An Introduction to Desirable Cultural Indices

One of the most important prerequisites for cultural management and planning is the accurate understanding and evaluation of the current situation of culture, which is based on criteria or instruments called cultural indicators. But the complexity of culture and the multiplicity of its factors and elements as well as the various approaches and perspectives in this field have made the issue of cultural indicators a serious issue, because in the assessment of culture, from the very beginning we are faced with the question as to what are the indices for measuring it and what features should they have. More precisely, what is the basis for determining indicators and how and with which logic they can be designed? The basic answer to these questions requires taking into account the foundations of the authentic culture of the society, using past experiences, and the criticizing past indicators. In this paper, which is based on a more general research, after specifying the concepts and theoretical foundations of the subject as well as reviewing and criticizing the most important indices, the characteristics of the desirable indices are presented with reasoning. These features mainly include: genuine cultural values and aspirations, two-dimensionality, measurability, Inclusiveness, systematicality, relative acceptability, practicality and cost-effectiveness.