Innovations in Economic Impact Assessment

Within UK public policy, economic impact assessment (EIA) has been a long run, mainstream staple in support of policy design, learning and assessment of the benefits to society of a policy intervention. In 2021, DCMS published its Cultural and Heritage Capital Framework in seeking to achieve its ambition for the full value of arts, culture and heritage to be recognised. Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 has sought to use an innovative approach to EIA to gain a more complete and better-grounded understanding of the benefits generated by this cultural mega-event. To support learning, development and good practice in the use of non-reductive valuation frameworks within the cultural and heritage sphere, this study introduces the EIA approach adopted by Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 and how this approach can be considered in relation to the new DCMS Cultural and Heritage Capital Framework.