Managing participatory heritage for enhancing social well-being

This chapter discusses the role of participatory approaches to sustainable heritage management and their potential for achieving institutional goals, effective safeguarding of heritage resources while increasing social well-being among local communities involved in the process. It reflects upon the extensive academic literature, compiled during the last two decades, on participation or engagement with heritage, the critique on efficiency of approaches to participation adopted and the role of experts and non-experts as discussed across critical heritage studies and the authorised heritage discourse. The chapter uses this only as a basis, to examine existing tools and methods for assessing social benefits from participation for various stakeholders involved in the process of management and governance of heritage resources. It proposes a novel theoretical framework to help explain those interdependencies and (social) exchanges, based on reciprocity. This can shed light on social well-being benefits, emphasising the reciprocal character of the interactions and gains between communities and institutions exchanging resources as part of heritage protection processes. Through understanding systemic interactions between stakeholders involved in such processes, we can map dynamically the role of actors but also the exchange of well-being, social and other capital benefits stemming from heritage (social) production processes. It argues that the level of engagement in (re)-production of cultural resources has had a significant impact on the equity of distribution of economic and social benefits (from its use and production). Finally, it discusses implications for theory, research and practice with a focus on identifying gaps, and suggesting novel approaches for future researchers to unpick the challenges presented, while building on the state-of-the-art literature.