The Southport Group has launched an online video consultation to gather opinion on the initial findings of a series of workshops, held in January 2011, to explore ways of improving the sector’s ability to deliver the requirements of PPS5.

Audiences can choose to watch all or just some of the four half-day workshops that took place at the Museum of London in Docklands, each focussed on a different aspect of delivering benefit in relation to significance.

Broadly the Workshops focussed on 1) quality and standards, 2) publication and participation, 3) access to archives and information, and 4) research and collaborative working.

Historic environment practitioners took up an open invitation from the Southport Group (issued through sector networks and associations) to participate in the workshops. Agenda for the discussion in the workshops were set by the Southport Group, and over 40 people attended each workshop.

Participants were first invited to contribute to an hour-long round-table discussion in groups of five or six, directing their conversation towards a specific question or questions on the agenda. A rapporteur reported on each table’s discussion to the wider group, focusing on issues and barriers to delivery in the context of each question, and on possible solutions or products to enable improved delivery of PPS5 requirements.

Summaries and video recordings of the workshops, plus details of the consultation are available on the Southport webpage at http://www.archaeologists.net/Southport.