New development: The elephant in the room—Cultural participation for well-being

Cultural participation is an acknowledged yet under-used driver for promoting well-being. To fully exploit the current public funding earmarked for cultural participation, the authors encourage the design of a properly defined evaluation cycle for cultural strategies at a national and regional level. To support practitioners in the definition of tailored metrics, this article discusses and compares the existing frameworks in the literature, and stresses the importance of relying on consolidated data sources to support policy assessment. Valuing the effect of public policies in well-being terms, considering its multi-dimensional nature, could facilitate the accountability of broader aspects such as social engagement and inclusion.