Triangulation of values using different methods - CAVEAT

The project aims to identify and mitigate the caveats associated with current economic valuation methods when applied to culture and heritage capital to assess the social benefits associated to the conservation of heritage assets. When making a business case for investment in heritage protection, decision makers are required to compare the Costs and Benefits within a Social Cost Benefit Analysis (SCBS) framework. The social benefits can only be measured using some specific valuation techniques. There is the need to increase decision makers' confidence when using such estimates for policy purposes.

The CAVEAT project's main research question explores how to triangulate existing valuation techniques to assess the value of the stock (and flows) of a complex historic asset, such as a historic high street/neighbourhood, to improve decision makers' confidence when using such results in Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBS).

Research Objective 1 (RO1): Scoping the state of the art and a metanalysis of historic high streets features. The project will investigate the characteristics of a typical English historic high street and develop for them a detailed taxonomy of stock, flows, services, benefits, and values.

Research Objective 2 (RO2): Implementing different economic valuation techniques on a selected historic high street. We will look at the differences in estimates between use and non-use values elicited through different techniques (HP, TC, DCE, CV), their significance and implications. We will then use real world experiments (RWE) to investigate the difference between actual (RWE) vs hypothetical behaviour (CV, DCE) and identity ways to minimise hypothetical bias in CV and DCE.

Research Objective 3 (RO3): Testing for biases in estimates of use and non-use values. We will test for embedding and sequencing effects in DCE and CV and develop ways to minimise survey design biases. We will test the differences between estimates obtained via questionnaire designs combining elements of various techniques (such as CV, DCE and TC), and stand-alone applications. We will test for the reliability of benefit transfers and explore ways to reduce transfer errors in CV/DCE questionnaire design for complex historic assets such historic high streets or approaches to adjust the transfer function.

Research Objective 4 (RO4): Analysing the drivers of values, such as emotional attachment to historic high street or their components. The research will disentangle the key drivers of respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for the conservation of the selected historic assets. We will focus on the role played by emotional attachment to places on the way respondents value them, as well as and the impacts of the aesthetic quality of an asset on perceived wellbeing.

Research Objective 5 (RO5): Stakeholders engagement and dissemination of results. We will disseminate results of the research, including guidance and framework for future studies design, among academic and other stakeholders' communities. This to raise the debate and increase decision makers' confidence. This ambitious project addresses the key requirements of Strand F of the AHRC DCMS call, and key dimensions of strand A (taxonomy of stock and flows in the case of historic high streets), B (role of attachment in valuation and the relationships between aesthetics and wellbeing), and C (the conceptualisation of non-use value within the context of culture and heritage).

The project will adopt a quanti-qualitative approach to address the key interdisciplinary and
interlinked scientific objectives.

There will be a 2-hour webinar streamed live on official International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property channels.

The first will take at place at month 12, and the second at the end of the project, as part of the sector engagement and dissemination activities.