“Hertfordshire’s Heritage for All” – Audience Development and Access Plan 2004 Background to Audience Development and Access Plan – a project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund The following report is based on research undertaken by The Market Research Group, from 20th September 2004 until 20th December 2004. All the work contained in this report was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project came into being because money raised by the National Lottery aims to improve the quality of life by:- • Protecting and improving the heritage of buildings, objects and the environment, whether man-made or natural, which have been important in creating the character and identity of the United Kingdom; • Helping people to appreciate and enjoy their heritage; and • Allowing them to pass it on to future generations. To this end Hertfordshire County Council invited the Market Research Group to undertake the research into a programme of Audience Development and the preparation of an Access plan for Stage One of developing and promoting the County Historic Environment Record (HER). The HER is the most comprehensive computerised index to Hertfordshire’s heritage. The 15,000 records span the full range of human history from the Palaeolithic to the 20th century and include Neolithic and Bronze Age barrows, Iron Age hill forts, Roman villas, medieval settlements, field systems, industrial sites, railways and canals. The HER consists of a relational database running in Access 2 that is linked to a corporate geographical information system (Arcview). Cross referenced to the HER is an archive of paper and map based information including OS maps, site specific files, a small library, photographs and slides. The HER database is fully indexed and a wide variety of enquiries can be answered using in-built searching facilities. All of the HER information is mapped on the GIS and there is a live link between the two software packages. This combination enables HER staff to effectively complement text-based searching on the HER with geographical searches on the GIS and enquirers are able to find out information about archaeological sites and artefacts, buildings and historic landscapes throughout Hertfordshire. The guiding principle in designing the methodology for this project has been www.themarketresearchgroup.co.uk I “Hertfordshire’s Heritage for All” – Audience Development and Access Plan 2004 extracted from the ‘Brief for Audience Development Plan and Access Plan and Access Plan’ provided by Hertfordshire County Council 3rd December 2003 with the background information for the project. This states that the HLF will support: ‘Activities and research to plan how to encourage wider groups of people to get involved in heritage activities, or to learn about heritage, such as audience research’. www.themarketresearchgroup.co.uk II “Hertfordshire’s Heritage for All” – Audience Development and Access Plan 2004 Contents Page 1: Executive Summary 1 Objective 1.1.1: To provide the Hertfordshire HER with a sound understanding of its existing users, their background and their reasons for contacting the HER, so it can identify who is using the service and who is not 2 Objective 1.1.2: To examine possible groups of new users identifying why they are not using the HER and how they could be encouraged to do so 4 Objective 1.1.3: To identify what information existing users would like to access 8 Objective 1.1.4: To assess how people would like to access information – be this through the Internet, via travelling road- shows, static displays, at the HER offices or by other means 11 Objective 1.1.5: To consider the question of charging for access to information or of providing copying facilities 13 Objective 1.1.6: To research the demand for participation in events, fieldwork or research organised and run by the staff of the HER. 14 Objective 1.1.7: To research the feasibility of creating multiple nodes for the HER in museums or libraries or other suitable local venues. 15 Objective 1.1.8: Examine possible links with the national curriculum, local schools and colleges and voluntary groups by contacting representatives of these groups 16 Objective 1.1.9: Examine routes to new partnerships with external organisations and departments (e.g. HALS, libraries, museums, archives, English Heritage (EH) education www.themarketresearchgroup.co.uk III “Hertfordshire’s Heritage for All” – Audience Development and Access Plan 2004 department) and research reciprocal gateways to information. 18 Objective 1.1.10: Develop detailed recommendations for developing audience numbers and variety. 20 Objective 1.1.11: Produce a list of recommendations for the Access Plan. 20 2: Project Research Aims and Objectives 21 2.1: Research Aims 21 2.2: Project Objectives for Audience Development Plan 21 2.3: Project Objectives for the Access Plan 22 3: Audience Development Plan 23 3.1: Potential audiences and priority audiences 23 3.2: HER objectives for the audience development plan 23 3.3: Audience development plan 24 4: Access Plan 31 4.1: Summary of barriers to audience access 31 4.2: Priorities for increasing audience access 31 4.3: Action plan for improving access. 32 4.4: Access plan 33 5: Methodology – Audience Research 45 5.1: Methodology for first stage - existing users 47 5.2: Methodology for second stage – new or potential users 48 5.3: Methodology for third stage – focus groups 49 6: Research Findings 50 6.1: Results of Audience research for existing HER users (first stage) 50 6.2 Demographic results for existing HER users 74 6.3 Audience research results for new or potential users of the HER (Second stage) 81 www.themarketresearchgroup.co.uk IV “Hertfordshire’s Heritage for All” – Audience Development and Access Plan 2004 6.4 Results of audience research for focus groups (third stage) 92 7: Appendices 99 7.1: Open ended comments for HER user survey 99 7.2: Open ended comments for HER non users 113 7.3: Hertfordshire HER focus group transcription 123 7.4: Cross Tabulations for HER users (first stage) 156 7.5: First stage questionnaire for users of the HER 159 7.6: Second stage questionnaire for new or potential users of the HER 164 7.7 Third stage - crib sheet for Non User Focus Group 168 7.8: Third stage - crib sheet for User Focus Group 169 7.9: Quantitative Comments Guide 170 7.10: The Holgate Report 171 7.11: Holgate Survey Press Release 192 7.12: Mori Survey Press Release 194 7.13: Extracts from the Hertfordshire HER 201 7.14: Holgate questionnaire 208 7.15: Environment Statement 210 www.themarketresearchgroup.co.uk V “Hertfordshire’s Heritage for All” – Audience Development and Access Plan 2004 1: Executive Summary The following summary has been drawn from the detailed audience research findings which can be found in section 6 of the report. The research was carried out in three stages: – Survey of existing HER users – First stage – Survey of new or potential users - Second Stage – Focus Groups (users and new/potential users) - Third stage The main points of the research are highlighted under each of the project’s objectives. The full list of objectives can be found in section 2 – Project aims and objectives. There is a quantitative comments guide in Appendix 7.9 which shows how percentage results displayed in the frequency and percentage tables of section 6 are converted into fractions or word statements. This is to improve and standardise the language used to describe the research findings. The executive summary draws upon the results from all three stages of the audience research project. These results are used to draw up The Audience Development Plan and The Access Plan which are set out in full in sections 3 and 4 of the report. Two questionnaires were designed with the express purpose of meeting the project objectives. These questionnaires can be found in Appendix 7.5 & 7.6. Two focus groups were also run to expand upon topics touched on in the questionnaire, as well as to obtain a greater perspective on the needs of both current users and potential users of the HER in the future. The topic guides for the two focus groups can be found in Appendix 7.7 and 7.8 Each paragraph or point is referenced to the original question number from the two different questionnaires sent out. For the purposes of identification the questionnaire surveying current HER users is AQ and the questionnaire surveying new or potential HER users is BQ. www.themarketresearchgroup.co.uk 1 “Hertfordshire’s Heritage for All” – Audience Development and Access Plan 2004 Objective 1.1.1: To provide the Hertfordshire HER with a sound understanding of its existing users, their background and their reasons for contacting the HER, so it can identify who is using the service and who is not This objective was pursued via the first stage of the audience research, the HER user survey (AQ). It is also covered by previous research undertaken by Vivienne Holgate who was also asked to look at audiences using and not using the Hertfordshire HER. (See Appendix 7.10 & 7.13) The MRG survey found that the majority (a fifth) of those current HER users found out about the HER via Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS) (AQ1). Many others heard of its existence via the County Council’s offices, and some had found out by using the County Council’s website, www.hertsdirect.org The vast majority had not experienced any difficulty in finding out about the HER. Those who had experienced problems did not know which department of the County Council to address their enquiry to (AQ2). Analysis of post code data shows that 46% of HER users are from Hertfordshire and the immediate vicinity, with 25% from the Stevenage area, 11% from the St Albans area, 8% from the Hemel Hempstead area and 2% from the Luton area (AQ34).