With support from Research England, the Centre for Cultural Value led a national research project to develop the Cultural Indicator Suite, a practical framework for measuring and communicating the everyday cultural vitality of the places we live.

This research responds to growing demand across the UK cultural sector for stronger evidence of cultural value and impact beyond economic growth.

The project included a review of recent UK and international research on cultural vitality and interviews with representatives from Local Authorities across urban, rural and coastal regions. The resulting interim report lays out a practice-relevant vision for how the UK cultural sector can more effectively understand, measure and support cultural vitality.

Junction Arts, Bolsover Children’s Festival

What are the key insights?

The interim report highlights several important findings for cultural policy, research and practice:

• Traditional cultural indicators have overemphasised ‘high culture’ and formal participation, underrepresenting informal, local and community-driven cultural life.
• Cultural vitality should be understood ecologically, not in siloes – recognising the interactions between cultural institutions, community spaces, policy contexts, infrastructure and everyday creativity.
• ‘Resilience’ is an outcome of culturally vital communities. The seven dimensions of cultural vitality outlined in the Cultural Indicator Suite provide a structured way to explore and evidence this relationship.
• There is an urgent need to develop rural cultural vitality measures, address diversity and access gaps and understand the cultural sector’s contributions beyond economic growth, including wellbeing and belonging.

These insights strengthen the case for more inclusive and place-centred approaches to measuring cultural value in the UK.

Junction Arts. Banter and Banner

What are the seven indicators of cultural vitality?

The Cultural Indicator Suite captures the interconnected dimensions of cultural vitality at place level. Together, these indicators provide a framework for measuring and communicating  the holistic, everyday cultural vitality of places, emphasising the impact of culture across  social, civic, economic and wellbeing outcomes.

The seven indicators are:

Engage (Cultural participation and engagement)
The ways people create, experience, share, and take part in culture, whether through formal activities, everyday practices, or personal and collective expression. This can be ticketed or non-ticketed, in-person or online engagement.

Access (Cultural infrastructure and accessibility)
The spaces, resources, networks and conditions that enable people to access, contribute to and benefit from cultural life. This includes the venues themselves, from theatres and galleries to community hubs and spaces. But it is also the support networks, even the transport links to get people to be able to take part – and if they are truly accessible to people.

Include (Cultural diversity and inclusivity)
The extent to which cultural life reflects, values and supports the identities, experiences and voices of all communities, particularly those who are often underrepresented. The diversity of programming, types of events and the leadership in organisations that deliver them.

Employ (Creative economy and employment)
The contribution of cultural and creative activity to livelihoods, skills, innovation, enterprise and wider economic development.
Jobs, skills, training, presence of freelancers and creative organisations.

Support (Social and civic engagement)
The role of culture in strengthening relationships, fostering belonging, encouraging participation in community life and supporting collective action. This is about volunteering opportunities, or the local advocates and champions, the people who give up their spare time to make things happen.

Invest (Cultural policy and investment)
The decisions, resources and governance structures that shape cultural opportunities, priorities and long-term development. This includes public spending, access to community grants and the visibility of culture in local policy.

Nourish (Wellbeing and quality of life)
The contribution of culture to people’s physical, emotional, social and environmental wellbeing, helping individuals and communities to live meaningful and fulfilling lives. Presence and access to outdoor space – culture that connects to movement, mental health and wellbeing.

Stephen Dobson explains more about the seven indicators in this video from Policy Leeds.

The seven indicators of Cultural Vitality