Heritage makes a significant contribution to our daily lives and the Worcester Life Stories project team aimed to understand this better by researching:-

• how it contributes to a sense of identity
• the value it has for our national and local economy
• how it promotes wellbeing and
• how it strengthens, connects and empowers our communities.

The Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester is the research partner on the project, and the research was commissioned by Historic England.

Over the course of the project researchers investigated aspects such as why, how and by whom the Worcester Life Stories and Know Your Place platforms were being used.

This contributed towards a better understanding of how heritage is meaningful to people in their everyday surroundings and why they engage with or feel excluded from their heritage.

The research aims to help commissioners, managers and researchers to understand the importance of heritage on individual and community wellbeing as well as highlighting the values communities attach to their heritage. A full copy of the project report is available here.