Evaluating Regional Arts Governance

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PartneRS

  • Office for Culture, Amt für Kultur St. Gallen, Switzerland

Project Duration

Since 2010

My Role

Evaluator

Description

How do regional culture funds work? How effective are they? How can impact be further improved?

A high proportion of value creation and innovation in the cultural sector is produced at a regional level, for example in the museum sector, tourism, or the economic development of small cultural businesses (Florida 2002). In federal, subsidiary Switzerland in particular, regions play an important role as most cultural policies are implemented on a cantonal and local level. Regional governance is complex, however, because it refers to tripartite forms of self-governance with players from politics, civil society, and the economy (Benz 2004).

A number of cantons in Switzerland have decentralized the funding of their cultural regions. Various cultural regions have organized themselves into associations or foundations and independently manage their cultural funding under the supervision of the cantons. On behalf of the Office for Culture of the Canton of St. Gallen, I have been evaluating and advising some of these regional funding systems.

The evaluations are ongoing and serve both as cantonal control but also as an opportunity to sustainably develop regional funding activities in order to achieve long-term effects.

Methods

  • Desk Research

  • Interviews

  • Surveys (Online)

  • Process Anaysis

Publications

Betzler, Diana (2013). "Gutachten Rheintaler Kulturstiftung (2)", Office for Culture, Amt für Kultur St. Gallen, Switzerland, confidential.

Betzler, Diana (2011). Rheintaler Kulturstiftung (1)", Office for Culture, Amt für Kultur St. Gallen, Switzerland confidential.

Presentations

Betzler, Diana (2013). "Kultur in der Region. Die Chance nutzen!", Vortrag beim jährlichen Treffen der Kulturvereine im Zürcher Weinland am 13. September 2013 in Flaach, Wirtschaftsförderung Zürcher Weinland.

Betzler, Diana (2009). "Kultur in der Region als Chance". Vortrag beim jährlichen Treffen der Kulturvereine im Zürcher Weinland am 12. November 2009, Wirtschaftsförderung Zürcher Weinland.

Arts Management, Cultural PolicyDiana BetzlerRegional Arts Governance