Cultural impact assessment:
a literature review
of current practice around the world
Adriana Partal,
Dr. Kim Dunphy
RMIT Europe
Headquarters in Barcelona
Cultural Development Network,
Victoria, Australia
The Cultural Development Network is an independent non-profit organisation that links local government,
communities, artists and related agencies. We advocate for the essential function of arts and cultural
expression in the development of creative, healthy, engaged and sustainable communities.
We support local government in their role of assisting and resourcing local communities to make and express
their own culture. www.culturaldevelopment.net.au
Photo: Jorge de Araujo, Generations Conference, Melbourne 2009
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Presentation overview
GOAL
a comprehensive international literature review
on practices of cultural impact assessment (CIA)
Definition: cultural impact assessment (CIA)
Research approach
Application of CIA
Timeframe
Professional sectors
Geographic locations
Methodologies for undertaking CIA
Methodological challenges
Theoretical approaches, measures and
assessment frameworks
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Origin and evolution of impact assessment (IA)
Late 60’S
IA had its inception with the
establishment of the practice of
Environmental Impact Assessment
1970
The National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) in US was the first of
many EA laws around the world
1980
Foundation of the International
Association for Impact Assessment
2000’s
Other impact assessment become
well-established: economics, social
services, health, etc.
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Definition of cultural impact assessment (CIA)
* This is not about an assessment OF culture’s impact,
but how to assess impacts ON culture.
CIA: ‘ a process of evaluating the likely impacts of a
proposed development on the way of life of a particular
group or community of people (…),
both beneficial and adverse, (…) that affect,
for example, the values, belief systems, customary laws,
language(s), customs, economy, relationships with the
local environment and particular species, social
organisation and traditions of the affected community’.
International Network for Cultural Diversity's Working Group on
Cultural Impact Assessment.
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Methodology: research approach
Desk-based research
Initial sample of 120 documents
70 articles analysed in-depth
Search term: cultural impact
Cultural
Regeneration
Cultural
Strategies
Social
Impact
Cultural
statistics
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Application of CIA: timeframe and professional sectors involved
Late 1980’s
Largely related to initiatives
involving indigenous people
Environmental justice
Indigenous cultural heritage
Resource management
Property and state property boundaries
Conservation of indigenous landscape
Earliest reference of CIA
Methodology for measuring
cultural impact of innovations
such as new products, changes
to an organisation, or even a
new information system
Late 1990’s
Mid 2000’s
Mid 2000’s: broader
application of CIA
Cultural development
Cultural heritage
Local development
Tourism
Urban Planning
Led and discussed by: consulting companies, universities, central and local governments.
IFACCA, UNESCO, International Network for Cultural Diversity, Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological diversity and IAIA (International Association for Impact Assessment)
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Geographic locations of documented CIA initiatives
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Documented methodologies for undertaking CIA
Mostly methodology not described
More specification in projects related to indigenous issues
THREE CONSISTENT STAGES
Preparatory stage
engaging communities
screening
scoping
notifying people in the area
Data collection
identifying and describing:
cultural resources,
practices and
beliefs in the area
Consultation
focus groups, interviews,
public meetings with
stakeholders including
community members
and government,
persons knowledgeable
about the historic and
traditional practices
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Methodological challenges identified
Culture and cultural impact
infrequently defined,
leading to challenges in
measurement of
inadequately defined
concept
Assessment is fraught: seemingly similar
cultural phenomena have a different meaning
for different peoples
CONTEXTUALISATION
RESEARCHERS’
SENSIBILITY
DEFINITIONAL
QUANTITATIVE
DATA
Limitations:
•Potentially inaccurate stakeholders
•Data might not count what needs to
be counted, if it does not take account
of oral educational models.
•Misinterpretation cultural realities, if
analyses based on settler values.
•May not consider dysfunctional
models of culture
•Well-developed
sensibilities about
Indigenous traditional
ecological knowledge or
oral history
•This is not ubiquitous
amongst researcher and
developers they work
for (Nakamura, 2013)
TIMESCALE
•CIA processes with very limited timescales are risky.
•Measurement of impact over a longer time period offers greater
probability of impacts being detected by researchers (Tanner, 2012)
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Theoretical approaches, measures, assessment frameworks documented
because of potential for inappropriate
homogenisation
No specific
patterns
or themes
evident in
the
literature
Ambivalence re
desirability of
universal and
formal
measurement
(Häyrynen,
2004)
imposition of ideas of civilization based on
majority norms or other hegemonic values
inappropriate assumption of
one-way cause/effect relationship
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Theoretical approaches, measures, assessment frameworks
Circles of Sustainability model
Global Cities Research Institute, RMIT University, Australia
with UN Global Compact Cities Programme
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Theoretical approaches, measures, assessment frameworks
Circles of Sustainability model
Global Cities Research Institute, RMIT University, Australia
with UN Global Compact Cities Programme
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Functions of CIA and relationship with other domains
•
•
CIA is
documented
mostly as
one aspect of
a different
type of IA
ENVIRONMENTAL IA
to understand how a new initiative impacts on indigenous culture
also used in cases of legal dispute, strong correlation with cases of
environmental and ecological law
SOCIAL IA
The International Principles for Social Impact Assessment define social
impacts as including changes to “people’s culture - that is, their shared
beliefs, customs, values and languages or dialect” (Vanclay, 2003).
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
New and divergent understanding of CIA
New use of term CIA emerges in the cultural sector
Cultural sector
Organisations working
with “the arts, museums,
libraries and heritage that
receive public funding”
(Holden, 2006).
1
In this context, CIA is
assessment of the impact
of cultural activities,
rather than an assessment
of the impact of activities
on culture.
2
Relating to cultural value
debate, not about the
value of culture in the
broad sense of the term,
but how funded cultural
institutions measure the
value of their activity
3
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Recommendations re potential for future applications of CIA
If culture is to be fully recognised as a dimension of sustainable development,
there is a need for meaningful approaches to considering impact.
CIA is necessary for the establishment of cultural statistics and indicators
to achieve a more culturally sustainable society.
Little published evidence of CIA in relation to culture as a dimension of broader
sustainable development, including in local government.
Therefore, new possibilities for application of CIA, particularly in local
government where connection to and valuing of local culture/s is strong.
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
In conclusion:
what the literature tells us
about cultural impact assessment …….
Culture … is consistently conceptualized in its broadest sense,
as way of life, system of knowledge, beliefs, values and
behaviours passed down.
CIA… the process of evaluating the likely impacts of a
proposed development on the way of life of a particular
community.
CIA…. is most frequently used re indigenous populations.
Strong relationship between CIA and other IA approaches;
often subsidiary of environmental and social impact projects.
The cultural sector use CIA to mean impacts of,
rather than on culture.
Recommendation: for broader use of CIA to understand
the impacts of decisions on the culture/s of urban and rural
communities.
City, Finn Dunphy