New DIGICHer Tool: How Inclusive Is Your Heritage Digitisation?
DIGICHer monitoring instrument
New DIGICHer Tool: How Inclusive Is Your Heritage Digitisation?
The DIGICHer project is pleased to announce the launch of its Co-creation Maturity Monitoring Instrument, an interactive online self-assessment tool designed for cultural heritage institutions engaged in the digitisation of minority community heritage. The instrument is now available and open to all institutions working in this space.
What is it?
The monitoring instrument measures co-creation maturity: the degree to which heritage digitisation is a genuinely shared process between cultural heritage institutions and the minority communities whose heritage is being digitised. It provides a structured diagnostic framework across six dimensions and 21 indicators, helping institutions identify strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement. The six dimensions cover the full arc of inclusive digitisation, from enabling conditions (inclusive resourcing, minority capacity building) through participatory processes (social inclusion, equitable access and technology) to outputs that reflect community values (heritage value and engagement, cultural integrity and authenticity). A cross-cutting CARE Principles indicator assesses alignment with Indigenous Data Governance standards.
Why does it matter?
Most cultural heritage institutions that digitise minority heritage lack structured tools for assessing whether their processes are inclusive, ethically governed, or co-created with the communities involved. A review of 32 existing evaluation frameworks in the field confirmed three substantive gaps: structured participatory indicators, minority-centred assessment perspectives, and ethical governance measures. This instrument was developed to address those gaps.
How does it work?
The tool is fully interactive. Respondents assess their digitisation initiative using 21 indicators, each with a three-level maturity scale (Not yet in place, Emerging, Established) and clear, evidence-based rubric descriptions. Upon completion, the instrument generates a visual co-creation maturity profile with dimension scores and tailored recommendations linked to relevant resources. The assessment takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes. All responses are anonymised and no personal or institutional identifiers are collected.
An invitation to cultural heritage institutions
We invite museums, libraries, archives, universities, and community organisations involved in the digitisation of minority cultural heritage to use the instrument and contribute to the cross-case analysis carried out as part of DIGICHer Work Package 6. Your participation will help build an evidence base for understanding how inclusive practices are developing across the sector and will contribute to European policy recommendations for equitable heritage digitisation.
Access the instrument here: https://www.digicher-project.eu/instrument
For questions or further information, please contact Monika Maciuliene at monika.maciuliene@vilniustech.lt.
