Asia TOPA: the impact of Asia TOPA on the Victorian Cultural Sector: collaboration and capacity building

2016-2017 the Deakin research team were commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne (ACM), on behalf of a consortium of 14 major Victorian cultural organisations, to evaluate the impact of a new festival - the inaugural Asia Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts (Asia TOPA) which was a major strategic initiative led by ACM. The program was an ambitious one requiring the development of new programming, collaboration and stakeholder engagement. The resulting report interrogates the benefits to all participants, while identifying the extent to which Asia TOPA contributed to the development of the cultural sector.