Heritage Council launches Covid-19 survey

The Heritage Council is conducting an on-line Heritage Sector Survey as regards the impact of Covid-19.
The council is seeking input from organisations, community groups, and heritage professionals by midnight tonight.
Donegal County Council is urging groups in the county to take part in the survey, which the Heritage Council says will be used to provide an evidence base to allow them to develop responses to help the sector.
******************
Heritage Council launches survey on impact of Covid 19 on heritage sector
The Heritage Council today launched a survey on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the heritage
sector.
In keeping with other sectors of society, the heritage sector has faced closures, job losses, delays
and increased home working. Some heritage sites have seen increased pressure from visitor
numbers and many organisations have been busy developing new online content for those engaged
in home schooling or cocooned.
This survey attempts to quantify the impact of this on community groups, specialised businesses,
visitor sites and organisations. The Heritage Council anticipates that the findings of this will help
advise government about supports for the sector.
The survey was devised after examining equivalent surveys carried out in Ireland and the UK and was
tested by a leading marketing research company.
Commenting today the Heritage Council CEO Virginia Teehan stated that:
“This crisis affects us all, our families, our friends and our colleagues, we have all felt anxiety or fear
and the discomfort as we experience a rapidly changing world. At the Heritage Council we are
acutely aware also of the impact of Covid-19 on our sector, as part of the wider economy and society.
So the question that we are asking you is: “How can we survive this crisis, and indeed possibly thrive
in the future?
In short, how can we survive this crisis, and ensure that our heritage assets and organisations are
able to thrive in the future?
‘We urge our partners within the wide heritage sector to complete this survey, so as to give us a full
picture of the impact of the Covid 19 restrictions on heritage practitioners, communities and
organisations. While we know of innovative responses to this unprecedented situation we also know
of the strain it has caused. We hope this this survey will provide an evidence base to allow us to
develop responses to help the sector.”
The findings from this will be published and presented to the Department of Culture, Heritage and
the Gaeltacht.
The survey is available HERE and the closing date is the 6th of May 2020.