Inclusive management: accommodating site complexity and pluralities in local values in the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial World Heritage Site, Norway
Purpose This paper presents participants' experiences of the collaborative process. The paper introduces the World Heritage Site and presents the central learning outcomes of a process through which researchers and practitioners sought to develop an empirically-grounded, site-specific and practice-led research agenda relevant to World Heritage management. The purpose of this paper is to discuss an approach to improving collaboration between researchers and practitioners in the World Heritage field. Design/methodology/approach From September 2021 to April 2022, a research-practice team comprised of social scientists and managers of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site in Norway participated in a capacity-building pilot initiative under the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership programme. Bringing researchers and practitioners together in a joint collaborative process, the Heritage Place Lab (HPL) pilot programme aimed to function as an incubator for developing research agendas for World Heritage Sites. Findings The paper demonstrates that close collaboration between heritage researchers and practitioners can benefit World Heritage Sites, offering managers valuable inputs for informed and inclusive decision-making. In the case of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, an improved understanding of the diversities in local values would benefit management, as existing management issues underpin the site's complexity. Furthermore, fruitful collaborations between heritage researchers and World Heritage managers depend on an overlapping and reflexive understanding of central concepts. This can be achieved through collaborative research-practice processes but is likely to require careful time management. Originality/value Focussing on the collaborative process between World Heritage researchers and practitioners, and using additional information for comparable World Heritage examples obtained online, this paper shows how research interests and management challenges can be developed and aligned more successfully through cooperation and improved communication over time. Beyond the specific results for the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, the broader discussion presented on the challenges and importance of addressing the complexities of managing heritage sites will be valuable for other World Heritage Sites and managers.
Year of publication: |
2023
|
---|---|
Authors: | Johannessen, Steffen Fagernes ; Strogan, Juliana ; Mikalsen, Vicky Katarina ; Birkeland, Inger ; Kennedy, Audhild |
Published in: |
Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development. - Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1274, ZDB-ID 2608327-9. - Vol. 13.2023, 3, p. 517-533
|
Publisher: |
Emerald Publishing Limited |
Subject: | Research-practice collaboration | Rjukan-Notodden industrial heritage site | Stakeholder complexity | Sustainable management | World heritage |
Saved in:
Online Resource
Saved in favorites
Similar items by subject
-
Koren-Lawrence, Nirit, (2020)
-
Value co-creation and stakeholder complexity : what strategy can learn from churches
Grandy, Gina, (2015)
-
Value co-creation and stakeholder complexity: what strategy can learn from churches
Grandy, Gina, (2015)
- More ...