WHAT:
Esch2022 European Capital of Culture was s a project of high importance for the whole region, Luxembourg and Europe. As such, it needed to conceive, deliver and measure its impact on a vast range of domains, from the diversity and European dimension of the cultural offering, to raising the international profile of the region through culture. Our role was to develop the impact measurement approach and support its implementation by the Esch2022 team and relevant stakeholders so that we could help them stay focused on the main objectives, track their progress, deliver and measure their impact, and, finally, report it all to the European Commission.

HOW:
We have designed the internal team’s responsibilities so that the role of impact research and reporting can work smoothly. We have built an impact monitoring and measurement strategy and implementation plan around two general objectives:

• To safeguard and promote the diversity of cultures in Europe, to highlight the common features they share and to increase citizen’s sense of belonging to a common cultural space.
• To foster the contribution of culture to the long-term development of cities

These were then translated to specific objectives and impact indicators, which in turn are measured through different methods and by different data collection partners and sources.

We also help the team prepare for the communication with and reporting to the European Commission.

Photos credit: Esch2022 impacts website and Esch 2022 website

RESULTS:
The Esch2022 Impact & Evaluation Report, co-authored with Jacques Maquet from Esch2022 team, sheds light on seven impact areas:

• cultural impact
• European & international impact
• social impact
• regional & urban development impact
• sustainability impact
• cultural policy and governance impact
• cultural research impact

The report has been published in English and in French:

EN version “Esch2022 Evaluation & Impact Report”

FR version “Esch2022 Evaluation & rapport d’impact”