Three and a half years later: reflecting on the CHerPP end-of-project event
11 March 2026 · Dr Steve Nolan, Liverpool John Moores University
One minute you are discussing a potential Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) / Department for Culture, Media and Sport funding bid on a wet and windy November evening, and then three and a half years later…
11 March marked an important milestone in the project that grew out of that initial conversation — Cultural Heritage, People and Place (CHerPP). The research team — Dr Tamara West, Professor Rafaela Neiva Ganga, our wonderful Post-Doctoral Researcher Laura Taggart, and I — gathered together in the beautiful surroundings of the Museum of Liverpool for our end-of-project event.
In front of a crowd of policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders with a passion for cultural policy, we told the story of what has been a demanding but inspiring piece of work.
At the heart of that story is the question of how to measure the value of culture. When the benefits of culture often do not carry a market price, how do we place a monetary value on them? This is an especially tricky problem when we consider the benefits that flow to people who do not directly engage with such goods. It is these non-use values that we have been exploring, working hand in hand with our invaluable research partners at National Museums Liverpool.
Our endlessly generous partner Claire Benjamin set the scene, explaining our case study of the Waterfront Transformation Project. Our research has encompassed in-depth regional focus groups (beautifully outlined on the day by Nasra Elliott and Zi Lan Liao), an online survey experiment, and a deeply integrated mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis. This cross-disciplinary, mixed-methods approach has been crucial in constructing a model of evaluation that acknowledges and engages with complex urban and historically sensitive contexts.
Our work formed part of a wider funding programme under the Culture and Heritage Capital Programme, and the day was a wonderful opportunity to bring allied researchers together. Harman Sagger (Head of Cultural Analysis at DCMS) presented an overview, and we were delighted to welcome representatives from all the other projects for a discussion of what has been learned and how we can all build on that.
Finally, we heard from those who are out there thinking about and implementing these ideas daily. In a fascinating discussion between Steph Green (Shakespeare North Playhouse), Sue Gregory (Everton in the Community), Helen Legg (Tate Liverpool), Sarah Lovell (Liverpool City Region Combined Authority), and Deborah Marsland (Kirklees Council), we heard about the impact cultural institutions have in their local communities and regions.
Many thanks to all who contributed and attended, and to everyone who has helped us along the way.
Whilst this project is approaching its end, the need to continue these conversations is vital. Our final report will be coming in the summer, alongside further outputs. Watch this space.