Public history is both a practice and a subject of critical analysis for the Collective. The Collective is committed to sharing knowledge and ensuring that our research archive - which is produced in partnership with our interviewees - is as accessible as possible. For this reason, our work often involves public activities that aim to take research outside of the university, such as exhibitions, podcasts and online publications. 

The Collective’s commitment to contested history and oral history as a vehicle for counter-narrative rather than consensus is what distinguishes its public history work. Current projects in the North East and beyond display the Collective’s commitment to co-creating oral histories with, and for, public audiences. The Iraqi partnership’s teaching guide contributes to the field at international level; Accessing the Wellbeing Commons links the North East to fieldwork in Devon and across the globe.

In addition, we continue to explore oral history’s ‘archival imperative,’ especially through the work done by Dr Hannah James Louwerse (2025) on maintenance and archiving or oral history recordings, as well as the establishment of the Byker Community Archive. We continue to liaise with the National Trust, the British Library and The National Archives in exploring joint projects around improving oral history and archiving.