Abstract

In Italy the evaluation of cultural investments and activities is not yet a standard general procedure. Other difficulties relate to the timescale and dimensions of cultural activities. It is not unrealistic that an assessment procedure could be required before all effects of a cultural project are unveiled and become measurable; it is thus necessary to develop very sensitive tools to assess subtle changes in a project's initial and early phases. These difficulties drive the adoption of ad hoc methodologies and the building of specific indicators that are able to capture the actual dynamic of the single project, but bespoke solutions for assessment risk losing the capacity to make comparisons between different approaches and projects. For these reasons it is greatly desirable to create an archive of different project assessments at an international level (or even by starting at a national level by gathering together assessments of Creative Europe projects) to compare methodologies, results, and to inspire work towards a better fine-tuning of all measuring systems that are able to represent social and cultural impacts in realistic terms.