The Social Outcomes of Taking Part in Place-based Cultural Programmes: A review of the evidence (2022)

Researchers at the ICC (Drs Rafaela Ganga and Kerry Wilson) have been commissioned by the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, Arts and Humanities Research Council and Spirit of 2012, to conduct a systematic review on the social impacts of place-based arts and cultural interventions, including events, festivals and mega-events. The research will complement and inform the partnership’s ongoing research on the impact of the UK City of Culture (UKCoC) programme.

Interim evaluation findings on Coventry UKCoC 2021 for example suggest that:

• participation in a range of arts and culture projects improves mental wellbeing over time;
• hyper-local events and co-production approaches may be key drivers of participation in areas/populations with historically low levels of engagement in arts & culture.

However, high-quality evidence on the impact of place-based arts and cultural interventions on individuals (wellbeing) and society (social inequalities) is still needed. The rapid review will be completed between July and October 2022 and will consider:

• existing research on the social impact of relevant arts and cultural interventions;
• knowledge on the methodologies and measures used for assessing the impact of arts and cultural interventions, fostering different levels of cultural participation;
• the quality of the existing evidence-base, informing the future agenda for impact research within the sector;
• key research developments to improve the robustness of cultural policy research methods.