This research area will focus on the social impact of cultural activities to address the cultural sector’s contribution towards community development, accessibility and inclusion, well-being and quality of life which also underlie national cultural policy.

Although such studies have been conducted in other geographical contexts for policy making, there has been a dearth of such in-depth focus on this area of cultural participation in Malta. This will involve coordinating research with entities and individuals with expertise in socio-economic policy that could lead to a more longterm collaboration across fields. Part of this process will also entail evaluating the performance and effectiveness of related funding programmes. We also want to examine possible barriers to cultural access and recommend ways of overcoming them.