Making Culture Count ― The Politics of Cultural Measurement

Culture and cultural development are now internationally recognised as important dimensions of contemporary governance and public policy. 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 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 to comparative measures of cultural provision and creative cities indices, 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? Making Culture Count brings together diverse perspectives from scholars, policy-makers and creative practitioners to explore the burgeoning field of cultural measurement and its political implications.

Lachlan MacDowall is Head of the Centre for Cultural Partnerships, Faculty of VCA and MCM, University of Melbourne, Australia. His research examines the politics of evaluation and cultural measurement. He has also published widely on modes of urban informality such as graffiti and street art.

Marnie Badham is Lecturer at the Centre for Cultural Partnerships, Faculty of VCA and MCM, University of Melbourne, Australia and collaborates on research projects in Indonesia, Canada, Portugal and Australia. Originally an artist from Canada, Marnie's research explores representational practice in policy, art and research with communities in the margins.

Emma Blomkamp is interested in creative approaches to social and political issues. Her PhD explored arts programmes and outcome measurement in Australian and New Zealand local government. Now working for a social innovation agency, Emma has taught in universities in Australia, New Zealand, France and Cambodia, and published in several international journals.

Kim Dunphy is Research Program Manager of the Cultural Development Network, at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Her PhD research discussed in this volume examined participatory arts and social change in Timor-Leste. Other current research interests include cultural impact assessment, and assessment and evaluation in arts education, arts therapy and international development.