Report: Archives sector survey on public engagement

This article was first published by the National Archives.

In 2023-24, The National Archives conducted research into public engagement across the archives sector in England. The research gathered data on infrastructure, current activity, challenges and future ambition, which will inform our ongoing sector support.

This report sets out the key headlines from this research and our priorities for follow-up action.

The research was conducted in two parts: a survey and follow-up focus groups.

The survey ran for five weeks from early September to early October 2023, and asked questions across a range of areas including public engagement activity, infrastructure, loans, future plans and partnerships.

This was followed by five focus groups, led by consultant Janice Tullock, to take a more in-depth look at areas of particular interest resulting from the responses. Participants were drawn from survey respondents who had expressed interest in taking part in follow-up research.