Hong Kong’s M+ museum recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Centre Pompidou in France, cementing a multi-year partnership that will cover collection, research and talent exchanges. This follows the 12 MOUs signed by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority during this year’s International Cultural Summit – bringing its total international partnerships to 46.

With billions of dollars being poured into mega-events, arts hubs and wider cultural initiatives, we are tracking the economic and infrastructural output of these endeavours. Yet we are failing to adequately measure their more profound impact on the individuals and communities at the heart of these projects.

The tangible aspects of cultural investments benefit from rigorous, science-based targets and frameworks. Environmentally, carbon emissions can be counted; energy efficiency can be audited. Logistics, materials, built environments, waste management and net-zero targets all yield quantifiable metrics. On the governance side, ethical production processes and fair wages are widely embedded into leadership structures, alongside verification of the provenance of artwork.

But human and social outcomes are more nebulous and harder to pin down. How do you quantify community cohesion or intergenerational bonding? How do you measure the strengthening of cultural identity or enhancement of public health and well-being? Difficult to capture on a spreadsheet, these outcomes are often relegated to the realm of anecdotes or catchy quotes on glossy corporate brochures.

Social impact does not fit neatly into the tick boxes of key performance indicators. Human experiences are messy and outcomes rarely linear. While we can easily count outputs – such as the number of visitors at an event, participants in art-based training classes or funds spent on a community programme – measuring outcomes like behavioural change, increased confidence or civic pride is more difficult.

This is not, however, for a lack of evidence on the social value of cultural events. Mounting research shows the social value of arts and culture is profound and tangible.