Federally-backed study on social impact of arts to be used to justify funding

OTTAWA — As the federal government looks to new ways to fund social programs, the arts community is looking for new ways of its own to justify why it deserves money.

Officials in the arts sector and Canadian Heritage quietly decided last year they need to measure social impacts of investments in culture and the arts, such as their effects on well-being, and willingness to pay for a show or service.

They agreed to have a third-party conduct a study that would be a first for Canada by putting a more critical eye to claims linking social benefits to cultural activities.

The details of the arts project are contained in a project proposal obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

The Canadian Council for the Arts says that the direct economic benefits of the arts have been well-documented by experts and academics.

Rustlers Volleyball

Crusaders' Bell excited for next chapter with Lakeland College

12h ago

Nothing but Net

Vikings' standouts ready for national stage with Team Saskatchewan

15h ago

Missing person

Spiritwood RCMP searching for missing woman

18h ago

What is lesser-known are the social impacts. The study would “better justify the importance of funding cultural activities and demonstrate outcomes associated with those investments,” the arts council said in a statement.

The government would use the results to shape future funding programs by providing better ways to measure and monitor the results of government cultural spending, a Canadian Heritage spokesman said.

The study represents part of a broader push by the federal government into the world of social financing and enterprises, where private dollars help fund public services with the government playing a supporting financial role. The whole concept is designed to reduce costs on public coffers.

Federal funding flows only if the program meets a set of measurable benchmarks, such as the number of people employed or improvements in essential skills. The approach shifts the financial risk to investors from taxpayers and research suggests it can open the door to more innovative ways of delivering social services.

Before the arts study can begin, it needs the go-ahead from Canadian Heritage federal officials and then final sign-off from Science Minister Kirsty Duncan. However, all those involved say there is no clear timeline about when that will happen.

Canada is hoping to improve its international standing in social finance and is crafting a national strategy with the help of external experts in the field.

Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos travelled to Britain this week to meet with experts to see what lessons Canada can take from the U.K. on social financing.

Duclos said that by most measures, Britain is the world leader on social finance after setting up an alternative-financing agency almost a decade ago as the British government turned to austerity measures amid a financial crisis. The country infused the agency with enough money and expertise that it has leveraged about $175 million in private funding since 2007.

In an interview this week from Nottingham, U.K., Duclos said the strategy will include ways to maintain connections among various actors — experts, government officials, private investors, and social services — along with setting aside the necessary funds.

“We want to have the biggest bang for the buck because of the desire to reinvest resources in Canada,” said Duclos, the minister in charge of crafting the strategy.

“We want to innovate without austerity.”

Duclos said many people under-estimate the willingness of private investors to invest in social services, making that less of a challenge to solve domestically to make the plan work.

Where the hurdles come in are on the demand side, Duclos said. He said social enterprises often don’t have the capacity to set up an alternative funding model. Nor do they often have the collateral or assets that markets require so they can secure financing that would help them scale up.

And despite government help, Duclos said there remains a challenge to help social enterprises land government contracts.

— Follow @jpress on Twitter.

Jordan Press, The Canadian Press