Culture and Heritage Capital portal
This page brings together research, guidance and estimates to help government and private organisations consider the value of culture and heritage capital.
Introduction to the Culture and Heritage Capital Programme by Lord Mendoza
Introduction to the Culture and Heritage Capital Programme by Lord Mendoza
A culture and heritage capital approach to policy and decision making considers the value of culture and heritage to society.
The Culture and Heritage Capital Programme was officially launched in January 2021 with the publication of ‘Valuing culture and heritage capital: a framework towards informing decision making’. The framework sets out DCMS’s ambition for a transformational and cultural change to assessing value for money through robust appraisal and evaluation.
DCMS will publish research, data, guidance and tools to help organisations make a stronger case for investment in culture and heritage assets.
These aims are consistent with the HM Treasury Green Book principles.
You should check that you’re using the latest versions of these resources. DCMS and partner organisations update them regularly with new evidence.
DCMS reports
This document sets out DCMS’s approach to valuing the benefits provided by culture and heritage assets. Included within the document is a framework that will underpin the work of the Culture and Heritage Capital programme, demonstrating how culture and heritage assets create value to the public. You will also find information on the resources DCMS and partner organisations will provide over the coming years.
The report outlines the process used to collect and review the evidence, an overview of the methods used in the literature to value culture and heritage assets and an assessment of the priority areas for future research. As new evidence has become available DCMS have continued to add to the evidence base. For each study, the report has a supplementary Evidence Bank which includes the estimated monetary value, a RAG rating of its quality, and a link to the report amongst other useful information.
Using a combined approach of valuation methodologies and heritage science to estimate the cultural, economic and social impact for interventions that halt the loss or deterioration of culture and heritage assets.
Making use of choice modelling techniques to estimate the marginal change in value when improving museums, with the National Railway Museum (NRM) as the subject of analysis. The methods derived in this report will be used to develop further guidance to help organisations more effectively show the value of investment in museums and will also be applied to other types of culture and heritage.
A research study measuring the economic value of the digital offer of galleries and museums using contingent valuation (CV) techniques. This study helps close evidence gaps in the valuation of digital culture, an area of future research for DCMS.
AHRC/DCMS Culture & Heritage Capital Research Fund and Scoping Study
Six projects have been funded following the AHRC / DCMS Culture and Heritage Capital Research Call, with the aim of developing a formal and multidisciplinary approach to valuing the benefits of culture and heritage assets to society.
Scoping Culture and Heritage Capital report was commissioned jointly in November 2021 by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The study recommendations have informed AHRC/DCMS research call.
Valuing Culture and Heritage Capital Conference
The Valuing Culture and Heritage Capital Conference was held on 11 March 2022. Attendees heard from experts and leaders in the sector who discussed the importance of valuing the benefits of culture and heritage, how the programme is being delivered and how people can use the resources made available by DCMS and partners.
Valuing Culture and Heritage Capital Conference 2022
Sector-specific guidance and research
Research and guidance on Arts Council England’s ongoing Economic Value of Culture project, aimed at helping arts and cultural organisations better demonstrate their social and cultural impact in economic terms.
A case study on the public value of Britain on Film which provides evidence on the benefits of online access to film heritage.
A contingent valuation and benefit transfer study assessing the value of local historic high streets, libraries and town halls to residents in eight medium-sized cities in England.
This study employs non-market valuation techniques to investigate the impact of local cultural heritage density on individual wellbeing in England.
Culture and Heritage Capital Advisory Board
The Culture and Heritage Capital Advisory Board advises DCMS on the use of economic techniques to form a culture and heritage capital approach.
Role of the group
The Culture and Heritage Capital Advisory Board includes experts from culture and heritage organisations and academia.
The board provides advice to help DCMS create publicly available statistics and guidance which articulate the value of the culture and heritage sectors. Valuation of benefits and costs plays an important role in understanding how the government should spend taxpayer’s money. It is therefore paramount that sector specific guidance is available.
The initial term of the board runs from 2020 to 2022. Lord Neil Mendoza, Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal, chairs the board which meets every six months.
Membership
Alongside DCMS officials the board consists of the following experts:
- Lord Mendoza (Chair), Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal at DCMS
- Duncan Wilson OBE, Chief Executive of Historic England
- Sir Laurie Magnus, Chairman of Historic England
- Darren Henley OBE, Chief Executive of Arts Council England
- Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council
- René Olivieri, Chair of the National Trust
- Diane Lees CBE, Director of the Imperial War Museum
- Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Heritage Memorial Fund
- Hasan Bakhshi MBE, Director of the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre at Nesta
- Geoffrey Crossick, Professor at the School of Advanced Study, University of London
- Andrew Thompson, Professor at the University of Oxford
- Ian Bateman OBE, Professor at the University of Exeter
- May Cassar CBE, Professor at University College London
- David Throsby AO, Professor at Macquarie University
- Susana Mourato, Professor at the London School of Economics
Updates to this page
Last updated 21 March 2024 + show all updates
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Added link to Historic England: Heritage Capital and Wellbeing - Examining the Relationship Between Heritage Density and Life Satisfaction.
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Publication of AHRC/DCMS Research call bid recipients
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Three publications have been added to the list of 'DCMS reports.
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Edited the membership of the Advisory Board. Added Eilish McGuinness, changed René Olivieri organisation to the National Trust.
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Adding resources from the Valuing Culture and Heritage Capital Conference 2022
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Editing information on Valuing Culture and Heritage Capital Conference
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Added resources (video and slides) from the Valuing Culture and Heritage Capital Conference 2022.
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Edited the description of the Rapid Evidence Assessment to note the Evidence Bank will be updated as values from new studies are added.
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Removed information about the Valuing Culture and Heritage Capital Conference which took place on 11th March 2022. This page will be updated with links to the recording and slides when they are available. Removed Ros Kerslake OBE from the list of Advisory Board Members.
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Added information on the Valuing Culture and Heritage Capital Conference.
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Edited details of the AHRC/DCMS Scoping culture and heritage capital research study to include information on the project team and the project commencement date. Edited details of the membership of the Culture and Heritage Capital Advisory Board.
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Uploaded a video by Lord Mendoza providing an overview of the Culture and Heritage Capital programme.
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An invitation to researchers to apply for funding for the 'Scoping culture and heritage capital research' which is co-funded by AHRC and DCMS has been added to the Culture and Heritage Capital portal.
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First published.