Cultural citizenship through museums’ place-based public programmes: an evidence-based framework for cultural policy and organisations

In line with the renewed interest in cultural citizenship (CC) and increasing appetite for participatory governance, institutional accountability and a citizen-led culture, this policy brief offers a guide for funders and cultural leaders who want to support cultural organisations in navigating their role in the current political climate and their political responsibility as democratic spaces. Based on theoretical and empirical research, the brief focuses on CC as a framework for cultural policy and management to advance our understanding of the civic role of museums, particularly through their place-based public programmes (PBPP), and the conditions that help them thrive as sites of CC. Following a review of how CC has been operationalised in policy, the brief provides insights and recommendations on how CC operates on the ground through PBPP, in order to address the disconnect between high-level (national and supranational) policies and their implementation at the hyperlocal level.