Social Value of Cultural Heritage and Arts Projects – Identifying Good Practice
Date published:
The ranking of economic projects can be relatively easily determined using a range of quantitative economic measures, but estimating the anticipated impact of arts, heritage, sports and community projects - cultural projects - is more challenging. DfC’s Infrastructure Planning & Delivery Support Unit (IPDSU) with the department’s Analytics Division commissioned research from Ulster University Economic Policy Centre on valuing the social impact of cultural projects.
The research helps inform the development of a more comprehensive assessment framework for the broader cultural sector. In particular, the research considers approaches to valuing cultural assets; relevant assessment criteria; and the current assessment process used by DfC.
New processes which could evolve would complement the business case approval process which covers quantitative financial factors (e.g. value for money and financial sustainability) and economic factors (e.g. tourism spend and job creation) alongside, to some extent, non-monetary considerations.