Public participation through citizen science approaches is a well-established scientific practice, and has been a topic of theoretical and applied research for many decades. Much less well-understood, however, are the innumerable formal and informal groups of people conducting their forms of knowledge generation and sharing, that are detached from professional scientific communities (heritage practice communities - HPCs). Voluntary associations have existed (and been documented) for centuries alongside scholarly research and form part of the roots of heritage-related scientific disciplines such as archaeology. However, recent decades have seen significant developments in both the professionalization of science and, more importantly, the advent of social media and other broadly available digital tools and platforms that have revolutionized the way and scale in which grassroots communities communicate and produce knowledge.

 These grassroots HPCs may share some of the same features of citizen science, but they operate differently. The HPCs themselves, rather than scientists, set the agenda of what is researched, how and why. While this may not seem relevant in a number of disciplines, understanding the dynamics of HPCs, the motivations behind them and the informal, parallel knowledge and attitudes circulating within them are crucial in the case of heritage. Indeed, the activities of HPCs commonly have an impact on the preservation and accessibility of heritage, and hence, its availability for academic research. The digital knowledge production processes of the HPCs themselves are also ripe for research, especially in the context of understanding voluntary action, participatory processes in heritage and the societal relevance of different types of heritage. Beyond involving objects and data of interest to academic research then, HPCs relate to issues of public participation and inclusivity which have become imperative in heritage-related disciplines, with clear implications for both policy and heritage management. This includes improving future heritage citizen science initiatives that respond to HPC interests and priorities as well as those of scientists, likely leading to increased participation and more effective results in future heritage citizen science. 

Through our Scientific Research Network (SRN), funded by the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) with top-up funding from Global Wales, will explore the concept of HPCs from a range of disciplines including  critical heritage studies, archaeology, computer science, museology, sociology, digital humanities and archival studies. Thus researchers come together from the University of Antwerp, Aalto University, the University of Copenhagen, Ghent University, the University of Helsinki, KU Leuven, Swansea University, and Uppsala University.

By leveraging the ongoing research at the SRN member institutions, including internationally recognized and established discipline leaders as well as emerging early career and mid-career researchers, its activities will specifically consider three types of HPC as case studies from which to begin to identify commonalities in practice. These are: hobby metal detectorists, family history groups, and industrial heritage groups. Other types of HPCs are likely to be considered as workshops and other network activities unfold.

The SRN aims to conceptualize HPCs and their (digital) activities. Specific themes for research and debate involve the construction and communication of heritage-related knowledge within HPCs, the use of digital and online tools within HPCs, and the critical examination of existing and future methodologies with which academic communities can study grassroots heritage practices as well as productively and ethically engage with practitioners as part of their heritage-related research. 

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