Social Value Creation and Measurement in the Cultural Sector

Can arts and culture change someone’s life? Can a City of Culture change the lives of every person within a region? Social Value represents the value that people experience as a result of changes in their lives. Applied to the cultural sector, social value helps unpick how the arts might impact the lives of individuals and groups. This paper reviews the current understanding of creating and measuring social value in the cultural sector. To relate theory to practice, a case study of the Social Value Assessment for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 is used to support and interrogate framing assumptions, and to articulate recommendations for future research and practice.