Collaboration on whose terms? Using the IAP2 community engagement model for archaeology in Kapunda, South Australia.

In this paper we adapted the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) community engagement model and applied it to archaeological practice. The case studies are parallel historical archaeological projects undertaken near the town of Kapunda, 75 km north of Adelaide, South Australia. Whilst each project had distinctive separate aims and outcomes, they were both underpinned by a commitment to collaborative practice. The IAP2 model provided clear steps for engagement and helped mitigate problems from the outset. This opportunity to put collaborative theories into practice has resulted in genuine relationships being established between ourselves and community members, the reconnection of descendant families with their shared stories, and the revealing of other versions of the past that had been erased, consciously or unconsciously, over time. It has proved to us that academic research projects can be integrated with real collaborative practice.