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Last access to links: 5 September 2011
Annex II
Selected literature review
Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010). Vital Signs. Cultural Indicators for Australia.
Canberra, ACT: Cultural Ministers Council.
Accessed at: http://www.cmc.gov.au/sites/www.cmc.gov.au/files/vitalsigns.pdf
Vital Signs is an attempt to create a measurement tool for the arts and culture in Australia. It is a
framework of cultural indicators for the measurement of the contribution the arts and culture make
to the public good in Australia. It asserts that this value can be captured through three broad
domains:
1. Economic development
2. Cultural value
3. Engagement and social impact.
Divided into three main sections according to the three broad domains the report’s structure is the
following:
Theme 1: Economic Development describes the seven indicators used to measure the
contribution of Arts and Culture to urban development and as a catalyst for economic growth. The
indicators are: Cultural employment; Household expenditure on cultural goods and services; Visitor
expenditure on cultural goods and services; Government support for culture; Private sector support
for culture; Voluntary work in the arts and culture; and Economic contribution of cultural industries.
Theme 2: Cultural Value starts describing several approaches to the definition of cultural value by
several researchers and agencies working in the arts and culture sector. Five indicators are
identified and described in order to improve measurement in a full range of cultural values
associated with the arts and culture and its relationship with other kinds of economic and social
values. The indicators are: Cultural assets; Talent (human capital); Cultural identity; Innovation
(new work/companies); and Global reach.
Theme 3: Engagement and social impact tries to evaluate the social impacts of participation in
arts and cultural activities. Arts involvement activities such as practising a discipline or building a
personal collection can be personally rewarding but also contribute to community wellbeing and
quality of life, promoting social participation and cohesion.
Considering that participation will be enhanced by wider educational provision, support for
emerging arts practice, identification of barriers to participation and provision of programmes for
regional areas, the indicators selected for this domain are: Cultural attendance; Cultural
participation; Access; Education in arts and culture.
Notes
While this Australian report draws on a wide span of international initiatives, it takes Cultural
Indicators for New Zealand as a key reference point. Instead of the concept of “cultural industries”
it uses (as does the UK) the “creative industries” to describe a range of enterprises that focus on
design technologies, such as fashion, architecture, media industries and advertising.
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