About Cultural Development Network (CDN)
What organisations help with cultural planning in Australia?
Cultural Development Network (CDN) has more than 20 years of expertise in cultural planning, demonstrated through research, publication and a growing list of clients
What companies in Australia measure cultural impact?
We assist companies and organisations to measure cultural impact and report it to Boards, executives and funders.
Are there any platforms that do arts and cultural evaluation
Cultural Development Network (CDN) has built the first all-digital platform to enable easy and impactful cultural planning, measurement and evaluation. The Takso outcomes planning platform is built on endorsed frameworks and published research and is a new vital tool in supporting arts and culture and its advocacy.
What consultants can help with planning culture in Victoria?
We are based in Vic Australia and operate both nationally and internationally. We specialise in small and large organisations
Cultural measurement and evaluation
Can you measure culture?
Culture is made up of many measures from across the arts, heritage, economy, environment, society and governance. Bringing the thousands of quantitative and qualitative measures across these domains together allows for insights and a way of measuring culture.
Why is it important to measure culture?
Culture is an integral part of public good and therefore has a role in public policy. The causal links between the cultural, economic, social, environmental and governance domains can only be understood through measurement.
Can you measure the arts?
The arts are a sub-set of culture and produce different artefacts such as stories, language, design, music, etc. These artefacts can be measured by their outputs and their outcomes.
Why is it important to measure the arts?
The role of arts is significant as it is a representation of humanity that is shaped by culture. To measure the arts is to have an insight to the culture.
How do you measure the success of a cultural organisation?
Organisations are increasing their use of measuring outcomes as the main indicator of what is achieved by delivering activities.
How do you measure the success of an arts and cultural organisation?
Arts focussed organisations can measure the cultural outcomes of their production. The outcomes can be gauged against inputs (resources applied) and the outputs (activities produced) to measure success.
Outcomes and evaluation
How do I plan outcomes for a cultural organisation?
Cultural organisations produce cultural outcomes for their participants. A schema of cultural measures is published and endorsed internationally. These can be used to shape the intended activities to reach the outcomes. See the cultural measures schema.
How do I plan outcomes for an arts organisation?
Organisations will have a strategic plan based on the organisation’s legal or constitutional purpose or goal. To reach that goal the organisation will have strategies and objectives, and each can be aligned to intended outcome measures.
How do I evaluate activities for an arts organisation?
Evaluating arts activities is best approached through recording and understanding the whole narrative of each arts activity: its intended outcomes, the evidence to shape the activity towards those outcomes, and an evaluation through recording qualitative and quantitative measures.
Why is it important to collate arts and cultural evaluations?
Arts and cultural evaluations form a growing base of knowledge and insight as to how arts and cultural activities impact cultural, economic, social, environmental and governance outcomes, and contribute to public good.
How do I make a theory of change for a cultural organisation?
A theory of change is a term used in evaluation, after the activity. It can also be used in planning before committing to an activity. A simple mnemonic is “I want to achieve (outcome) …, I know this about it (evidence) …, therefore I will (do this activity, with this approach) …, and measure (outcome).”
Takso outcomes planning platform
Tips for planning and evaluating cultural events
Planning and evaluation cultural activities or events is made easier through following the planning method that underpins the Takso outcomes planning platform
How can I analyse arts activities?
Arts activities are made up of many parts across the inputs (resources applied) the outputs (what is produced) and outcomes (what is achieved). To analyse arts and cultural activities, Takso has this information recorded and accessible
How do I evaluate an event?
Takso is capable of planning, evaluating and reporting on any event or activity. It can manage complex activities such as festivals, artists residencies, touring programmes and community recreational activities.
How do I plan an arts event?
Takso is the ideal platform for planning arts and cultural activities and major events. It guides the manager through the key logic and underlying case for committing to an activity or major event and provides valuable consistent insights through the evaluation and reporting.
What tools can help me to manage data in an arts and cultural organisation?
Data is collated on Takso so you can measure both individual activity outcomes and groups of activities. The Takso filters can produce a range of graphs that are easily accessible.