Taking the long view

 In 2003 Liverpool was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture (ECoC) for 2008. Amid the excitement, there were discussions of carrying out long-term research to explore the impact and legacy of what would be a substantial cultural investment. The establishment of the Impacts 08 research programme in 2005 was something of a UK and European first. It was the first time that a major evaluation was up and running before the actual event; the first time such a programme was being led by a team of academics within a university context; and also, significantly, the first time that this kind of research looked beyond the economic impacts to the physical, social and wider cultural dimensions. The first stage of this programme is now reaching its conclusion. Next month we are holding an international conference in Liverpool to launch our final report and reflect on Liverpool 2008’s emerging legacy.

 Our approach has explored changes in outcomes, experiences, perceptions and understanding of the ECoC title and its impact over time. This includes retrospective assessment from Liverpool’s pre-bid period (2000), through bidding and nomination (2002–03), preparations towards the event year (2004–07), 2008 itself, and early 2009. Evaluating such an intensive period of cultural experience has been a challenge. We estimate that over 7,000 cultural activities took place during 2008. The four-year Capital of Culture programme created 123,000 artist-days of work. In 2008 some 10 million people experienced cultural activity in the city. To manage the scale of the task we focused on six themes: economic impacts and processes; the city’s cultural system; cultural access and participation; identity, image and place; physical infrastructure and sustainability; and the philosophy and management of the process. We have published reports under each of these themes. The partnerships we’ve forged have also been crucial in allowing us to tackle such an ambitious programme of work with a small core team.
Our longitudinal approach has ensured that our assessment is as rich and sensitive to local context as possible. But what lessons can be learnt from this longer term, ‘big picture’ way of working? Our aim has always been a dual one: to evaluate specific impacts for Liverpool, and to develop a research model that can be used by other major cultural events or culture-led regeneration programmes. We’ve developed close links with the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, as well as past and future European Capitals of Culture. We’re hoping our research framework – the ‘Liverpool model’– will feed directly into the strategic planning and even artistic direction of future cultural programmes worldwide.