Making Value Visible in the Cultural Sector: Linking Participatory Evaluation to Organisational Objectives

This study examines ex-ante impact assessment (IA) as a strategic governance tool in cultural heritage, challenging its reduction to retrospective accountability. Applying the SoPHIA (Social Platform for Holistic Heritage Impact Assessment) framework — developed within Horizon 2020 — to Forma Urbis Museum at Celio Archaeological Park in Rome, the research adopts a qualitative and participatory design. The institution's recent establishment and absence of formalized planning offered a context to probe whether ex-ante IA supports institutional identity construction. Through semi-structured interviews with museum officers, this study identified four institutional objectives and mapped objectives and activities onto priority domains — Education and Creativity, Social Capital, Identity of Place, and Quality of Life — fostering a shared understanding. Findings reconceptualize IA as a reflexive governance device embedded in planning, contributing to debates on public value and sustainability.