Defining engagement
An essential first step is breaking down the elements of ‘public engagement’ into ‘what kinds of engagement’ and ‘which public’?
At a general level, engagement with archaeology in any project can be split into two broad categories: passive engagement and active engagement.
- passive engagement involves activities and events where people can interact with archaeology as information consumers, but they do not change or influence the project in any way. Passive engagement might include a lecture, site tour, or blog on the project website
- active engagement involves activities and events where people are more directly involved with the project. Active engagement might include a training event, finds-washing experience, participatory excavation, or own desk-based research that contributes to the delivery of the project
Different types and examples of activities, starting with a dip into the spectrum of engagement, can be explored in the Design section of this toolkit (3.1 - What does engagement look like?).
Defining the public
The ‘public’ in public engagement can seem like an amorphous, anonymous entity. An early challenge towards achieving meaningful engagement is identifying the audience for the project. The key here is to develop ‘the public’ into ‘the project audience’, a real group of people who will fit and benefit from the impact aims of the project.
To do this, the project team will need to think about the following questions:
- are there identified audience targets for the development? How can archaeology help meet their needs?
- who are the targeted audience(s) for this project?
- what resources will be needed to support the audience?
- are any skills or qualifications required to work with the audience?
- who can assist in engaging this audience?
- what organisations – such as local museums and amenity groups – could be involved?
- does it necessitate consulting with the audience?
- what outputs is the project aiming to obtain from the audience? What are the intended outcomes for participants, and what is the expected impact?
- can the impact the project will have on these audiences be measured? If so, how?
By answering these questions, you’ll get a better sense of how audience segmentation (eg organising the population into meaningful and manageable groups) might inform what kinds of engagement the archaeology project can offer. This will spark other questions about how the project will need to be resourced to achieve those aims, and enables the delivery team to think strategically about engaging the members of the public who will form the project audience.
These questions are the early stages of an audience development plan and, depending on the size, scale and ambition of the project, it is worth considering whether a plan should be included within the initial project design or WSI. Find out more about audiences in 2.4 - Planning for public engagement.
Audience, participant or stakeholder?
When it comes to public engagement and people, there are three useful terms to understand, especially as they are distinct groups rather than interchangeable.
- an audience is the identified group or groups of people who the project team wish to engage with the project or with the organisation. For example, followers on social media platforms could be an audience. The audience could also be hyper local or global, virtual or in person, or all of the above, but should be defined within the audience development plan
- participants are individuals and audience members who engage directly with the project, like joining a site tour or online event or getting into the trenches to take part. Participation can be light touch and one-off, or in-depth and longer term
- stakeholders are people or organisations with a vested interest in the project. This might be financial, like the developer or landowner; cultural, such as the local museum or amenity society; place-based, including the residents of a town; or specialists, like the construction team or archaeologists
No single group is more important than the other when it comes to public engagement, and all have a role to play. Individuals can operate within more than one of the groups, or move between all three. All can benefit from some aspect of the project and its archaeology, which can be discussed and planned appropriately. Within more complex projects, the role of an audience development plan is to help set these definitions, as well as outline the boundaries and expectations (see 2.4 - Planning for public engagement).
Activities and events that provide deeper levels of participation supporting greater opportunities for impactful outcomes. Examples might include activity-based learning and skills workshops.
The identified group or groups of people who the project team wish to engage with the project or with an organisation in some way. The audience could be hyper local or global, virtual or in person, or all the above – but should be defined within project planning documents, such as the audience engagement plan.
The process of dividing and organising the audience or population into meaningful and manageable groups – or segments – so that you can create a distinct plan for each group you choose to target.
Individuals and audience members who engage in a more direct way with the project. They might help wash and sort finds, or undertake skills training as part of the project. Participants might also come along to a site tour or an online event. From this perspective, participation can be light touch and one off, or in depth and longer term.
Passive engagement can be seen as the lighter-touch activities and events which share the stories and successes of the project widely. They also provide alternative means for people to connect with a project if the site is not open and accessible, and can create a deep and lasting impression on audiences. Also see non-participatory.
The people or organisations with a vested interest in the project. This might be a financial interest like the developer or landowner; a cultural interest, like the local museum or amenity society; a place-based interest, like the residents of a town; or a professional interest, like the construction team working at the site, or archaeologists with an interest in the results.
