Can arts and culture change someone’s life? Can a City of Culture change the lives of every person within a region? Social Value represents the value that people experience as a result of changes in their lives. Applied to the cultural sector, social value helps unpick how the arts might impact the lives of individuals and groups. This paper reviews the current understanding of creating and measuring social value in the cultural sector. To relate theory to practice, a case study of the Social Value Assessment for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 is used to support and interrogate framing assumptions, and to articulate recommendations for future research and practice.

Please view the full paper on 'Social Value Creation and Measurement in the Cultural Sector'.

Authors

Dr Andrew Anzel is a Research Fellow at the Warwick Business School. His research focuses on social value measurement, cultural policy, and organizational identity. Before his research career he was an arts producer in New York City.

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.

Dr Haley Beer is the Lead of the Social Impact Evaluation of Coventry City of Culture 2021. She has consulted on impact measurement for organisations such as the Crown Estate, OECD, UNDP, and the Department for Communities and Local Government.