REDS-SDSN Spain and the Ministry of Culture present on 6 October a report co-authored with Pau Rausell Köster (Universitat de València), Alfons Martinell Sempere and Carolina Quintero Zamora, which proposes a system of 10 dimensions and indicators to measure the contribution of culture to sustainable development in Spain's Voluntary Progress Reports.
REDS-SDSN Spain and the Ministry of Culture present on 6 October a report co-authored with Pau Rausell Köster (Universitat de València), Alfons Martinell Sempere and Carolina Quintero Zamora, which proposes a system of 10 dimensions and indicators to measure the contribution of culture to sustainable development in Spain's Voluntary Progress Reports.
Culture continues to occupy no defined place in the measurement of sustainable development. Despite the growing international consensus on the contribution of culture to wellbeing, social cohesion, innovation and sustainability, the absence of a specific Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) dedicated to culture has limited its visibility in international evaluation and accountability mechanisms.
To respond to this need, the Spanish Network for Sustainable Development (REDS-SDSN Spain), in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Cultural Rights of the Ministry of Culture, has produced the document «Integrating the Cultural Dimension into the Sustainable Development Goals. An Approach for the Voluntary Progress Reports in Spain», published in September 2026.
The document, of which Pau Rausell Köster (Department of Applied Economics, Universitat de València) is a co-author together with Alfons Martinell Sempere and Carolina Quintero Zamora, offers a conceptual, methodological and operational framework that facilitates the incorporation of culture into the VPRs through a system of indicators aligned with the principles of sustainable development and grounded in the Theory of Change approach.
«Measurement is not an end in itself, but a condition of possibility for the political legitimation of culture within the governance frameworks of sustainable development.»
The proposed system is made up of 10 dimensions with their indicators:
- Cultural governance
- Economic dimension of culture
- Participation, access and artistic practices
- Cultural diversity
- Environmental dimension and sustainability
- Culture and social capital
- Education and culture for sustainable development
- Territorial dynamics and cohesion
- Multiplier effects in other sectors
- Cultural subsectors: a differentiated approach
The indicators are designed to be applied at the different levels of governance —national, regional and local— and capable of consistently showing the contribution of culture to areas as diverse as education, health, gender equality, territorial cohesion, innovation, climate action or citizen participation.
The document combines a review of the main international and national precedents in matters of culture and sustainable development with a methodological proposal oriented to the measurement of impacts. In its analysis, it is highlighted that Spain has one of the most developed cultural statistics systems in Europe, with a solid infrastructure that includes the Annual Review of Cultural Statistics, the CULTURABase portal and the Cultural Satellite Account, among other sources.
To present the document and consolidate a framework for strategic dialogue on the measurement of cultural impact and the effective integration of the cultural dimension in the follow-up of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, REDS-SDSN Spain and the Ministry of Culture are organising a webinar on Tuesday 6 October 2026, from 10:00 to 11:15 (peninsula time), in virtual format via Zoom. Participation requires prior registration.
At the end of the session, the digital version of the study will be made available to participants.
Pau Rausell Köster is a professor at the Department of Applied Economics of the Universitat de València and director of the Econcult research group —Economics of Culture and Tourism (GIUV2016-297). The group has taken part in various European projects and in the elaboration of instruments for measuring culture and sustainable development.
