UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators, Human Agency and Territorial Innovation in Creative Societies

This article analyses UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators framework as an operational architecture for measuring culture’s transversal contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Departing from a conceptualisation of culture centred on individual agency—rather than the heritage-based approach predominant in the Agenda—it examines the framework’s four thematic dimensions (Environment & Resilience, Prosperity & Livelihoods, Knowledge & Skills, and Inclusion & Participation) through an integrated theoretical lens combining institutional economics, innovation policy, creative society theory, and a philosophical account of culture as temporal, world-making agency. Drawing on the case study methodology of Yin (2018), the article analyses the international pilot implementation in Portugal and the city of Elvas (2021–2022), with comparative references to Romania. Results show that the framework is methodologically viable in diverse territorial and governance contexts, strengthens inter-institutional coordination and cultural data systems, and generates policy-relevant evidence for integrating culture into SDG monitoring, innovation ecosystems, and territorial cohesion strategies. The article concludes with policy recommendations for post-2030 frameworks and identifies future research lines on digital cultural production, creative labour equity, and temporal measurement of cultural agency.