Scoping Culture and Heritage Capital Report

The Scoping Culture and Heritage Capital study was commissioned jointly in November 2021 by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The study was led by Dr Patrycja Kaszynska, Senior Research Fellow at UAL, in partnership with cultural sector partners and policy makers, and collaborating with a team of researchers spanning arts and humanities, heritage science and economics: Dr Sadie Watson and Dr Emma Dwyer from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA); Prof Diane Coyle, University of Cambridge; Prof Patrizia Riganti and Dr Yang Wang University of Glasgow, Dr Ricky Lawton, Simetrica-Jacobs and Dr Mafalda Dâmaso (UAL).

The findings of the scoping study are that the introduction of the CHC framework presents significant opportunities from the point of view of valuing the arts, culture and heritage, as well as policy decision-making as such. However, the scoping exercise shows that developing, operationalising and implementing this framework requires sustained research attention, methods refinement and, crucially, capacity- and capability-building across disciplines and sectors. This is not least because the value of arts, culture and heritage as conceived through the CHC framework is an inter- and trans-disciplinary concept.

The scoping study is accompanied by a AHRC/DCMS funding call for new research informed by the project’s recommendations.