Quantification in global governance of cultural heritage: unpacking its meaning and methods

Project objective

This project investigates how legal regulations based on parametric indicators shape the contemporary understanding, social significance, and functions of cultural heritage. Its goal is to shift the research focus from the analysis of quantification tools themselves to an assessment of their impact on heritage and its stakeholders. Addressing a gap in existing scholarship, the project proposes a new conceptual and methodological framework for studying cultural heritage within an increasingly quantified legal and social environment. It also seeks to identify the legal and social consequences of using indicators and to develop improved methods and tools for quantification, enhancing human rights attached to cultural heritage.

---

Research

This project investigates the role of statistics and indicators in cultural heritage regulation and their influence on social perceptions of the past. Over the last decades, international, regional, and national institutions have progressively developed quantification tools, primarily designed to measure artistic and creative activity using economic and behavioural data. However, such indicators rarely encompass heritage protection and conservation programmes, focusing instead on the registration and inventorying of heritage objects. These data serve not only to document the value of heritage but also to support public policy, guide resource allocation, and advance broader objectives such as sustainable development, human rights, and social inclusion. The project moves beyond traditional legal and economic analyses to explore not only existing measurement methods but also their wider social, legal, and cultural implications. It seeks to reveal how indicator-based regulations shape the meaning of heritage and co-construct narratives about the past. The research critically assesses current quantification tools and evaluate their impact on public policy, conservation practices, and community participation. The findings will inform recommendations for improving measurement methods to better support heritage protection, cultural access, and the realization of human rights, as well as to provide a basis for new regulatory approaches in cultural heritage law.

---

Significance for Lawmaking and Application

The project introduces an innovative, two-pronged approach to the study of cultural heritage in the context of indicator-based law. First, it offers a new analytical framework for understanding how legal regulations and quantification tools influence the perception of heritage, its local and global significance, and its conservation and management practices. In doing so, it addresses a key research gap concerning the relationship between indicator-driven legislation and the lived experience of heritage, contributing to the development of heritage science. Second, the project applies a participatory paradigm to examine how stakeholder engagement in legal and decision-making processes shapes the understanding and use of heritage and strengthens rights of access to cultural assets. By integrating the “culture of indicators” with the paradigm of participation, the project opens new avenues for research in international law and interdisciplinary heritage studies, providing valuable insights for scholars, policymakers, and civil society.