Developing a model to articulate the impact of museums and galleries: another dead duck in cultural policy research?

Previous research and evaluation work assessing the value and impact of museums and galleries suggests that the sector would not benefit from the development of a new model to articulate its impact upon individuals and wider society. Instead, we need for academics, policy makers and practitioners to jointly invest their reputation, resources and know-how in: (1) settling the unavoidable differences in argot that comes with inter-disciplinary work; (2) fully contextualizing any cultural policy research within existing policy and political constraints; and (3) selecting a number of inevitably insufficient and unsatisfactory models to then apply them to support performance management, communications strategies and, more importantly, innovation in the museums and gallery sector. This would require a more pragmatic approach from all parties involved and even changes in some of our existing funding schemes and approaches. But the museums sector cannot afford pursuing another dead duck in cultural policy research. As we spend valuable time debating on the need for new models, the very sustainability of the sector is at risk. For measuring and articulating the value and impact of the sector is more than an academic exercise: given the policy, financial and business structures in which most cultural organizations operate in England, rightly selecting, rigorously measuring and powerfully articulating the value and impact of the sector is one of the key pre-requisites for its sustainability.