This paper explores the development and implementation of a digital knowledge-action platform designed to embed and translate the SoPHIA (Social Platform for Holistic Impact Assessment) method—a multidimensional framework for evaluating cultural heritage initiatives—into an accessible and participatory digital environment. Building on the Horizon 2020-funded SoPHIA project, the SoPHIA for CHANGES initiative, led by Roma Tre University and funded under Italy’s Next Generation EU program, sought to address this gap by creating a digital platform grounded in the participatory ethos of the original SoPHIA method. The research employed a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, involving iterative cycles of collaboration between academic researchers, digital developers, and cultural heritage stakeholders. This methodology ensured that the platform was not merely a technical artefact but a co-created tool for reflexive learning, action, and knowledge transfer.
The research makes several significant contributions. Firstly, it enhances our understanding of how digital platforms function as socio-technical infrastructures for knowledge creation and dissemination within the cultural sector. It highlights a shift from static information repositories to dynamic, reflexive systems that actively engage and empower users. Secondly, the study introduces a process model for designing a comprehensive heritage impact assessment platform grounded in participatory knowledge management. This model offers valuable guidance for developing future knowledge-action platforms in cultural management and other complex, interdisciplinary domains. Ultimately, this project sheds light on how cultural heritage impact assessment can be disseminated and sustained through digital means without losing the critical reflexivity and human judgment that define meaningful heritage work. It demonstrates that digitalization, when rooted in participatory principles, can enhance—not replace—human creativity, sense-making, and collective action.