EAC web guidance on developing a Research Framework out now!

The EAC is pleased to announce the release of its web guidance on developing a Research Framework, which is now available on the EAC website. Find the Research Frameworks home page here.

This guidance provides practical help to support the development or updating of a research framework. It is aimed at everyone involved in the process: from those commissioning a framework to those running a project to create one. The guidance is not meant to be prescriptive, setting out the “correct” way to develop a framework. Instead, its aim is to illustrate the wide variety of frameworks developed to support European archaeology, and set out a number of steps and considerations that can help stakeholders think through the processes and all the different aspects involved in creating the appropriate framework for their needs.

The guidance is broken down into: a strategic document that provides an overview of the key principles and benefits of research frameworks, targeted at people who are responsible for commissioning, funding or developing research frameworks; web guidance covering the workflow of processes and steps to be considered when developing a framework; and a bank of examples of different research frameworks from across Europe.

This guidance has been developed by the Working Group on Developing Guidance on National Research Frameworks of the European Archaeological Council, and is authored by Inge van der Jagt (Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) and Daniel Miles (Historic England).

The EAC's working groups – composed of EAC members and specialists – come together to create resources to address issues which have been raised by members as areas of concern. The EAC guidelines provide advice that is applicable within a Europe-wide context. These guidelines would not be possible without the dedicated effort and expertise of the contributors to the EAC working groups, to whom the EAC is very grateful.

All of the EAC’s guidance can be found on the digital repository Zenodo, or by following links on the EAC website guidance home page.