Within UK public policy, economic impact assessment (EIA) has been a long run, mainstream staple in support of policy design, learning and assessment of the benefits to society of a policy intervention. In 2021, DCMS published its Cultural and Heritage Capital Framework in seeking to achieve its ambition for the full value of arts, culture and heritage to be recognised. Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 has sought to use an innovative approach to EIA to gain a more complete and better-grounded understanding of the benefits generated by this cultural mega-event. To support learning, development and good practice in the use of non-reductive valuation frameworks within the cultural and heritage sphere, this study introduces the EIA approach adopted by Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 and how this approach can be considered in relation to the new DCMS Cultural and Heritage Capital Framework.

Please view the full paper on 'Innovations in Economic Impact Assessment'.

Authors

Professor Nick Henry is Professor of Economic Geography at Coventry University. Given his previous role as Consulting Director, ICFGHK he has led Coventry University’s support for the monitoring and evaluation of Coventry UK City of Culture 2021. He is a founding Director of Creative United.

Dr Patrycja Kaszynska is Senior Research Fellow at University of the Arts London. She is interested in the valuation practices shaping the articulations and measurement of cultural value.

Graham Russell is an economist and Chief Executive of AMION Consulting. He has directed numerous economic impact and evaluation studies including of cultural and heritage projects and programmes and has prepared guidance on subjects such as additionality and Cost Benefit Analyses.