Mapped Intellectual Heritage Asset (MIHA) Framework

Involving communities with lived experience to address pressing societal issues offers significant benefits for more diverse and inclusive innovation, particularly by enabling the generation of new knowledge. As UNESCO and UKRI increasingly promote research that enhances societal impact by engaging diverse local communities in co-production initiatives, one critical aspect remains overlooked: the recognition, attribution, and valuation of intellectual property emerging from these communities. This gap is significant not only in financial terms but also in the preservation and recognition of the intangible cultural heritage of these communities.

Mapped Intellectual Heritage Assets (MIHA) seeks to develop a dual cultural-technological framework that combines heritage studies with web mapping and Blockchain technology to help decolonise research practice and promote a more equitable participation in knowledge production. The main objective of the project is to develop, through culturally informed design and technical prototyping, a transparent, immutable, and decentralised digital framework that
formally recognises and safeguards community-derived intellectual contributions as Mapped Intellectual Heritage Assets (MIHAs).

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