1. Social Impacts of Participation in
Cultural Events
Project Plan
Saad Aqeel Alzarooni
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2. Overview of the Project
• The project focuses on the social impact of
participation in cultural events
• The study uses Diwali Festival, organized by SCAD,
as context of the study.
• The project analyzes in what way participating in
art and cultural events affect the end-users.
• Furthermore, the investigation looks at the
organizer’s perspective specifically on what role
has the event played in enhancing community
development?
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3. Aims
• To assess current information gathered on
Diwali festival
• To gather and research other relevant material
that will lead to an accurate picture of the
social impacts of cultural festivals
• To indentify the factors which would
encourage sustainable growth of cultural
festivals at SCAD
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4. Conceptual Framework
• Conceptual framework of the research and its general
methodological implications
• The underlying conceptual framework of the research
is that art and cultural activities always occur in wide
and complex, social, cultural and organizational
contexts, and in order to reach an understanding of the
ay they function, they can not be studied in isolation
from such contexts. Therefore, the study has been
carried out with an interdisciplinary framework
encompassing cultural policy, planning, and cultural
management.
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5. Timeline Task Research
Week 1 •Propose idea for final
project
Week 2 •Prepare concept
Development of the project
Week 3 •Prototype project
deliverables
Week 4 •develop sense of empathy •Conduct passive observation (Diwali
about the subject Festival-SCAD)
•Develop interview •Review Impact measurement – indicators
questionnaire and other tools of measurement of social
impact of art and cultural activities, e.g.,
Williams’ (1997) and Matarasso (1997)
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6. Week 5 •Collect information- Phase 1 Conduct end-user interviews.
Week 6 •Collect information- Phase 2 •Conduct organizer's interview
•Secondary research (*)
Week 7 •Analysis of data •Secondary research (*)
Week 8 •Develop final presentation
artifact
•Develop final outline for
illustration book
Week 9 •Deliver final presentation
and process analysis report
Week 10 •Deliver illustration book
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7. Develop Sense of Empathy about
the Subject
Task:
•Contextual inquiry: Collecting data by
observing the activities and behaviors of users.
•Get a general sense of who the users are, and
guide the process of questionnaire design.
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8. Develop Interview Questionnaires
Task:
•Review Impact measurement – indicators and
other tools of measurement of social impact
of art and cultural activities, e.g., Williams’
(1997) and Matarasso (1997)
•The questionnaires were aimed at
constructing audience profiles including
motivation for attending, awareness of the
festival.
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9. Data Collection-Phase I
Task:
Develop Participant's Interview
Questionnaire (end-users)
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10. Basic Information:
Name:
Gender: [ ] Male [ ] Female
Age group: [ ] 20-25 [ ] 25-30 [ ] 30-35 [ ] 35-40
1. How often do you visit cultural events organized by SCAD?
[ ] More than once a month
[ ] Once per quarter
[ ] Once per year
[ ] Do not visit
2. In what role are you during the cultural event (Diwali)?
[ ] Organizer [ ] Participant [ ] Audience
3. How do you rate current state of cultural life in SCAD?
[ ] Bad [ ] Satisfactory [ ] Good [ ] Excellent
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11. 4. What does not allow you to visit cultural institutions/events more
often?
[ ] Lack of information
[ ] Lack of time
[ ] No desire/need
[ ] Low quality of cultural events
[ ] Transport problem
[ ] Expensive tickets
[ ] Other (specify, please)
5. Name, please, three most important form of cultural/social life for
you personally?
[ ] Communication
[ ] Reading
[ ] Listening to music
[ ] Attendance of cultural events
[ ] Visits to coffee houses with friends
[ ] Other (specify, please)
6. If you could have a chance to change something in cultural life of the
SCAD, what would it be? 11

12. Question Yes No Don’t Comments
Know
1. Have you been involved in arts
activity before?
2. Did you help to plan what
happened?
3. Has taking part had any bad
effects for you?
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13. 4. Has taking part encouraged
you to try anything else?
5. Have you learnt any skills by
being involved?
6. Would you like to be involved
in more work like this?
7. Has the project changed your
ideas about anything?
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14. 8. Please reflect on the following statements:
Since being involved I have… Yes No Don’t Comments
Know
…made new friends
… become more interested in
something new
… learnt about other people’s
cultures
… tried things I haven’t done
before
… become more confident about
what I can do
… felt better or healthier
… become keen to help in other
cultural events
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15. Data Collection-Phase II
Task:
•Develop Organizer's Interview
Questionnaire
•The tool is adopted from Williams’ (1997)
outcome areas and indicators, surveying
arts projects about the impact of their
work.
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16. What role has the project played in enhancing community development?
Please give examples where possible (or you may wish to choose from the
categories below):
Developing human capital Comments
[ ] improved communication skills
[ ] increased ability to plan and
organise
[ ] increased problem-solving
abilities
[ ] developed creative ability
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17. Increasing social capital Comments
[ ] improved levels of
communication in community
[ ] improved levels of community
planning and organisation
[ ] greater tolerance of different
cultures or lifestyles
[ ] increased appreciation of
community culture
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18. Building and developing Comments
communities
[ ] stronger sense of community
identity
[ ] a decrease in people
experiencing social isolation
[ ] improved recreational options
for community
[ ] development of local or
community enterprises
[ ] improvements to, and increased
uses of, facilities
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19. Activating social change Comments
[ ] increased community
awareness of an issue
[ ] community action to resolve a
social issue
[ ] greater tolerance of different
cultures or lifestyles
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20. Identify, please, three most important needs of your organization.
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What do you think should be done to improve cultural life of SCAD?
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If you want to receive further information on the project, let us know your
Email address:
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21. Analysis and Making Sense of Data
Tasks:
•Key features of the audience and of the
social impact of the festival
•Audience’s motivation for attendance
•Awareness of the festival
•How the festival influenced the audience’s
attitudes towards other festivals and the arts
in general
•Discussion of key themes and issues
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22. (*) List of resources for secondary research:
Greg Richards and Julie Wilson (2004)The Impact of Cultural Events on City Image:
Rotterdam, Cultural Capital of Europe 2001. Urban Studies, Vol. 41, No. 10, 1931–1951
Joshua Guetzkow (2002) How the Arts Impact Communities: An introduction to the
literature on arts impact studies, Princeton University
Floris Langen and Beatriz Garcia (2009) Measuring the Impacts of Large Scale Cultural
Events: A Literature Review . University of Liverpool
Barraket, Jo (2005), Putting people in the picture? The role of the arts in social
inclusion. Social Policy Working Paper No.4. The Center for Public Policy. Melbourne,
Australia.
AEGIS (2005): Social impacts of participation in the arts and cultural activities:
Evidence, issues and recommendation.
Robina Goodlad (2002), Not Just a Treat: Arts and Social Inclusion. A report to the
Scottish Arts Council. Center for Cultural Policy Research.
Reeves, Michelle (2002), Measuring the economic and social impact of the arts: A
review. www.artscouncil.org.uk/documents/publications/340.pdf
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23. End
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