We commissioned five research workshops to address the impact of arts and humanities research. Two of these were co-funded with Arts Council England and focused on understanding the visitor/audience experience and impact. One was co-funded with the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts and addressed how we evidence and assess innovation. The AHRC has also funded a workshop looking at the role of the humanities in the twenty-first century, and a workshop addressing how to evaluate the Knowledge Transfer process.
This Scheme was closely aligned to the AHRC’s Impact Strategy, and a series of case studies looking at the social, cultural and economic impact of AHRC awards.
The Workshops Scheme has brought together a range of individuals, from researchers to practitioners in the creative industries and policymakers, to share best practice, reach conclusions and widen the debate about the impacts of arts and humanities research. A key focus for these awards will be to embed a culture of impact in the arts and humanities community, share best practice in assessing the impact of arts and humanities research, and develop our understanding and approaches to these issues.
The primary aim of the Scheme is to maximise the participation of scholars from a wide range of arts and humanities disciplines, in collaboration with partners from the public sector, the cultural and creative sectors and the wider community to investigate, reflect upon and discuss the impact of research in the arts and humanities.
The five workshop summaries are outlined below:
Experiencing arts and culture. Understanding and measuring quality in physical and virtual environments
These workshops were jointly funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Arts Council England. The workshop programme was set to review existing definitions of cultural engagement, and outline the main lines of assessment that have been tested within the Impacts 08 programme and have been further explored in a diversity of special projects within Liverpool and the North West in the context of the 2008 European Capital of Culture. The programme has also established a link with partners and stakeholders in the South East who aspire to maximise audience engagement in the lead to the 2012 Olympic Games via Cultural Olympiad.
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Qualitative Methods of Enquiry into the Arts Consumption Experience and its Impact
These workshops were jointly funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Arts Council England. The recent Sir Brian McMaster report 'Supporting Excellence in the Arts / From Measurement to Judgement' touches on some of the challenges arts and cultural organisations have in understanding the profound value of arts and culture recognising that 'above all the cultural sector has difficulty in assessing the impact of its work on audiences'. Further, key policy-makers are encouraging the sector to move from a 'tick-box' culture to deeper interpretations and understandings of the experience of their audiences.
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Creative Investment: Arts & Humanities Research and the 'Innovation Economy'
These workshops were jointly funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. The emergence of global competition has brought creativity and innovation to the forefront of both economic attention and academic research. While there is a strong tradition of associating innovation with products and technologies, the most recent body of research has emphasized less tangible aspects of 'open innovation' linked to interdisciplinary research and collaboration. 'Creative Investment: Arts & Humanities Research and the "Innovation Economy"' workshops have explored these hidden aspects of innovation with the aim of identifying, evaluating and facilitating innovative Arts and Humanities practice both within and beyond the academy.
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Beyond utility and markets: Articulating the role of the humanities in the twenty-first century
This project addressed the questions 'what is the role of the humanities in the twenty-first century?', 'what contributions do the humanities make to society?', and 'how might their impact be articulated and assessed?'. Given that the humanities, and we as scholars, operate largely within institutions such as universities and specific socio-economic systems based on market principles, we have sought to explore these questions within the contexts of these frames.
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Further information can also be found on the project website:
http://go.warwick.ac.uk/warwickdukeproject
Shaping metrics for Cultural Engagement Knowledge Transfer
Various attempts have been made to identify an appropriate method to measure the impact of Knowledge Transfer. Significant progress has been made in defining metrics for more traditional KT activities and their delivery of Economic Development objectives, but measurement of Cultural Engagement activity and impact is lagging, due to the very different inputs, outputs and objectives. These workshops have provided the forum to agree definitions of cultural engagement, explore alternative measures for cultural engagement activity, taking advantage of lessons learned and adapted from the original research and development process.
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Further information can also be found on the project website: http://www.gla.ac.uk/culturalengagement/
For further information about the Impact Workshops please contact:
Alexia Hereford, Impact Analyst: a.hereford@ahrc.ac.uk