Impact

With its flexible, inclusive and participatory methodology and approach, the CDIS has been generating concrete impacts at the policy level.

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• in Namibia, CDIS data has made it possible to successfully advocate for the inclusion of culture in the 2014-2018 UNPAF;
• in Colombia, the CDIS has inspired a larger research process lead by the Ministry of Culture intended to measure the contribution of culture to development at the local level;
• in Swaziland, CDIS implementation led to a partnership between UNESCO, Swaziland’s Central Statistics Office and government bodies responsible for culture, illustrated by the integration of cultural questions in the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey;
• in Peru, the CDIS implementation process is informing the preparation of a National Satellite Account for Culture;
• in Ghana, implementation has led to on-going discussions between UN agencies regarding the integration of culture in the next UNDAF;
• in Ecuador, CDIS implementation revealed opportunities for enhanced stakeholder collaboration in the process of integrating cultural statistics in the National Plan for Good Living; and
• in Cambodia, CDIS results are contributing to a more informed framework cultural policy.

At the national level, the CDIS has proven its capacity to:

• Build capacities in the collection of data and the construction and analysis of cultural statistics, strengthening information and monitoring systems related to culture and development;
• Foster inter-institutional and inter-sectoral dialogue and build national ownership around results obtained;
• Produce new facts, figures and empirical knowledge with policy implications;
• Inform cultural policies for development;
• Advocate for the integration of culture in development strategies and plans.

At the international level, the CDIS has led to the launch of the CDIS Global Database, the first international culture for development database. Additional outcomes are foreseen as the CDIS continues to generate and consolidate data and analyses in more countries. These outcomes include:

• A comparable international understanding of culture’s impact on development;
• Reinforced advocacy and the promotion of culture in the post-2015 development agenda;
• Inclusion of cultural indicators in key development measurement instruments widely used at the international level.