Canadian Urban Institute

The Canadian Urban Institute has developed a ‘how to’ guidebook that can be used by municipalities in Ontario to measure and evaluate the outcomes of municipal cultural planning (MCP) in their communities.  The guidebook contains  a framework for measuring MCP that examines:

· Inputs;

· Processes that identify, strengthen and leverage cutlural resources and integrate MCP into municipal  planning and decision-making; and

· Outcomes of MCP in terms of creativity, wealth creation, quality places, social cohesion and organizational change.

By using a menu approach, municipalities can  select indicators that work best with their strategic plans, economic development goals and quality of life priorities.The guidebook encourages municipalities to first decide on the story they want to tell and then select indicators from the menu that support that narrative.

One of the goals of this guidebook  is to enable municipalities that already do cultural planning to be better able to measure its impact. For municipalities who have not yet adopted MCP, this guidebook can  demonstrate to decision makers that the impacts of MCP can be measured and evaluated. The guidebook  will help promote understanding about the role of MCP in creating cultural vitality in towns and cities in Ontario. 

This guidebook is a living document that we hope will be used, refined and adapted over time as municipalities put the indicators to work. We look forward to engaging in conversations with Ontario’s municipalities and working with them to refine and improve MCP performance evaluation.

The Canadian Urban Institute gratefully acknowledges the funding provided by the Government of Ontario and the contributions of the Ontario Arts Council, City of Barrie, City of Hamilton, City of Kingston, City of Kitchener, Town of Markham, City of Mississauga, City of Ottawa, City of Toronto, Patricia Area Community Endeavours (PACE) and the in-kind contribution of the Creative City Network of Canada.

Click here for a copy of the guidebook.