Abstract Narratives are an important tool in organizational theory, but we need a better analysis of their affordances to be fit for the purposes of the arts and cultural sector. This article considers the relation between the concept of narrative as a theoretical object and its use in the practical evaluation of cultural organisations and events. It considers the historical development of narrative as a tool of persuasive speaking and looks at the tension between narrative and numerical information. It concludes by considering how a revised, principles-based approach to “credible” narrative in reporting can be applied to the cultural sector through a proposed Charter of Cultural Reporting. Thus, it advocates refining the use of narrative to communicate forms of value that would be otherwise lost to reductive quantitative indicators and cliched language. Researchers interested in questions of value in arts and culture should attend to ways that narrative can function to promote a meaningful evaluative environment that suits the needs of stakeholders and creates a voice for those with an interest in cultural outcomes.

中文翻译：

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来龙去脉是什么？艺术文化评价中的“可信”叙事

摘要叙事是组织理论中的重要工具，但我们需要对它们的承受能力进行更好的分析，以适合艺术和文化领域的需求。本文考虑了叙事概念作为理论对象与它在文化组织和事件的实际评估中的使用之间的关系。它将叙事的历史发展视为说服力的工具，并探讨了叙事与数字信息之间的张力。最后，我们考虑如何通过拟议的《文化报告宪章》将修订后的，基于原则的报告“可信”叙事方法应用于文化部门。因此，它主张改进叙事的使用来传达价值形式，否则这些价值形式将被简化的量化指标和陈腐的语言所失去。对艺术和文化的价值问题感兴趣的研究人员应注意叙事可以发挥作用的方式，以促进一个有意义的评估环境，该环境适合利益相关者的需求，并为对文化成果感兴趣的人们发声。