Cultural Policy Evaluation towards a Sustainable Arts and Cultural Sector in Ghana

Abstract

Within both national and international discourses, cultural policy is increasingly becoming an important aspect of government policy. The realisation of cultural goals and plans demands cultural policy development involving consultations and dialogue with stakeholders. Culture is viewed as an enabling force towards sustainability, yet in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a marginal consideration for culture. Arts and culture have received little recognition from public policy analysts which has affected general cultural policy evaluation. This chapter defines evaluation within the context of this study as the juxtaposition and assessment of inputs and outputs alongside goals and aims of cultural policy. This chapter looks at cultural policy evaluation towards a sustainable arts and cultural sector in Ghana. Using qualitative policy analysis it examines the cultural policy document of Ghana on one hand and analyses interviews of stakeholders within the arts and cultural sector in Ghana on the other hand. The study largely focuses on the methodology of the evaluation of cultural policies proposed by Nylöf (1997). The findings reveal that cultural policy in Ghana is inadequately funded thereby impeding its implementation and making any form of evaluation almost impossible. Moreover, in sustaining cultural policy through effective evaluation procedures, the aims and objectives of the political, administrative and cultural actors are paramount in influencing activities in the cultural sector. In conclusion, cultural policy evaluation cannot be done in isolation but rather it should be seen as a holistic process involving all aspects of the policy cycle.