Transforming the cultural and heritage sector’s data infrastructure [Recurs electrònic] : a pilot study to establish a National Cultural Data Observatory /
Transforming the cultural and heritage sector’s data infrastructure a pilot study to establish a National Cultural Data Observatory / [Recurs electrònic] :
authors: Ben Walmsley, Clare Danêk, Martin Zebracki, Anna Kime, Patrick Towell, Sophia Woodley, Stephen Miller, Sarah Thelwall, David Kane, Trevor MacFarlane, Susan Oman, Steven Hadley
- [Regne Unit] : NCDO, 2026
- 48 p. : digital, fitxer PDF (1,45 Mb)
Across the arts, culture and heritage (ACH) sectors, organisations face the same challenge: how to effectively communicate their full economic and social impact in ways that are compelling to policymakers when the data available is so often fragmented, incomplete, inconsistent and insufficiently granular. In 2024, the Centre for Cultural Value, alongside The Audience Agency, MyCake and Culture Commons, embarked on an R&D project to investigate developing a blueprint for a National Cultural Data Observatory, with a view to addressing these issues. Supported by funding from ESRC, the project was intended “to scope and demonstrate where a significant opportunity or gap lies in the data infrastructure landscape”. The research included consultation with almost 500 sector stakeholders, and a pilot case study working with the evaluation team at Bradford, UK City of Culture 2025, including the development of a live regional demonstrator for the Bradford district. This new report explores why the sector’s current data infrastructure is limiting evidence-based policymaking. It highlights the need for an independent, people-centred approach to managing cultural data on a national scale, alongside a shared data framework that makes it easier to connect and compare datasets. The report also sets out how a National Cultural Data Observatory could connect fragmented datasets and uncover hidden data. (Font: Editor)
Across the arts, culture and heritage (ACH) sectors, organisations face the same challenge: how to effectively communicate their full economic and social impact in ways that are compelling to policymakers when the data available is so often fragmented, incomplete, inconsistent and insufficiently granular. In 2024, the Centre for Cultural Value, alongside The Audience Agency, MyCake and Culture Commons, embarked on an R&D project to investigate developing a blueprint for a National Cultural Data Observatory, with a view to addressing these issues. Supported by funding from ESRC, the project was intended “to scope and demonstrate where a significant opportunity or gap lies in the data infrastructure landscape”. The research included consultation with almost 500 sector stakeholders, and a pilot case study working with the evaluation team at Bradford, UK City of Culture 2025, including the development of a live regional demonstrator for the Bradford district. This new report explores why the sector’s current data infrastructure is limiting evidence-based policymaking. It highlights the need for an independent, people-centred approach to managing cultural data on a national scale, alongside a shared data framework that makes it easier to connect and compare datasets. The report also sets out how a National Cultural Data Observatory could connect fragmented datasets and uncover hidden data. (Font: Editor)