I am the lead expert on this year-long project, funded by the ECoC candidate cities network Culture Next, in collaboration with policy evaluation and AI platform Polyloop.
We have been working with fourteen cities across Europe to test a pilot about the relationship between city Cultural strategies, European Capitals of Culture objectives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Culture: The Missing Piece in Sustainable Development
Why isn’t culture recognized alongside education, climate, or health as a key driver of sustainable development? Culture Next is changing that, working to position culture as a measurable, impactful force—potentially the 18th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).
The Gap
Cultural initiatives often go unevaluated, leaving their impact invisible. Culture Next is tackling this by advocating for standardized measures to evidence culture’s contributions.
The Framework
Aligned with the UN SDGs and ECoC objectives, Culture Next has explored options to connect cultural projects to heritage, education, inclusion, creative industries, and sustainable tourism.
The Tools
Using Polyloop, Culture Next has been tracking real-time data from cities to analyze ECoC bid books, monitor live cultural projects and produce evidence-based reports.
The Pilot Program
Member cities have been testing this system to generate individual and collective SDG impact reports, paving the way for actionable policy recommendations.
Driving Change
Findings will feed into a Culture Next Manifesto, pushing for reforms in global and European sustainability agendas.
In the Manifesto, the network will argue:
“Culture isn’t just a complement to sustainability—it’s the force we’ve been missing. #CultureNext is here to prove it.”
