Maja Maricevic

Research functions in large heritage organisations: impact of the UK cultural and research policies on the institutional research strategies and practice

Many heritage organisations undertake research in their own right and in collaboration with other organisations, typically related to objects in their collections, broader societal structures related to collections or different processes that underpin their services and operations. This research creates new knowledge about collections and supports different functions in heritage organisations such as acquisition of new material, conservation and development of new educational programmes and exhibitions.

Unlike research outputs of universities, which are described in minutiae details by a range of research policy and funding bodies, learning societies, and universities themselves, we know very little about heritage organisations in their research mode - what are key characteristics of their research and types of outputs it leads to, its specific context and significance, impact, historical background or how this research might develop in the future.

Heritage sector is largely funded by government and all its functions are affected by government legislation and policy, including its research strategies and capability.

My research looks at the development of research functions in large, research-intensive heritage organisations, specifically at the British Museum, the British Library and the Natural History Museum.

My research will establish what constitutes the public policy framework that underpins research in heritage organisations in the UK and what are its key characteristics. It will also tell us how heritage organisations have responded to public policy and how their institutional research strategies and practice have evolved over time.

This research will broaden our understanding of the ways in which public policy influences development of these unique public bodies in regard to their role as research organisations and what that might mean for the future of research in heritage organisations.

Education

• MA, Studies in Fiction, University of East Anglia, 1996
• BA, Serbian and Croatian Studies, SSEES, UCL, 1995