The development of cultural indicators for Australia – policy-making in a federal system of government

Abstract

The publication in 2010 of Vital signs: Cultural indicators for Australia was the culmination of a complex national policy development process, which exemplifies some of the challenges of making cultural policy in a federal system of government. This paper examines the policy imperatives which gave rise to the original proposal to develop a set of national indicators, the context which led to support for the proposal, the process of policy development which ensued, and some of the key issues which emerged, and which are relevant for future work. The paper was written from the perspective of a bureaucrat closely involved in the project: the author was, between 2006 and 2011, head of the Queensland state government arts agency, and chair of the Statistics Working Group, the multi-agency body which managed the cultural indicators project on behalf of the participating governments.

Keywords:

• Australian culture
• cultural indicators
• cultural measurement
• cultural policy

Notes

1. Australia Council funding has historically been focused on the development of the professional arts sector and support for “excellence”. Patterns of distribution of these funds have as a consequence reflected the concentration of investment, infrastructure, professional training, and working opportunities accumulated in the larger cities. Because of its scale, funding for the Major Performing Arts Organisations has a major impact on the total of national funding going to each jurisdiction, as major companies are clustered in the bigger cities.

2. For National Reports on Schooling in Australia, and the Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia, see the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority http://www.acara.edu.au.

3. See, for example, Arts and culture in Australia: A statistical overview (2011).