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Cultural Agency
Agency is the capacity of an entity to act on the world, to transform or influence it.
Borrowed notably from the British anthropologist Alfred Gell, author of the book Art and Agency (1998), the agency of heritage is a promising field of investigation for cultural institutions. It involves exploring, by activating heritage, its capacity to act, structure, and transform society. In doing so, we contribute to objectifying its social utility, thus ensuring its role for future generations.
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Social Utility
Borrowed from Anglo-Saxon thought, particularly Jeremy Bentham, the concept of "social utility" is used to distinguish activities that serve the interest of society from those that primarily serve the interest of individuals (particular interest) or groups of individuals (mutual interest).
The term is regularly used in the field of social and solidarity economy across the Francophonie (including Quebec). It is used to describe a project's contribution to society as a whole or to evaluate its methods, actions, and results both qualitatively and quantitatively. The development of social ties is often mentioned among these benefits.
CSR, SROI, SI...
In addition to the aforementioned concepts, other emerging notions can provide avenues for reflection and action: the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Return on Investment, and Social Impact.
These terms are already well-present in funding dossiers and can be objectified in your context. They can help support an argument aligned with current paradigm shifts.
