Tony Bennett, Differing diversities - Council of Europe

Differing diversitiesregulations. The role of evaluation is to assess the need and likely outcome of regulations(and deregulation) that promote cultural diversity primarily through exanteevaluations, stakeholder analysis and cost-benefit analysis. For example, inthe United States affirmative action policies are aimed at eliminating employmentbarriers to certain minority groups, including those working in arts and culturalorganisations. Evaluations can document whether specific cultural industriesreflect the diversity of the general population in its workforce, record the responsibilityand pay levels of minority employees, survey minority stakeholders todetermine whether they were discriminated against on the job, and ask minorityemployees to rate how well their organisation and industry addresses culturalactivities of interest to minority communities. Some of the most effective evaluationsof the impact of regulatory instruments now are being conducted by advocacygroups (see below), rather than by policy analysts.Information policy instrumentsInformation policy instruments (“sermons”) are modern forms of intervention.Their purpose is to increase the tolerant behaviour of people and their appreciationof cultural diversity through the transfer of values and knowledge, reasoned argument,and direct contact with other cultures. The role of evaluation is to assess theprocess, effectiveness, political benefits, and impact on the democratic process ofthe selected policy instruments (for a review, see Weiss and Tschirhart, 1994). Asan example, arts education is an important area for promoting cultural diversitythrough information policy instruments. Arts education is an area where culturalpolicy instruments clearly support cultural diversity. Evaluation may be used toassess the content and quality of multicultural literature; document the short-termand long-term effects of multicultural literacy classes on children’s self-image,attitudes and behaviour; and assess the impact of children’s acceptance of difference(Bainbridge, Pantaleo and Ellis, 1999). It also may be used to assess theeffectiveness of specific programmes that use arts and cultural activities to promotetolerant behaviour, such as the programme at Colby College in Maine thatoffered classes in scriptwriting and filmmaking and funded two film projectsfocused on reducing racial barriers.Current approaches for evaluating cultural diversity instrumentsMeasurement of intended outcomes by governmentAs a result of fiscal restraint and widespread acceptance of private sector administrativeprinciples and processes as part of the new public management reforms,during the last decade governments worldwide have shifted from policy by reactionand correction (“bumper car” policy) to policy by intended impact (Stevens,1998). The new focus is greater accountability for the achievement of clearly specifiedpolicy outcomes through the use of performance measurement and programmeevaluation (especially impact analysis) by different levels of governmentand by government agencies. For example, the Government Performance Review96