1. Cultural impact assessment: a literature review
of current practice around the world
Adriana Partal,
RMIT Europe
Headquarters in Barcelona
Dr. Kim Dunphy Cultural Development Network, Victoria, Australia

2. 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. 
Photo: Jorge de Araujo, Generations Conference, Melbourne 2009

3. Presentation overview
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
Methodologies for undertaking CIA
Methodological challenges
Theoretical approaches, measures and assessment frameworks
Timeframe
Professional sectors
Geographic locations

4. Origin and evolution of impact assessment (IA)
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.

5. Definition of cultural impact assessment (CIA)
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.

6. Cultural Regeneration
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Methodology: research approach
Desk-based research Initial sample of 120 documents articles analysed in-depth
Search term: cultural impact
Result: 24 articles
Economic Impact
Cultural Capital
Value of Culture
Cultural Regeneration
Social Impact
Cultural Strategies
Cultural statistics

7. Application of CIA: timeframe and professional sectors involved
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Application of CIA: timeframe and professional sectors involved
Late 1980’s
Late 1990’s
Mid 2000’s
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
Largely related to initiatives
involving indigenous people
Environmental justice
Indigenous cultural heritage
Resource management
Property and state property boundaries
Conservation of indigenous landscape
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)

8. Geographic locations of documented CIA initiatives
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Geographic locations of documented CIA initiatives

9. Documented methodologies for undertaking CIA
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

10. Methodological challenges identified
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Methodological challenges identified
QUANTITATIVE DATA
TIMESCALE
RESEARCHERS’
SENSIBILITY
CONTEXT-
UALISATION
Assessment is fraught: seemingly similar cultural phenomena have a different meaning for different peoples
DEFINITIONAL
Culture and cultural impact infrequently defined, leading to challenges in measurement of inadequately defined concept
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
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)
Well-developed sensibilities about Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge or oral history
This is not ubiquitous amongst researcher and developers they work for (Nakamura, 2013)

11. No specific patterns or themes evident in the literature
Cultural impact assessment: a literature review, Partal and Dunphy
Theoretical approaches, measures, assessment frameworks documented
No specific patterns or themes evident in the literature
Ambivalence re desirability of universal and formal measurement (Häyrynen, 2004)
because of potential for inappropriate homogenisation
imposition of ideas of civilization based on majority norms or other hegemonic values
inappropriate assumption of
one-way cause/effect relationship

12. Theoretical approaches, measures, assessment frameworks
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

13. Theoretical approaches, measures, assessment frameworks
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

14. CIA is documented mostly as one aspect of a different type of IA
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).

15. 1 2 3 New and divergent understanding of CIA
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
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
Cultural sector
Organisations working with “the arts, museums, libraries and heritage that receive public funding” (Holden, 2006).
In this context, CIA is assessment of the impact of cultural activities,
rather than an assessment of the impact of activities
on culture. 1 2 3

16. Recommendations re potential for future applications of CIA
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.

17. In conclusion: what the literature tells us
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