Belfiore, Eleonora (2004) Auditing culture : the subsidised cultural sector in the New Public Management. International Journal of Cultural Policy, Vol.10 (No.2). pp. 183-202. doi:10.1080/10286630042000255808

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Abstract

This article explores the effects of the spread of the principles and practices of the New Public Management (NPM) on the subsidised cultural sector and on cultural policy making in Britain. In particular, changes in the style of public administration that can be ascribed to the NPM will be shown to provide a useful framework to make sense of what has been felt as an “instrumental turn” in British policies for culture between the early 1980s and the present day. The current New Labour Government, as well as the arm's length bodies that distribute public funds for the cultural sector in Britain, are showing an increasing tendency to justify public spending on the arts on the basis of instrumental notions of the arts and culture. In the context of what have been defined as “instrumental cultural policies”, the arts are subsidised in so far as they represent a means to an end rather than an end in itself. In this perspective, the emphasis placed on the potential of the arts to help tackle social exclusion and the role of the cultural sector in place‐marketing and local economic development are typical examples of current trends in British cultural policy making. The central argument purported by this article is that this instrumental emphasis in British cultural policy is closely linked to the changes in the style of public administration that have given rise to the NPM. These new developments have indeed put the publicly funded cultural sector under increasing pressure. In particular, it will be shown how the new stress on the measurement of the arts' impacts in clear and quantifiable ways – which characterises today's “audit society” – has proved a tough challenge for the sector and one that has not been successfully met. The article will conclude by critically considering how the spread of the NPM has affected processes of policy making for the cultural sector, and the damaging effects that such developments may ultimately have on the arts themselves.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts > Theatre, Performance and Cultural Policy Studies > Centre for Cultural Policy Studies
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Public administration, Management, Great Britain -- Cultural policy, Politics and culture -- Great Britain, Auditing -- Social aspects
Journal or Publication Title:	International Journal of Cultural Policy
Publisher:	Routledge
ISSN:	1028-6632
Official Date:	2004
Dates:	Date Event 2004 Published
Date of first compliant deposit:	1 August 2016
Volume:	Vol.10
Number:	No.2
Page Range:	pp. 183-202
DOI:	10.1080/10286630042000255808
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access

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