Example estate management dissertation topic 3:

‘Gathering dust for the nation’: A critical appraisal of the changing role of the National Trust.

This dissertation questions the direction of the present governance of the National Trust. In so doing, it queries whether this ‘guardian of the nation’s countryside’ has become too overtly political over the last decade and whether its present policies (including for instance the buying of the former terrace house of Sir Paul McCartney, as well as back-to-backs in Birmingham) is appropriate. Advancing the hypothesis that the National Trust should be concentrating on the management, maintenance and enrichment of the nation’s great historic houses, this is a dissertation that criticises aspects of the prevailing orthodoxy of the Trust and advances a ‘back to basics’ policy for its future direction.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Desmond, B. (2010). ‘National Trust nurtures talent: Developing internal consulting capability to support strategy’. Strategic Direction, vol. 26(11), pp. 8-11.
• Lithgow, K., Staniforth, S. and Etheridge, P. (2008). ‘Prioritizing access in the conservation of National Trust collections’. Studies in Conservation, vol. 53(1), pp. 178-185.
• Milbourne, P. (2003). ‘Hunting ruralities: Nature, society and culture in ‘hunt countries’ of England and Wales’. Journal of Rural Studies, vol. 19(2), pp. 157-171.