Delivered by Ingenta to: Guest User IP : 118.92.195.130 On: Mon, 12 May 2014 10:47:52 Copyright The Policy Press 223 Evidence & Policy • vol 10 • no 2 • 223-41 • © Policy Press 2014 • #EVPOL Print ISSN 1744 2648 • Online ISSN 1744 2656 • http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/174426514X13990350339209 Uses of evidence in local cultural policy: performance, legitimation, problem representation, and learning in two Australian municipalities Emma Blomkamp, University of Auckland, New Zealand emmablomkamp@gmail.com Taking an interpretive approach to evidence-based policy, this article illustrates the rhetorical and situated uses of evidence in two case studies of local cultural policy. Broadly defined as policy- relevant knowledge, evidence is selectively used by council officers in the development, delivery, and evaluation of arts programmes at two Australian municipalities. This article identifies four main uses of evidence in this context: rituals of accountability, advocacy, programme design, and improving practice. A narrow definition of evidence as scientific data or research would fail to account for the broad range of knowledge that informs the practice of local cultural policy. key words cultural policy • local government • policy practice • policy-relevant knowledge Introduction Cultural policy has long been a site of contested meaning and power struggles. It is now emerging as an interesting arena for the interpretation and application of indicators and other forms of evidence. Challenged by ‘the audit society’ (Power, 1997), austerity measures (Knell and Taylor, 2011), and the authority of numbers (Espeland, 1997; Miller, 2001; Porter, 1996), arts and cultural departments are facing increased pressure to justify their expenditure and very existence (Belfiore, 2004). At the local level in Australia, this is exacerbated by state-imposed restructures and public management reforms, which have caused broad changes to organisational structure and culture over recent decades (Aulich, 2005). Recent requirements to develop strategic plans with measurable outcomes oblige local government officers to engage in evidence-based policy and planning.Yet little is known about how, if at all, these planning frameworks and measurement regimes influence the design and delivery of policy and programmes by local governments. This article explores the rhetorical and situated uses of evidence in local cultural policy through an interpretive analysis of case studies from two Australian city councils. Seeing policy as the arrangement of political organisations, discourses, and practices research SPECIAL ISSUE • Evidence and meaning in policy making