Your April Research Round Up

COVID-19 Impact

COVID-19 Population Survey: Wave 4
Creative Scotland, April 2022

This survey research, commissioned by Creative Scotland and undertaken by 56 Degree Insight in February 2022, aims to better understand the Scottish population’s attitudes to attending cultural events and venues. This latest report considers emergent barriers to cultural participation, such as new COVID-19 variants, seasonal engagement and the rising cost of living that could impact comfort levels and booking patterns in the future.

As the Scottish population begins to adapt to living with COVID, this survey aims to reveal what a ‘new normal’ will look like for the arts and cultural sector.

Missing Audiences Wave 2 (Seminar recording)
Insights Alliance – Indigo, Baker Richards and One Further, March 2022

The Missing Audiences survey was created to find out more about how audiences are feeling about attending cultural events and venues, to help cultural organisations put audience needs at the heart of business planning and communications. In the second wave of this survey research, gathered by cultural organisations across the UK from 31 January - 20 February 2022, this seminar reports on attendance figures, audience comfort levels since COVID, and explores ways to attract new audiences and reengage existing ones.

The full report will be available to download soon from indigo-ltd.com and baker-richards.com.

Outdoor visitor attractions dominate ALVA’S 2021 visitor figures
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), March 2018

This summary presents the recently released visitor figures of ALVA member organisations and notes a strong demand for outdoor attractions including gardens, parks, forests or zoos. The total number of visits to ALVA sites in 2021 was 67.8million, which was a 25% increase on the previous year, but represented an annual decline of 57% on 2019 pre-pandemic figures.

Since 2020, Scotland has seen an increase in the number of visits to their attractions of 45%, while London saw the weakest year-on-year performance with visits up just 17% compared with 26% for other areas of England.

Dramatic transformation in audience optimism during January 2022
Purple Seven, February 2022

Survey research from Purple Seven and Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (MHM) released in February showed that feelings of optimism among theatre audiences improved dramatically during the first five weeks of 2022.

However, further analysis from the study over the period 29 November 2021 to 6 February 2022 reveals that almost one in five of respondents will not return until they are ‘confident there are no negative effects of re-opening’ or ‘until COVID-19 is under complete control’. Respondents who stated they had ‘already visited’ a theatre (60%) were, on average, six years younger than those waiting until COVID-19 is under complete control.

Impact of creative & cultural activity during the pandemic on loneliness, isolation & wellbeing
Arts Council England & DCMS, Imogen Blood & Associates (IBA), in partnership with Thinking Practice, 15 February 2022

This report summarises the findings of a ‘light touch’ evaluation conducted by Imogen Blood & Associates (IBA), in partnership with Thinking Practice. The evaluation explored the impact and learning from short-term funding provided during the Covid-19 pandemic to 50 existing arts and cultural projects, with the aim of reducing loneliness and isolation, and improving wellbeing.

Creative Industries

The Art of R&D
Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre, February 2022

The government has committed to increasing the amount of public money spent on research and development (R&D). Historically, R&D funding has gone towards economic sectors such as science, health and heavy industry. Meanwhile, the arts, humanities and social sciences (AHSS) have been overlooked. However, increasingly, there is strong evidence that the creative industries are a highly innovative and productive sector.

A significant barrier that is holding back innovation investment into the arts, humanities and social sciences is the way that we think about and define R&D. This research report argues that, to keep the UK’s creative industries productive, valuable and high growth, we need to update the definition of R&D so that innovation in the arts, humanities and social sciences becomes eligible for tax relief - as is the case in countries including Austria, Germany, Korea and Norway.

Re|shaping policies for creativity: addressing culture as a global public good
UNESCO, 2022

This new report calls for better labour protections for cultural workers - especially freelancers - to protect the sector from further damage. The third edition of the Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity is an essential collection of data on culture and creation. It is a unique tool for analysing these issues, both globally and locally, taking stock of the geographical, gender and digital inequalities detrimental to cultural diversity.

Equalities, Diversity & Inclusion

Digital exclusion: a review of Ofcom's research on digital exclusion among adults in the UK
Ofcom, 30 March 2022

This report provides an overview of Ofcom’s historical research on digital exclusion and of the more recent impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, both positive and negative. It shows that the number of adults in the UK unable to access the internet fell steadily in the years leading up to the pandemic, and that the pandemic has made people more reliant on internet access than ever before: the latest figures indicate that the number of households who do not have access to the internet at home currently stands at 6%.

However, confidence in navigating the online sphere and knowing how to stay safe online are prerequisites to reaping the full benefits of the internet. As the proportion of people without internet access declines, the negative impacts of remaining offline become more acute, as an increasing number of services and support networks become digital-only.

Older people - culture, community, connection
Centre for Cultural Value, March 2022

In recent years there has been growing interest in the role that cultural participation can play in older people’s wellbeing and sense of connection to other people. This interest has been noted within the cultural sector, as well as the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors (e.g. AgeUK, The Baring Foundation). We are all growing older, and so it is important to consider what the cultural landscape looks like for older people and how it can support people to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives as they age.

This research digest, produced as part of a collaborative review between the Centre for Cultural Value and Connecting Through Culture As We Age project (University of Bristol) presents a review of the literature relating to the value of cultural participation on wellbeing and feelings of social connection as we age.

All Tomorrows Stories
We Are Social, Feb 2022

Featuring the results from 1,095 British Gen Z respondents to the question, ‘What does representation mean to you?’ this report explores the current gaps in representation in the UK, offering four ways in which brands can better their approach.

Visual Art

Mapping Contemporary Visual Art and Design Education in Scotland
Engage, Creative Scotland and Queen Margaret University, March 2022

This report highlights innovative teaching and learning supported by artists and visual arts organisations, describing the challenges that schools face in teaching art and design, and suggesting ways for the visual arts and education sectors to partner to better support young people’s learning and access to careers in the creative sector.

This research identifies factors that inhibit and facilitate engagement with contemporary visual art and design in the Scottish secondary school curriculum and gives a better understanding of teachers’ confidence in engaging with and delivering contemporary visual art and design education. It also identifies where and how schools are engaging effectively with galleries, artists, designers, and visual arts organisations.

Screen

Looking Glass Report
Film + TV Charity, 16 February 2022

In summer 2021 The Film + TV Charity commissioned Brightpurpose to re-run Looking Glass ‘19, their path-breaking research project from 2019 that uncovered a “mental health crisis” in the industry, rooted in working conditions, culture, and a lack of support capability.

Evaluating changes during COVID-19, Looking Glass ‘21 establishes baseline metrics for the start of what is hoped will be the industry’s long-term change, and adds new questions in relation to the prevalence and mental health effects of racial harassment and discrimination.

Review of the BFI Diversity Standards
British Film Institute, July 2021

This month we want to highlight the review of the BFI Diversity Standards, published in July 2021, as the BFI DS Scotland pilot launches in April for two of Creative Scotland’s Screen funds.

The report outlines key insights and recommendations from the independent review of the BFI Diversity Standards. New Inclusion, a consultancy specialising in diversity and inclusion, managed this project and gathered data from a wide-ranging pool of stakeholders within the screen industries via qualitative and quantitative methods. The goal is for the BFI to take these insights forward in future revisions of the Diversity Standards.

Indie Survey 2021 [paywall]
Broadcast, 31 March 2022

Annual survey of UK independent production companies (‘indies’) by leading industry magazine Broadcast. The pandemic had a huge impact on UK producers so it’s no surprise that indie sector revenues are down substantially in the Broadcast Indie Survey 2021. Last year, indies reported a total of £3.4bn in revenues; this year, the figure is down 21% to £2.7bn.

The report includes a table with details of 120 top production companies; a series of features on top suppliers; and a series of articles showcasing most prevalent trends revealed in the survey.

Wider research

Mapping Arts & Health Provision in Scotland
Rocket Science, Creative Scotland, February 2022

There is growing interest in the connection between art and health/wellbeing. This study, commissioned by Creative Scotland, aims to understand the scale and scope of the current involvement of professional artists in the area of health and wellbeing, and to explore the role that Creative Scotland can play in supporting this activity and helping the artists who wish to develop their skills in this area.

Living our lives online – top trends from Ofcom’s latest research - Ofcom
Ofcom, March 2022

Highlights from Ofcom’s latest research into how adults and children in the UK use and understand media, with a range of findings that offer an insight into how people in the UK access and experience information from different online media sources. One major finding is that one in three internet users fail to spot misinformation they come across online, while one in twenty believe everything they see online. The research helps us understand the behaviours and attitudes of adults and young people in the UK when they are online.

Enhancing creative education
Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre, Institute for Employment Studies and Arts Council England, February 2022

Creative education, which covers a wide array of subjects, from art and design, to media, dance and music, plays a crucial role in preparing the next generation of innovative workers.

This report illustrates the value of a creative education for all children, with key finding such as:

Creative subject teachers are the most likely to provide 'live' industry experience for their pupils.
88% of young people aged 11+ report considering a creative career when they were given the opportunity to learn about the panoply of jobs existing within the UK’s creative industries.
93% of 16-18 year olds report that creative education positively impacts on their mental health and wellbeing.

Differences in creativity across Art and STEM: We are more alike than unalike
Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre, February 2022

There is a rapidly growing body of international evidence that skills such as creative problem solving and the ability to develop novel solutions, will be amongst those in greatest demands in future workforces in the US and UK. In this study, the Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre explored the nature of creativity among the arts and STEM, investigating whether art students differed from STEM students on different dimensions of creativity.

The findings suggest that while the two may create very different kinds of work with very different intentions and outcomes, the process they use to get there appears quite similar. With this in mind, policymakers wishing to prepare the workforce for the future may want to focus on creativity and not make false dichotomies between the arts and STEM.

Creative high streets
Arts Council England & The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), January 2022

This report aims to provide guidance on the clear, decisive action that can be taken by the cultural and creative sector to breathe new life into our high streets and kickstart a whole new economy for towns. It demonstrates a clear roadmap and practical guidance for any town in the South East, and speaks to all partners on how they can utilise the creative offering in their area to drive communities back onto the high streets.

The size and variation of the South East makes the region a prime case study to pave the way for the rest of the country, showing how this boost to the creative sector and high streets can be done with unmitigated success.