Problembakgrund: I en verksamhet görs lönsamhetsbedömningar i samband med investeringar där intäkter förs mot kostnader för att undersöka vilka investeringar som kan vara lönsamma. Investeringar i kultur förknippas ofta med höga investeringskostnader men kännetecknas däremot inte av höga intäkter, varpå det kan vara svårt för en kulturinvestering att bli lönsam. Kultur är värdefullt för många i samhället, men är desto svårare att värdera i monetära termer eftersom den upplevs olika av alla individer och befintliga värderingsmetoder kan användas för att värdera kulturens output på olika sätt. Kommuner investerar ofta i kulturområdet, varför det är intressant att undersöka tillvägagångssättet för rättfärdigandet av sådana investeringar, vilket denna rapport undersöker.   Syfte: Syftet med rapporten är att beskriva och analysera vilka faktorer som kan påverka beslut i kulturinvesteringar, samt att förklara hur kultur kan värderas i monetära termer.   Metod: I denna kvalitativa rapport har Varbergs kommun valts ut som fallstudie. En deduktiv ansats har använts, där utgångspunkten har legat i befintliga teorier och sedan jämförts med insamlad empiri. Teorierna är hämtade ur vetenskapliga artiklar och tryckt litteratur, den insamlade empirin har hämtats genom kvalitativa besöksintervjuer och en kvantitativ enkätundersökning.   Slutsats: Rapportens slutsats är att Varbergs kommun tar hänsyn till besöksantal, befolkningsökningar, efterfrågan och behov från invånare när beslut tas kring kulturinvesteringar. Några traditionella företagsekonomiska lönsamhetsbedömningar eller metoder för att värdera kultur används inte. Kommunen ser kultur som en självklarhet i samhället och bedömer istället vilken nytta som den tillför kommunens invånare. / Background: Profitability assessments are made in traditional businesses before investments: possible revenues are compared to costs to determine which investments can be profitable. Investing in culture is often associated with high investment costs but not with high revenues, therefore it can be difficult to get a cultural investment to become profitable. Culture is valuable for the community, but is also difficult to valuate in monetary terms since it is perceived differently and existing valuation methods can be used to value the culture output in various ways. Municipalities often invest in culture, why it is interesting to examine how they proceed in order to justify such investments, which this report covers.   Purpose: The purpose of this report is to describe and analyze the factors that can affect decisions in culture investments, and to explain how culture can be evaluated in monetary terms.   Method: In this qualitative report Varberg municipality was selected as a case study. A deductive approach has been used, with a starting point in existing theories and then compared with collected empirical data. The theories are derived from scientific articles and printed literature, the collected empirical data are gathered through qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey.   Conclusion: The report concludes that the municipality of Varberg takes into account the number of visits, population increases, the demand and needs of the residents when making decisions about cultural investments, and not traditional profitability assessments. Method of valuing culture is not used, but the municipality sees culture as an essential part of the community and instead examine the benefits it brings to local residents.

People perceive the importance of ecosystem services in different ways, depending on their values, beliefs and needs. This study provides a nuanced understanding of the multiple ways stakeholder groups perceive the benefits derived from hydrologic services in the surrounding area of the "Gialova" coastal wetland in Messenia, Greece. The social-ecological system of this region depends on a steady flow of water-related ecosystem services and livelihoods are closely linked to agriculture and tourism. At the same time, these activities, along with climate change driven weather extremes, could affect regional water quality and availability. The objective of the study is to understand the stakeholders' key viewpoints on water-based ecosystem services (WES) and provide contextual information regarding the drivers affecting the identified WES. A "value pluralism" lens is applied to capture the multiple dimensions of values expressed by the participants of the study. The study's primary method is "Q-methodology", a participatory mixed-methods approach suitable for eliciting patterns of valuation that are held in common within a group. Thirty-two stakeholders participated in the study and the analysis highlighted five key perspectives, titled "Basic needs first", "Us vs. them", "Tradition and history", "Modern environmentalists" and "Ecocentric". The results indicate different perceptions of the importance of WES, alongside a range of multiple explanations of why the WES are important. The five perspectives were compared and they reflected divergent understandings of i) the nested nature of socio-ecological systems, ii) spatial perception of ecosystem services and, iii) trade-off between relational and instrumental values. The points of consensus and disagreement among the participants along with their perceptions of drivers of change, suggest promising leverage points for sustainable and inclusive water resource management. In addition, this empirical case study contributes methodological insights to the ecosystem services socio-cultural valuation body of literature.

In Scotland, as the UK and internationally, publicly funded cultural organisations face a precarious future, characterised by funding cuts and a growing need to justify investments. This practical need to understand and articulate the importance of cultural resources has underpinned an intense debate in the field of cultural studies, about the nature of cultural value and the best methodological tools to explore it. The appropriateness of relying upon cultural strategies to pursue urban development and regeneration has also been subject to extensive discussions in the field of urban studies. This study approaches these problems through mixed-methods, comparative case studies set in Edinburgh and Dundee. This research employs Contingent Valuation (CV) in combination with focus groups. It provides a contextualised understanding of the diverging notions of culture emerging in the two cities. A higher valuation for culture was registered in Edinburgh, with stronger preference for museums and performing arts. In Dundee, higher importance was placed on community-based activities. These patterns are linked to the mix of demographic and socio-economic backgrounds characterising each city. Therefore, this study highlights a need for a tailored approach to cultural valuation and cultural policy, in contrast with the tendency for these to be implemented on a one-size-fit-all basis. The study also concludes that greater consideration is needed for the intangible and non-use related elements of cultural value, reinforcing a dominant critique in the literature. In addition, it highlights potential for negative sides to the impacts of cultural activities. Examples include issues of gentrification and displacement. Their inclusion is shown to be neglected in the typologies of value predominantly associated with culture, pointing at the need for their amendment. Finally, this study shows the use of CV alongside qualitative methods to be particularly advantageous in overcoming the dichotomous approach characterising this debate. The study avoided the single monetary valuation strongly rejected within the cultural sector, while still managing to yield grounded insight that is potentially valuable for policy-makers.