Sadie Watson

  • About Me
  • Research and Current Work
    • Social Value, Public Benefit, and Contracting Archaeology
    • Roman London
    • Field Archaeology and Professional Practice
    • Politics of Practice, Unionism and Activism
  • Publications
  • Other Interesting People and Things

About me

Dr Sadie Watson Senior Research Fellow and Urban Archaeologist

I am an archaeologist and Senior Research Fellow, currently holding a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, hosted at MOLA.

My Fellowship research has focused on redefining what public benefit could theoretically mean for the contracting archaeological sector before attempting to reshape practical delivery. I have used my prior technical experience to target this towards archaeological practice, to increase its public value and relevance to society; to ensure cultural and social impacts of development-led archaeology become primary considerations of future projects; and to provide policy, guidance and best practice for the design, implementation, and assessment of public benefit impacts, ranging from wellbeing improvements such as increasing community participation, to skills development and diversifying the workforce.

Along the way my work with the construction sector has expanded this remit into Social Value expectations, through rapidly evolving legislative requirements, but also consideration of matters of governance, commercialisation and charitable aims.

I also work as a consultant, providing advice and materials for policy and advocacy in my sector. I am also a qualified assessor, responsible for final assessment of L3 Apprenticeships and for steering candidates in the L3 NVQ in Archaeological Practice through their historic environment qualifications, on behalf of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists.

I sit on the Research Committee for the Society of Antiquaries of London, and am a member of the Registered Organisations Committee for CIfA. I am the Public Benefit lead on the 21st Century Challenges for Archaeology project and a member of the Heritage & Wellbeing working group (led by Historic England and the Council for British Archaeology).