The Impact of Written Words: A New Methodology for Assessing the Impact of Cultural Initiatives on Subjective Well-Being

(disponible en anglais seulement)

ARTICLE EN PRÉ-PUBLICATION

Cecilia Mereghetti, Sara Bonini Baraldi

Cecilia Mereghetti is currently Research Fellow at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice School of Management. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Development from the Politecnico di Torino and a post-graduate degree in Data Science. Her research interests include studying the uses of data driven technologies, particularly in cultural policy and non-profit activities.

Sara Bonini Baraldi is Associate Professor at the Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning, University and Polytechnic school of Turin (Italy). Her research interests concern the reform of public administration in the heritage field, and the relationship between art, culture and the territory at the international level.

ABSTRACT
The article discusses an original conceptual framework and a new methodology for assessing the social impact of cultural initiatives. Through an in-depth literature review, the authors reveal a double gap: a conceptual gap, showing a lack of studies on subjective well-being and quality of life in the cultural field; and a methodological gap, highlighting the limitations of surveys to collect and study data, while evaluations remain a vital point in the cultural sector. As a response, the authors develop on the concept of subjective well-being and propose using automated textual analysis tools to analyze a heterogeneous database of different data sources related to a cultural initiative such as the European Capital of Culture. The article details the objectives of the new approach and its scholarly potential. It highlights some of the critical issues identified along with possible solutions, while its in-depth implementation to specific case studies is left to future research.
KEYWORDS
Cultural initiative evaluation; social impact assessment; subjective well-being; topic modeling; sentiment analysis; ECoC