Creative potential: mental well-being impact assessment of the Liverpool 2008 European capital of culture programme

Culture has a number of potential impacts upon health and well-being. This project was undertaken to assess the potential impacts of the Liverpool 2008 European Capital of Culture programme upon mental well-being, so that positive effects can be maximized and negative impacts reduced, in order that health and well-being are promoted and inequalities are reduced.

A mental well-being impact assessment (MWIA) toolkit has been developed, and was piloted in this study. MWIA uses a sequence of procedures designed to systematically assess the effect of projects, programmes and policies upon people's mental well-being and health.

The MWIA toolkit was used to explore the potential positive and negative impacts on mental well-being of a sample of projects and policies from the European Capital of Culture programme. This was achieved by asking stakeholders to answer a series of questions, holding participative workshops, constructing a community profile and reviewing the research literature. Recommendations were developed which aim to enhance the impact of the programme on people's mental well-being.

As expected, both positive and negative impacts of the European Capital of Culture programme on mental well-being were identified. Fourteen themes were identified as emerging from the workshops, screening and reviewing the research evidence. Based on these data, 33 recommendations were developed by the project steering group and have been presented to the Liverpool Culture Company.

The process of conducting the assessment, particularly its participatory nature and its awareness-raising role, had impacts upon mental well-being. The findings demonstrate the potential for the Culture Company programme to have a profound impact upon mental well-being, and highlight areas which could be addressed to optimize the impact of the programme.