We often describe digital humanities as the use of technology in humanities research. But it is not simply about learning new software or bolting technology on to existing projects. The introduction of technology can lead to new questions, allow us to work with much larger or more complex bodies of evidence, reveal invisible patterns and connections and create new forms of scholarly output and collaboration.
It can combine fresh perspectives and methods by creating connections between researchers in other disciplines and beyond the academy. This expands the potential of humanities research, potentially improving it.
These possibilities, however, also present significant challenges. They require researchers to develop new skills, work across disciplinary boundaries and navigate unfamiliar approaches to research and scholarly practice. They can also challenge established ideas about authorship, expertise, evidence and what constitutes scholarly output.
For individual researchers, developing these skills and collaborations in isolation can, therefore, be difficult. Because digital humanities can change how research is organised, who participates in it and what counts as scholarly expertise, community, shared infrastructure and institutional support is particularly important.
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Start with people
Digital humanities projects are inherently interdisciplinary. They can bring together historians, literary scholars, psychologists, computer scientists, data specialists, librarians, museum professionals, software developers and creative practitioners. At my institution, we started by establishing a digital humanities community of practice designed around this breadth of knowledge. Over time, this created new collaboration opportunities and made digital humanities a meeting point for different forms of expertise, rather than a specialism that belongs to a small group of researchers.
Simply putting collaborators from different disciplines together does not facilitate interdisciplinary research. People need time to build trust, understand each other’s approaches and discover how their expertise can complement someone else’s. Workshops, seminars, collaborative activities and proposal development support can help colleagues with disparate experience and backgrounds establish shared research interests.
Connect ideas with expertise
Building connections across research, libraries, IT and professional services teams can help ideas develop more sustainably and ensure that expertise remains available beyond the life of a single project. By creating spaces where different kinds of expertise are valued equally, we can foster stronger collaborations and more ambitious research.
For this reason, my institution launched the Digital Humanities Hub alongside the community of practice. This connected the emerging community with expertise in digital infrastructure, research data, software development, preservation and project support. Together, the two formed a productive partnership: the community of practice generated ideas and connections while the hub provided the technical support, training and infrastructure needed to develop them into viable research projects.
This partnership also challenges the distinction between academic and professional expertise. We recognise librarians, software specialists, data managers and research support colleagues as contributors to research, not just providers of services. Being based within the library gives the work continuity, too. No individual researcher can maintain this kind of expertise alone, so joining up with established university systems makes it easier to support projects beyond the lifespan of individual grants and to build lasting relationships with researchers along the way.
Formalise when the community is ready
As participation grew, the community of practice and hub showed both the demand and capacity for something more ambitious. In 2025, we formalised this ambition by creating our Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Digital Humanities. This represents an evolution rather than a new beginning. Rather than replacing the community of practice and hub, the centre combines their strengths in a more sustainable structure. It also incorporates two initiatives already working at the sharper edges of digital humanities: the Immerselab, where researchers use virtual reality, mixed reality and audiovisual methods, and the Synthetic Media Research Network, which studies how generative AI is reshaping the economy, media and society.
For others looking to develop a similar initiative, start with what already exists, build participation gradually and allow the structure to evolve in response to genuine demand. Bringing related activities together can increase visibility and capacity, but sustainability depends on maintaining the relationships, expertise and infrastructure that made the work possible in the first place.
Share decision-making responsibilities
When developing interdisciplinary digital research, involve academic and professional services colleagues in decision-making processes from the outset, and share responsibility for priorities, resources and sustainability. Rather than treating technical and professional expertise as support to be introduced once you have established a research agenda, give those colleagues a formal role in shaping the initiative. This can be as simple as ensuring that governance groups include a genuine mix of academic and professional expertise, each with clear opportunities to influence strategic decisions.
Also, think carefully about how people are supported to participate. Secondments and shared staffing arrangements can create opportunities for specialist staff to work closely with researchers without requiring them to leave their roles. Where possible, secure core institutional resource rather than relying entirely on short-term project funding. Even modest baseline funding can provide the continuity needed to develop partnerships, experiment with new ideas and plan for longer-term sustainability.
The practical lesson is to design governance, staffing and funding together: give different forms of expertise a real voice, create sustainable ways for people to contribute and build enough institutional support that the initiative is not dependent on a small number of individuals or short-term grants.
A model for the future
Digital humanities is about relationships: between disciplines, between researchers and professional services staff, and between emerging ideas and the institutional structures that can help them grow. The tools will continue to change, from virtual reality to generative AI and beyond. What matters is creating environments where different forms of expertise can come together to explore them. In that sense, building a digital humanities ecosystem is less about establishing a centre than about creating the conditions for new kinds of research to emerge.
Mara Oliva is associate professor in history and director of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Digital Humanities at the University of Reading.
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