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Research by Taylor, Pratt and Burns Owen Partnership formed the basis of a new Framework for Cultural Statistics, published in 2009 by UNESCO. The direct route to impact can be evidenced by the extent to which UNESCO formally adopted the researcher's proposed recommendations and revisions to the 1986 Framework, including a new category "Performance and Celebration". The Framework, which monitors and measures cultural trends at national and international level, provides policy-relevant data for UNESCO and member states to conceptualise, categorise and analyse culture and to assess the impact and relevance of cultural policies and initiatives.
Research in the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies has demonstrated that contemporary debates about the place of the arts in our society are shaped by the long-standing and often unacknowledged assumption, going back to Ancient Greece, that the arts can positively transform societies. By providing policymakers, arts funders and advocates with a new way of thinking about the impact and value of the arts in a broader social context, the research has presented an original and fresh approach to the cultural value debate. This work has also demonstrated that arts and humanities scholarship has a distinctive and valuable contribution to make to cultural policy debates and public discourse on the role of the arts in society.
Research undertaken by Professor John Holden of City University London on cultural diplomacy and cultural value has had a direct impact on cultural policy-makers both nationally and internationally. In the UK it has impacted specifically on the funding of cultural diplomacy activity and the operations of Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Internationally advice has been sought by politicians and cultural administrators around the world including the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Culture in New Zealand, Alberta's Minister of Culture and the Chairs of the main cultural organisations in Hong Kong. Through this, Holden has: (i) provided expert advice to governmental, third sector and private organisations in relation to cultural policy; (ii) influenced directly the thinking of senior government ministers in relation to arts and culture; (iii) proposed new ways of thinking about the methods and mechanisms by which culture and creative practice are supported through the distribution of public funds; (iv) contributed to the enhancement of frameworks supporting the creative industries, which in turn has aided economic prosperity for a range of individuals and organisations; and (v) helped creative industry professionals and those who support them to adapt to changing cultural values.
This case study describes the impact of a ten-year programme of research, which has influenced attitudes to traditional crafts and cultural heritage in India, and created an ethical model of sustainable crafts practice, leading to economic and social benefits. Research has underpinned the creation of the Ahmedabad International Arts Festival (AIAF) that started in 2009 and with MMU's contribution has now grown into a major, multi-stranded international festival.
MMU researchers have worked with museums and cultural organisations in the UK and India to develop ways of engaging new audiences, widening the reach of craft-based practices and thereby creating cultural impact. The project has also drawn attention to an endangered area of Ahmedabad, and assisted in developing a plan for conserving cultural heritage there.
The research and evaluation work carried out on public art and cultural regeneration that took place in the School of Built Environment and Engineering at Leeds Metropolitan University (2003-2013) has resulted in the production of a range of public art strategies and plans for local authorities and government agencies and organisations. The work has involved extensive research and evaluation of a range of cultural and public art strategies at local, regional and national level in the UK. This research work has contributed to better informed public policy debate around the role of art and culture in the process of regeneration and the analysis of the extent to which public art can contribute to creating places that have strong social, cultural and visual vitality and sustainability.
Professor Paul Heritage joined QMUL in 1996. His research over the last two decades has opened up new understandings of Brazil's transformative arts practices within the UK cultural sector. Through practice-based projects, his research continues to deepen and extend the understanding of innovative Brazilian arts practices in Britain. Heritage has forged new opportunities for UK arts practitioners to develop their work in Brazil and shaped new policy exchanges between ministerial/governmental and non-governmental organisations. His research engages with a diverse range of artists and cultural institutions, reaching over 50,000 people in the period since 2008 via performances/screenings/seminars/exhibitions/events. Through disseminating research into Brazilian culture policy and practices that have responded to extreme social crises, he has strengthened the British cultural sector's confidence in using art in the advancement of social development.
Rhythm Changes is Europe's largest ever jazz research project to date, examining the inherited traditions and practices of European jazz cultures, engaging audiences, performers, the creative industries and arts agencies in the collection, interpretation and sharing of cultural experiences, resources and data, demonstrating the following impact:
The University of Southampton has carried out a programme of research into transnational networks of migrants, especially musicians from African countries, and multicultural neighbourhoods across Europe. This has resulted in a series of popular multi-national arts events in Africa and Europe, involving artists numbering in the hundreds and audiences in the hundreds of thousands. These events have generated new independent cultural projects, leading to economic benefit for organisers and participants and to greater public awareness of migrant and mixed community issues.
Simon Goldhill's research on the history and archaeology of Jerusalem led to his being asked to join the EU-funded programme Promoting Understanding of Shared Heritage (PUSH). The aim of the project is to develop a new policy on sites of shared cultural heritage, in which capacity Goldhill has met regularly with — and been able to influence — Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian policy-makers. This influence is manifested in a rapprochement between groups who had previously been unable to meet; new signage at significant sites across Israel/Palestine and Jordan; and continuing interaction particularly on the crucial area of the management of natural resources.
This case study describes the pioneering work undertaken with the Sultanate of Oman government to develop appropriate approaches towards sustainable documentation, management and renewal of 86 priority heritage sites of its 1000-plus vernacular settlements. Approaches established through a pilot project - now extended to 9 settlements (5 completed) including 3 World-Heritage- Sites - are helping Oman achieve a cohesive strategy and have instigated a thorough revision of the priority list. Wide-ranging stakeholder engagement was achieved through exhibitions, public lectures, workshops, press interviews (Arabic/English) and heritage-related film-production. The continued `capacity building' and employment of young graduates through skills development training has provided the social enterprise dimension.