Evaluating qualities of cultural production: a value-based approach

The work of artists, creatives and the cultural community that provides arts, culture and artistic education to society deserves due credit. It is not always easy to find the appropriate mechanisms to appraise and communicate in what ways this work impacts and benefits different target groups, different communities and society as whole. There is an urgent need for reliable evaluation of qualitative achievements of cultural and creative endeavours. We argue that, after years of focusing on the quantities of (economic) life, the time has arrived for considering the qualities of life. The new creative economy, based on sustainable development, calls for a different way of thinking: the Value-Based Approach (VBA). This paper will address the theoretical and methodological aspects of the VBA and suggests why it is a useful method for evaluating (social and cultural) impact of cultural production. This paper will draw on some empirical examples of the application of the VBA to the cultural sector.