation (SECI) model (Nonaka, 1994, 1995; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 2016) as the theoretical lens, the aim is to understand the interaction of organisational knowledge in the SECI spaces and how enabling, appreciative practice can empower organisational knowledge interaction and availability in its common boundary spaces.
To achieve this, and acknowledging the call to bridge the practice and capability perspectives (Parmigiani and Howard-Grenville, 2011; Feldman et al., 2016; Howard-Grenville and Rerup, 2017; Davies, 2021; Salvato, 2021) this research reaches out from a pragmatist practice-based perspective to study organisational artefacts as enablers of individual and team performing practices (from a practice perspective) and as a causal link to organisational performance (from a capability perspective). The combined effect observed from the two perspectives across nine characteristics of boundary objects enables the development of an insightful organisational knowledge curating design.
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Developing an organisational knowledge curating design is about a synergic (sector support and delivery organisations working together) and methodical application (across the sector’s common operations) of manuals, toolkits, and associated software, as boundary objects that enable (empower) individual and team performing practices, and improve organisational performance (delivery of objectives).
Apart from the expected theoretical contribution of the thesis, there is a required practical and impactful contribution. As most cultural heritage organisations face significant protracted pressures that lead to closures and service reduction, this study is pertinent. Such pressures have created a wider and changeable set of operations that requires up-to-date organisational knowledge. The cultural heritage sector is still being moulded and unlike many other sectors, cultural policy intervention provides a sector support structure and synergy opportunities. This mixed methods study will enable the resulting organisational knowledge curating design to be applied by professionals working in curating cultural heritage organisations and sector support providers at local, regional, national, and international levels, and policy makers in cultural heritage. It will inform of the implementation barriers to be anticipated and ways to overcome those, and will contribute to the sustainable delivery of objectives across the sector.
Participant information
Curating organisational knowledge in cultural heritage management
A pragmatist mixed methods study
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PhD student Researcher: Ari Volanakis
Primary supervisor: Kalliopi Fouseki
Institute of Sustainable Heritage, BSEER, UCL
UCL Research Ethics Committee Approval Number: Z6364106/2023/07/16
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Invitation
You are kindly invited to take part in a research project. The invitation is for completing a short online questionnaire, and if invited for a case study then taking part in an interview too.
Please read this information and discuss it with others if you wish, to understand why the research is being done and what your participation will involve. Please ask if you need more information and take time to decide whether you wish to take part. Thank you for reading this.
Project aim
This PhD research develops an organisational knowledge design for cultural heritage.
The research uses Appreciative inquiry, which ‘suggests that we look at what works in an organisation; we appreciate it’ (Hammond, 2013, p. 5). As a development process it enables inspiring and sustainable change by searching for the best in people and in their organisations.
The research
This study quantitatively and qualitatively charts out the presence of, and practices around sourcing and updating, manuals, toolkits, and associated software, across the different categories and common operations in the cultural heritage sector, and their relation to objectives’ delivery.
The questionnaire and interviews have two versions, one for curating cultural heritage organisations and one for sector support providers of operational manuals, toolkits, and associated software. Participant organisations are chosen in groups, each containing national, regional, and local organisations, both accredited and unaccredited.
- Individual sites and departments can each complete a survey (and interview if participating in a case study). In multi-site organisations the separate submissions will be aggregated during analysis.
- Sector support organisations complete one survey, and interview if applicable, for the whole organisation.
Your participation
Taking part in the study is entirely voluntary; you decide whether to take part. If you do decide to take part, you can refer to this information sheet and you will be asked to confirm your consent. You can withdraw at any time without giving a reason.
Your participation will be in completing the online questionnaire (plus an online interview if the invitation is for a case study). The online questionnaire takes about 15 minutes to complete. If you are participating in a case study, this will additionally involve an online (Teams) semi-informal interview, lasting about 40 minutes, at a day and time to suit you. The interview will be transcribed on Teams. The online interviews are followed by a site visit (of public spaces only). The questionnaire and interviews will be stored electronically in a UCL secure server until the end of the research (normally 3 years) and will then be deleted. The questionnaire and interview transcription will be used only for this study as described in this information sheet. All information will be kept strictly confidential. The results will inform the research, you will not be able to be identified in any ensuing reports or publications.
Concerns, risks, contacts
Should there be a reason for you to raise a complaint about your participation, you can contact my primary supervisor, and if not resolved you can also contact the Chair of the UCL Research Ethics Committee. You will be given a copy of the information sheet and receive email confirmation of your consent. Whilst there are no immediate benefits for people participating in the project, it is hoped that this work will contribute to significant benefits for the cultural heritage sector, which is facing protracted external and internal pressures. The study is self-funded by the researcher and the research is not funded or sponsored by any other organisation.
Privacy notice
The controller for this project will be University College London (UCL). The UCL Data Protection Officer provides oversight of UCL activities involving the processing of personal data, and can be contacted at data-protection@ucl.ac.uk. This ‘local’ privacy notice sets out the information that applies to this particular study. Further information on how UCL uses participant information can be found in our ‘general’ privacy notice for participants in research studies, click here. The information that is required to be provided to participants under data protection legislation (GDPR and DPA 2018) is provided across both the ‘local’ and ‘general’ privacy notices. The lawful basis that will be used to process your personal data is: ‘Public task’ for personal data. Your personal data will be processed so long as it is required for the research project. If we are able to anonymise or pseudonymise the personal data you provide we will undertake this, and will endeavour to minimise the processing of personal data wherever possible. If you are concerned about how your personal data is being processed, or if you would like to contact us about your rights, please contact UCL in the first instance at data-protection@ucl.ac.uk
Contact for further information
Ari Volanakis, nektarios.volanakis.21@ucl.ac.uk, 01529 240127, 07387842011
Primary supervisor: Professor Kalliopi Fouseki, kalliopi.fouseki@ucl.ac.uk
ISH Ethics Lead: Pakhee Kumar: pakhee.kumar@ucl.ac.uk
Thank you for reading this information sheet and for considering to take part.
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You can download a copy of this participant information