In recent years, culture and cultural development have become internationally recognised as important dimensions of contemporary governance and public policy. As in other policy areas (economic, social, environmental), the production of accurate and relevant data has become central to cultural policy and how the cultural lives of citizens are understood.  Conceptual and practical developments in measurement tools, such as new forms of cultural indicators, have the potential to enrich our understanding of culture’s role in wellbeing, vitality and citizenship. From UNESCO’s benchmarks for cultural freedom, through comparative measures of states’ cultural provision and creative cities indices, to indicators for community arts evaluation, diverse approaches to quantifying cultural value and measuring societal progress now exist.

But how useful are all these measures? Are they helping us to keep track of what matters? What opportunities exist to contest, refine or democratise these systems of cultural measurement?  This international conference brings together diverse perspectives from international guest speakers and leading local practitioners to explore the burgeoning field of cultural and community indicators. Participants will engage in a critical dialogue on various approaches to monitoring, evaluating, planning, advocating, predicting, and simply understanding, cultural and social change. Presentations will cover a range of theoretical and practical approaches to quantifying cultural values often considered intangible, including vitality, wellbeing, citizenship, and sustainability.

This conference will be of interest to a wide range of stakeholders:
This international conference brings together diverse perspectives from international guest speakers and leading local practitioners to explore the burgeoning field of cultural and community indicators. Participants will engage in a critical dialogue on various approaches to monitoring, evaluating, planning, advocating, predicting, and simply understanding, cultural and social change. Presentations will cover a range of theoretical and practical approaches to quantifying cultural values often considered intangible, including vitality, wellbeing, citizenship, and sustainability.