Frameworks for Archaeological Research (FAR)

About the Project

The Frameworks for Archaeological Research (FAR) project is an initiative funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and supported by the Heritage Council and the Department for Communities. The overarching goal of the project is to create an island-wide archaeological research frameworks strategy as a means of better realising the value and increasing the impact of individual archaeological and associated projects by connecting them to a wider network of research, practitioners and outlets.

It aims:

  • to establish the current state and nature of archaeological research activity, infrastructure and funding across the island.
  • to support the identification of gaps in the existing archaeological knowledge base.
  • to support the articulation of future research questions and associated infrastructural dependencies.
  • to facilitate greater collaboration between all stakeholders including archaeological practitioners, those working in related fields, special interest community groups, and the wider public.
  • to embrace external drivers of archaeological activity alongside curiosity and opportunity.

The Process

The development of this kind of framework was one of the recommendations of the Royal Irish Academy’s 2017 strategy, Archaeology 2025: Strategic Pathways for Archaeology in Ireland. The continuing and wider appetite for an all-island strategic research framework was confirmed by the results of a 2022 Discovery Programme pulse survey (the results of that survey are available to view here).

In November 2023, we invited members of the archaeological profession to give us more in-depth feedback, by taking part in an online survey, in order to better understand the range and extent of the challenges and opportunities faced within the sector in relation to research activities.

The results of this second survey helped us develop a series of participatory workshops and meetings. 9 workshops were  held at various locations across the island, north and south: 7 in-person workshops in Kilkenny, Galway, Dublin, Mullingar, Enniskillen, Cork, Fermanagh and Belfast (February-March 2024), and 2 online workshops (June 2024 and October 2024).

Watch this video to find out about some of the survey results: