New IETM publication: Mapping of Types of Impact Research

IETM, international network for contemporary performing arts, launches a new Mapping of Types of Impact Research in the Performing Arts. This publication builds on 150 existing case studies worldwide and represents the first text of this kind made publicly available for free download.

Rationale
In recent years, due to the budget decrease and the resulting demand for legitimation, arts and culture are increasingly asked for ‘numbers’ and statistical evidence of their impacts. But how does these measurable data reflect the most crucial and specific qualities of arts – its impact on well-being, critical thinking, community development, or social cohesion that are so much harder to translate into numbers?

To explore how policy makers and funders deal with that question in regards to their funding practices, IETM has decided to make the measurement of the impacts of the arts one of its focus points in 2014 - 2017. IETM has planned a set of meetings involving policy-makers and professionals from different European and non-European countries and some publications on the topic, starting with this mapping.

Mapping of Types of Impact Research
The Mapping represents the first state-of-the-art of the models existing to measure the impacts of the performing arts. It includes a general text about trends and key issues in measurement, a literature review, a searchable database and a collection of the 50 most significant existing models developed between 2005 and 2015.

The publication is a unique tool to help researchers, policy-makers, academics and cultural professionals gain a general overview of existing models, trends and key issues; it also serves as a basis for discussion and exchange within the IETM membership and in the wider community of performing arts stakeholders – operators, performers, funders and audiences.

General Mapping of Types of Impact Research in the Performing Arts Sector (2005-2015)

By Vassilka Shishkova, independent cultural researcher
Commissioned and coordinated by IETM
All IETM publications: https://www.ietm.org/en/publications

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Elena Di Federico
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elena.difederico@ietm.org
+32 2 201 0915

IETM
IETM is a membership organisation, which exists to stimulate the quality, development and contexts of contemporary performing arts in a global environment. It aims at proving the value of the performing arts in society by initiating and facilitating professional networking and communication, the dynamic exchange of information, know-how transfer and presentations of examples of good practice. More than 500 member organisations from around 50 countries around the world are part of IETM: companies, independent producers, venues, festivals, public agencies and institutions etc.