Working Group on Cultural Observatories and Measurement

Initially established in 2008, the working group is reactivated in 2025 with renewed ambition to shape the future of cultural data and policy. Its work centres on two strategic priorities: consolidating cultural observatories as essential infrastructures for knowledge and decision-making, and reimagining cultural measurement through innovative methods, frameworks, and indicators that capture culture’s evolving impact, value, and relevance.

The chairs leading the working group are Cristina Ortega Nuere and Elena Raevskikh.

Cristina Ortega Nuere is Drector of 3Walks, an International Center for Cultural Research, Training and Knowledge and Social Transference, and Chief Academic and Operating Officer of World Leisure Organisation, a non-governmental organization born in 1957 with consultive status of United Nations. Doctor in Leisure and Human Development with a Master degree in Leisure Management, she was appointed twice as Member of the Basque Council of Culture of the Basque Government.

Elena Raevskikh is Research & Analysis Unit Head at the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi. She also leads and co-develops CultureSTATS-AD, an initiative dedicated to creating tailored qualitative and quantitative measurements for Abu Dhabi’s culture sector. Since 2020, her team has produced more than 20 research reports, several in-depth studies on creative ecosystems, and economic analyses of the emirate’s culture sector

The group positions itself at the heart of global debates on cultural measurement, digital transformation, and evidence-based policy. Its agenda includes mapping observatories across regions, promoting exchange of good practices, advancing the use of AI in cultural data systems, and developing forward-looking indicators that reflect the role of culture in sustainable and inclusive societies.

Click here to access the resources made publicly available by the working group.

Participation to this working group is exclusively accessible to ENCATC members.
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Click here to see the past meetings of the Working Group on Cultural Observatories and Measurement.