Abstract
This development paper explores the gap in project management expertise among practitioners and academics working on heritage and conservation projects in the UK. The heritage sector is a growing sector of the UK economy, and competence in project management is increasingly important in the heritage sector, as key funders, including the UK research councils, are now using project management criteria to assess the viability and success of heritage funding bids. Without the ability to demonstrate good project management skills, researchers and practitioners will not be able to access funding for heritage projects, however to date there has been no study to assess where the key knowledge gaps lie.
This paper reports on a project to investigate where the project management knowledge gaps are among heritage practitioners in the Solent LEP area, an economic hub on the coast linking the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton with the Isle of Wight, which is home to 1.25 million people and over 42,000 businesses. This involved a pilot workshop to build capacity in key project management skills for local heritage practitioners working in the Solent LEP area. It is the first in a series of planned workshops to develop project management capacity among the target audience.
We will discuss the findings of the surveys, and demonstrate how targeted, low cost interventions can help to develop key project management skills in the heritage sector.