The Big Think: Resilience – What Did We Learn?

Between May and July 2025, UK Heritage Pulse conducted a three-phase study examining strategic challenges facing the UK heritage sector.

Drawing on responses from 399 heritage professionals and volunteers, this research employed a mixed-methods approach combining scaled attitudinal measures and qualitative commentary to explore sector perspectives on three “big questions” around the topics of financial resilience, sustainability strategies, and collaborative approaches to relevance.

The questions were:

• May: How can we build financial resilience and adapt our operating models to survive ongoing financial uncertainty?
• June: What bold choices must we make about our buildings, collections, and public offer to ensure a sustainable future?
• July: How do we work together, across the sector and with our communities, to ensure heritage remains relevant in people’s lives?

Each of these questions is intended to address an area which is significant to the ongoing sustainability and success of heritage in the UK.  Respondents could choose to place themselves between two provocative statements on a four-point scale, and/or provide open-ended responses, enabling analysis of both consensus areas and points of division within the sector. Response patterns reveal both areas of strong professional agreement and topics where practitioners hold more nuanced or conflicted views.

The responses reveal an at times complex picture in which heritage organisations are seeking to serve or pursue multiple objectives which at times are naturally complementary, and at other times may be in tension with one another. The research in particular highlights a clear appetite for collaboration, entrepreneurialism, and reinvention / reinterpretation.

Collaboration: Shared Values, Complex Practice

The research revealed a consensus on the importance of collaboration and community engagement, with more than nine-in-ten respondents believing that sharing data, tools, and skills sector-wide should become standard practice, whilst 90% asserted that their work gains greater relevance when it is co-created with their communities.

The research reveals that heritage professionals view their local communities as the key to both relevance and resilience. Respondents prioritised working with local communities over aligning with broader sectors or interest groups, suggesting that they feel heritage organisations must be representative of the communities they serve.

Respondents also tended towards the view that heritage must actively address inequality and exclusion in how it tells stories – a desire to co-create with communities while addressing inequality and exclusion places our sector as both active voices in,  and facilitators of, conversations at the centre of discussions which are seeing rising levels of politicisation and polarisation.

There is a desire to go beyond consultation, and to pursue genuine co-creation and power-sharing. We will return to this in future rounds of UK Heritage Pulse to explore what this looks like in practice, and The National Lottery Heritage Fund will promote case studies of successful co-creation in the coming months.

New Ways of Working

Many respondents are open to exploring partnerships and commercial activities to support their work, but remain cautious about approaches that might compromise heritage’s core mission or make it less accessible to the public. This suggests the sector is looking for creative, and potentially commercial, solutions within clear ethical boundaries.

The respondents were clearly inclined towards a view that the heritage sector’s greatest potential is achieved when it functions as a single ecosystem rather than competing entities. The responses advocate for partnerships extending beyond traditional sector boundaries, with support for working with commercial partners and embracing entrepreneurial thinking as pragmatic future strategies.

Difficult Decisions About Assets

When considering sustainability challenges, panel members demonstrate nuanced thinking about heritage. Views are roughly split on whether some heritage sites should be closed or receive reduced focus when resources are limited. This reflects genuinely different perspectives about stewardship responsibilities – whether the priority is preserving everything we currently care for, or focusing resources more strategically on what can be sustained long-term.

Funding Structures

Respondents highlight that short-term project funding may not always be the most effective way to create genuine resilience. Some advocate for funding models that support innovation and longer-term capacity building, whilst maintaining their fundamental commitment to public benefit over commercial aims.

Workforce Patterns

Longitudinal tracking of the resilience of individuals and organisations shows mixed signals: stress levels have decreased to 18-month lows and organisational confidence is growing, but fewer people plan to stay with their current employers beyond 12 months. This suggests a more capable but potentially more mobile workforce, raising questions about knowledge retention and organisational stability.

Looking Ahead

The findings show a sector navigating significant change whilst wishing to hold firmly to core heritage values. Respondents are keen to develop collaborative and entrepreneurial approaches to balance competing demands, while maintaining the broadest possible access for all.

For policymakers and funders, the research highlights the need for approaches that recognise both the sector’s collaborative aspirations and the practical tensions that heritage professionals face in their daily work. The data suggests heritage practitioners are increasingly confident in their capabilities whilst remaining thoughtfully divided on some strategic questions.