Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Through CResCa funding, Historic Environment Scotland will significantly improve the way we develop and deliver visitor experiences at our sites, and the training and skills provision we offer through the courses we run. By investing in two immersive experience systems ('IESs') - one for visitor experiences and one for training - and the equipment to enable us to use them effectively, we will move from offering experiences and learning methods that can only engage a single visitor or learner at once, to being able to engage multiple individuals using virtual reality (VR). The AHRC's investment will allow us to undertake product design and testing, so that our 3D digital documentation and digital experience research can directly feed into practical impact. Accessibility is the fundamental theme across this investment, with the new equipment allowing us to cater to more people, including those with additional access needs.

This project has grown out of a long-standing relationship between Historic Environment Scotland, Nomad Exhibitions and Nanjing Museum, which has previously produced the award-winning 'A Tale of Two Cities' exhibition, as well as the touring exhibition by Nomad, 'Ming: The Golden Empire'. Nanjing Museum, which was extensively extended and reopened in 2013, currently welcomes 2.6m visitors a year, with that number increasing by 10% each year. In 2017 Nanjing Museum will host 'Romantic Scotland: Castles Land and Sea' - an exhibition curated by Historic Environment Scotland, Nomad Exhibitions and the Scottish National Gallery. Based on the experience of 'A Tale of Two Cities', and the current visitor profile, we expect Romantic Scotland to receive in excess of 500,000 visitors. The proposed research project will facilitate knowledge exchange between academic and cultural institutions in Scotland and China, with the aim of increasing understanding of audiences and capacity for audience research in both countries. In China this will allow Nanjing Museum to take the lead in expanding the standard practice in Chinese museums of simply gathering quantitative data, to a more sophisticated methodology, analysis, interpretation and presentation of qualitative audience research. In Scotland it will enhance understanding of what motivates Chinese visitors to engage with our culture and heritage. The project has four aims: to build the capacity of Chinese museums in gathering, analysing and interpreting audience research data; to capture the reactions of Chinese audiences to the 'Romantic Scotland' exhibition; to broaden understanding of Chinese perceptions of Western cultural heritage; and to discover how exhibitions, and those that construct them, influence the interpretation of key signifiers of Scottish cultural heritage. The project is strongly aligned to the AHRC Strategic Plan for 2013-18, as well as the Delivery Plan for 2016-20. It will help to deliver on AHRC's remit to 'enhance its contribution in policy development and public engagement, making explicit the contribution of arts and humanities research to the understanding of national life in an international framework' as well as to increase 'openings for international research and co-development with agencies operating overseas'. The project will also contribute to the AHRC's priority 'to support and strengthen international research in the arts and humanities through strategic partnerships'. China is a priority country for AHRC and RCUK, where the aim is to 'stimulate international collaboration at all career stages to enhance arts and humanities researchers' access to resources, schemes and initiatives'. With its partnership of heritage and academic bodies, its core of supported early career researchers, and its collaboration with culture and tourism institutions, all in both China and the UK, this project will make a significant contribution to achieving that aim.

'Towards a National Collection: Opening UK Heritage to the World' is a five-year research programme funded under the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Strategic Priorities Fund. Led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the programme aims to benefit researchers and audiences of all kinds by making the UK's unparalleled museum, library and heritage collections increasingly discoverable as a unified 'virtual collection'. The programme will support two grant stages - eight small-scale 'Foundation' projects led by the AHRC's Independent Research Organisations (IRO) and delivered in partnership with UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI); and up to five large-scale 'Discovery' projects led and delivered by partnerships between the AHRC IROs and UK HEIs, with further collaboration with local and regional cultural, third sector or community organisations. The programme directorate will lead and co-ordinate the programme, ensuring that the range of funded projects work together in a complementary way to demonstrate the value of unifying collections across types and geographies, and creating public-facing outputs that can be displayed to, and tested with, large-scale audiences across the UK. In addition, the directorate will undertake and commission additional research that underpins or connects the portfolio of grant-funded projects. The directorate will lead on communicating the ambitions and achievements of the programme to both stakeholders and the public, and on making recommendations as part of ensuring a legacy for the work. The directorate will be based in Historic Environment Scotland and will comprise a Director, a Senior Digital Research Analyst and a Communications & Events Coordinator.