Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0101

• Abstract

  Since the rise of New Public Management, regular evaluations have been employed as a cultural policy guidance instrument. However, the credibility of the associated implicit promise of objective, evidence-based decision-making processes starts to crack as soon as one gains an insight into how evaluation studies are created and manipulatively applied. How should one respond to the claim of the epistemological validity of evaluation studies’ results? And what should one pay attention to in order to ensure the quality of evaluation studies? It is not sufficient to simply fulfil formal academic criteria (methodology and systematics of data collection and evaluation), or to demand clarity (well-founded selection of indicators, well-founded conclusions), and transparency (disclosure of the evaluation procedure and the underlying motives). Consequently this article is focused on how to approach fundamental problems, ambivalences and imponderables that arise in the course of any evaluation study. The aim is to achieve greater reflexivity in the inherent ambiguity and fragility of evaluation processes.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0102

• Abstract

  This study analyzes the performance measurement and evaluation literature in (non- profit) arts management by conducting a meta-synthesis, which is both a process and a product of explorative scientific enquiry. Meta-syntheses go beyond the well-known procedure of literature reviews, often used to summarize the current state of knowledge in a particular field, in that they produce formal integrations that offer novel understandings of the reviewed literature. This article presents, in the results section, the consolidated understandings under four thought-provoking titles: First, ‘Third time’s a charm?’ describes the development phases identified in the body of performance measurement and evaluation literature. Second, ‘A paradigm on the move?’ refers to the dominance of the positivist research tradition and signals the quest for alternative approaches. Third, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ illustrates that the international literature tends to emphasize the benefits and learnings of performance measurement and evaluation practices (pride) while a rather prejudicial attitude is observed among the German-written literature. Fourth, ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’ takes the debate to a higher level by thematizing the interplay between arts management research and cultural policy. The conclusion discusses the four titles through the lens of system theoretical discourse.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0103

• Abstract

  This paper presents and discusses an impact-oriented quality management approach in the arts. First, the business-management understanding of quality management is defined and then – based on theoretical and conceptual considerations – linked to the creative context and the question of how cultural organizations perform. Subsequently, a model for an impact-oriented quality management approach (Theater Quality Frame) is presented, which has been developed as a pilot project at a Swiss theater and is currently in use. The model combines a process map, which contains all the theater processes, with a performance monitor, which serves as a measuring instrument for the organizational objectives. The Theater Quality Frame is compatible with the international ISO 9001 quality management standards. Finally, the presented impact-oriented quality-management approach is discussed from a practical and organization-theory perspective.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0104

• Abstract

  Program and project evaluations in cultural education are conducted on a regular basis, but unfortunately often as a matter of routine with predictable results. Based on their own research, the authors develop a concept of evaluation that fosters institutional learning. The article develops rules and working steps for participative evaluation geared toward successful learning. Generally, evaluation involves an intense communicative process between the funding body, evaluated institution and other stakeholders. Evaluation is organized in such a way that learning happens in a loop, in which mistakes and problems are rectified. The funding body and evaluated institution are guided in such a way that they can update their aims, their actions, and their goals. The combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods makes it possible to locate problems in the program or project and understand the reasons for these flaws. However, a culture in which flaws are appreciated as learning opportunities is often desired in theory but not welcomed in practice. But in a positive climate, they do help in further developing institutions and processes.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0105

• Abstract

  Modern society has become an evaluation society. Feedback loops and rating things have become a routine part of our lives. Cultural life has been mostly spared from this obsession with evaluation. However, in a reflective and democratic society, evaluation should and could be useful for the cultural sector as well. For this purpose, evaluations need to recognize the role of art in society as polarizing and complex, and this complexity should be taken into account when carrying out evaluations. This also has an impact on the functions of evaluation in the performing arts.

  Based on the evaluation practices of public theaters in southern Sweden between 2006 and 2014, methods, processes and functions of evaluation have been empirically researched and analyzed. The analysis shows that evaluation can have a positive impact if it is not only considered to be an instrument to assess and to control the achievement of objectives, but also to systematically reflect on the quality and effects of theatrical work.

  The functions of evaluation in the performing arts are manifold. Evaluation should be seen less as a tool for regulation and more as a tool for conceptual reflection and communication.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0106

• Abstract

  In Germany, many of the traditional municipal theaters do not recognize the benefits of applying a quality management system, strategic planning process or evaluation models. A fundamental problem for theaters relying on public funding is that the funding body’s trust in the theater does not make provision for any form of intervention in case of mismanagement by the theater’s leadership team. However, all parties involved share a common interest in ensuring the theater’s success both artistically and in terms of its social impact. Based on the example of the Nationaltheater Mannheim, we describe the strategic planning process we have applied since 2013 in combination with a multiple directors’ model. We outline a strategic planning process initiated by the municipality, which leads to mutually beneficial outcomes for both parties – municipality and theater. The framework consists of processes for establishing and transparently communicating five strategic goals and strategic key performance indicators, and measures which ones are adaptable from season to season. The strategic goal-planning approach, supported by the municipality’s overall change management approach, results in self-evaluation methods that include quality management, as a basis for the strategic steering of the theater management.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0107

• Abstract

  According to the latest research into public management, for public value to be created it is necessary for the related activities to have an effect on the personal attitudes and values of individuals. In the means-end evaluation discussed in this article, the actions of public institutions focus on those who directly benefit from cultural projects or artifacts: listeners, viewers, readers, or visitors. Using the example of the Swiss Science Center Technorama, it is shown how laddering can uncover the values that are associated with an institution and its purpose. The insights gained by this method can be used both to evaluate and, if necessary, legitimize publicly funded programs and to promote the development of cultural programs that appeal to the public.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0108

• Abstract

  The field of contemporary arts is currently going through a serious legitimation crisis. Possible solutions to overcoming this crisis are currently being discussed in the context of debates about the value art can or should have in our society. The proposed solutions encompass a wide range of approaches – from academic ones to appproaches based on the creative economy or social integration – but they all have one thing in common: the use of numerical evaluations as legitimization tools.

  In the absence of commonly accepted criteria for the reception and evaluation of contemporary arts, numerical evaluations are not only becoming a substitute for qualitative criteria, they also offer a new foundation for seemingly straightforward but in fact multifaceted legitimatization strategies.

  Tempting as it sounds, it would be a mistake to assume that a move back to traditional aesthetics in assessing the value of contemporary arts might still be possible as an answer to this legitimation debate.

  A multidimensional axiology that includes numerical and performance-based evaluations alongside usual modes of aesthetic reception might be a necessary step toward a post-aesthetic – that is, a not merely self-referential, autonomous and arts-based – perspective on the role arts have to play in modern society.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0109

• Abstract

  In 2013, the Goethe Institut initiated a three-year project to develop an evaluation framework to measure the impact of its work on culture and cultural education. This article is divided into two parts: Part one relates to the experience of this development process and the conceptual considerations that led to a publication issued in 2016. By focusing on throughput (a value-based working approach) and analyzing the transfer of impact beyond the immediate sphere of activity, the Goethe Institut achieved added value in terms of evaluation. Part two of the article discusses the application of the evaluation concept based on a case study. Here, the authors illustrate the heuristic use of Bruno Latour’s and Michel Callon’s Actor-Network Theory in evaluations of cultural work. The article concludes with a short insight into the use of the evaluation concept for internal evaluations within the Goethe Institut as well as externally commissioned ones. The publication of the concept is also an invitation to continue a critical dialogue between cultural workers, cultural institutions, evaluators, and scholars about the opportunities and limitations of evaluating cultural work.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0110

• Abstract

  In February 2016, the Cultural Administration of the City of Innsbruck commissioned a team from the University of Applied Science Kufstein with the evaluation of the funding framework stadt_potenziale. This has existed since 2008, is aimed at the independent cultural scene, and is dedicated to the experimental exploration of urbanity in general and the city of Innsbruck in particular. The cumulative evaluation included data analysis, but in particular was based on a survey carried out among project managers that have implemented projects through this funding framework over the last eight years. The fact that the independent scene has rarely been evaluated and that (it can be assumed) there is little understanding of this scene among politicians and policy makers, poses a major challenge. The results of the evaluation were then contextualized in relation to the ideas of Richard Florida on improving a city’s image and identity by including an independent and critical cultural scene. The case study reflects on the process and summarizes key findings and conclusions on the role of cultural management in this sensitive field.

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0111

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0112

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0113

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0114

Journal of Cultural Management 2017 (1)

http://dx.doi.org/10.14361/zkmm-2017-0115