At the CT summer seminar in 2021, we (together with David Budtz Pedersen) explored the societal impact of research: What impact is, and how we can think about, describe and document it. At this seminar, we focus on ways of working and experimenting with impact – and link it to policies and politics, evaluation and legacy.

The seminar will include a presentation by Ben Walmsley, professor at the University of Leeds and Director of the national Centre for Cultural Value, four short presentations by members of CT, and a workshop.

Program:
Ben Walmsley: The Centre for Cultural Value: A case study of research impact
In this talk, Ben Walmsley will present an overview of the Centre for Cultural Value - a national research centre based at the University of Leeds (UK) and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Arts Council England and Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Ben will discuss the set-up, mission development and funding/business model of the Centre and summarise its core objectives and activities in its three key areas of research, policy and evaluation. He will conclude with an honest appraisal of the benefits and challenges of running a national research centre of this type.

Ben is Professor of Cultural Engagement in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds (UK) and Director of the national Centre for Cultural Value. Prior to his academic career, he worked as an arts manager for ten years, most recently as Producer at the National Theatre of Scotland. Since 2014 Ben has been the Academic Director of the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy programme, which is now one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations. Ben is an Expert Advisor for the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Independent Chair of Flux, Rotherham’s Creative People and Places programme. He recently led a national research project investigating the impacts of Covid-19 on the UK’s cultural sector and the implications for policy. Ben has published widely on arts marketing, arts management, cultural policy and cultural value. His monograph Audience Engagement in the Performing Arts: A critical analysis was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2019 and he is co-editor of the recently published Routledge Companion to Audiences and the Performing Arts.

Short presentations by CT members:

• Louise Ejgod Hansen (assoc. prof. in dramaturgy and research manager at Center for Cultural Evaluation): Linking research and evaluation – pathways to impact 
• Stine Liv Johansen (assoc. prof. in children’s literature and media): Research impact in policies and politics.
• Anne Marit Waade (professor in media studies): ECREA2022 legacy strategy
• Britta Timm Knudsen (professor in experience economy): Re-Distributive justice: a decolonial experiment.

Workshop on our own research impact practices