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CHAPTER 2.6. CONCLUSIONS
6.1 The evidence available from both the academic and policy literature leads to the conclusion that there is no definitive set of indicators which can measure the contribution of culture and sport to quality of life and well-being, regardless of how these terms are defined.
6.2 While the evidence suggests an association between cultural and sports participation and an improved quality of life, there is no evidence of a causal relationship between the two.
6.3 There is, however, the theoretical possibility of a link between social connectedness/social inclusion, participation in culture and/or sport and quality of life. And this could be measured by drawing on some of the tools from cultural planning, i.e. mapping what exists and charting growth in activity (from the bottom up). It would also be possible to look at some of the wider instruments which chart our lives for government and triangulate that data with surveys of individual levels of satisfaction. Over a period of time it would, therefore, be possible to examine changes in both the individual's own sense of quality of life with a charting of what we are calling 'external life conditions'.
6.4 The difficulty with this approach is that it does not take account of other factors, beyond the cultural/sport intervention, which might affect an individual's quality of life. Neither does it take account of the fact that individuals differ in the importance they place on the various domains of quality of life. Participation in culture or sport may be of great importance to some and yet of negligible importance to others, depending on personal values. Again, this does not mean that the approach is not valid but it does mean that conclusions have to be interpreted with care.
6.5 A linked issue is the question of the quality of the cultural and sport intervention and how far it has a bearing on outcomes. This is discussed only briefly in the sports literature and it was only in the literature on exercise and depression that we found any casual link being made between what we argued could be characterised as sport and quality of life.
6.6 Underpinning any approach to the development of indicators is the issue of the policy goal: why does the public purse fund sports and cultural activity?; and, to what end? There are two approaches in the policy literature we examined. Both assume a positive link between culture and sport and quality of life and well-being, however defined. One approach sets out to prove this link but, as we have shown, this is not easy territory. The other approach works from the assumption that sport and cultural activity in a community is a signifier of quality of life, and sets about measuring its effectiveness. While the latter may not offer the kind of 'evidence base' which is hoped for, it has the advantage of putting culture and sport in the same category as other public sector commitments and suggests a workable framework for evaluation.
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