The cultural value of the Adelaide Festival of Arts is to be measured by Flinders University researchers.

They plan to survey thousands of people will to work out the now-annual festival's contribution to the social fabric of the community.

Head researcher Dr Steve Brown said it was the first study of its type and had been commissioned by the university's tourism unit.

"For a long time now we've had economic data about the impact of festivals and events in South Australia and what we're trying to get is the full picture of the worth of festivals," he said.

"What we're doing with the research is finding out a monetary value for the cultural value of festivals."

The economic value of festivals, including the Fringe and OzAsia, has been estimated at more than $60 million.