Making Data Work
In 2024/2025, the Centre for Cultural Value led a national research project to develop a blueprint for a UK cultural data observatory.
The project, Towards a blueprint for a National Cultural Data Observatory, was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, and saw the Centre working alongside sector specialist partners The Audience Agency and MyCake and policy partner Culture Commons.
Photo: Family Flourish Day, Mafwa Theatre (Credit: Tom Arber)
Better data, better policy
The arts, cultural and heritage sectors make significant contributions to people’s lives, society and the economy – so why do we struggle to convey their value?
At the heart of this issue lies a crisis with data. Cultural sector datasets have been poorly aligned and not always fit for purpose. This fragmented data makes it difficult for the sector to demonstrate its impact.
In 2021, the Centre led a 15-month scoping study to identify ways the sector might better collect and harness its data. We looked at how to combine quantitative and qualitative data to create a multidimensional understanding of impact. This project culminated in a call to pilot a national cultural data observatory (NCDO).
With project funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), we worked with The Audience Agency, MyCake and Culture Commons on the next steps of developing a blueprint for a UK-wide observatory.
From July 2024 to June 2025, we together investigated the practicalities of establishing an observatory that can offer a convening space for collaboration and discussion, gather and analyse smarter data and provide a trusted evidence base for the arts, cultural and heritage sectors. The resulting insight gathered provides a foundation for better underpinning cultural policy for the public good.
Read more about the motivations behind the project in this blog post.
A report detailing the findings from this first phase of the NCDO project will be published in Spring 2026. Join our mailing list for future updates.
Blueprint for the future of cultural data
As part of this phase of the research, we worked with project partners to design and build a prototype data observatory for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, illustrating the benefits of carrying out data analysis at hyperlocal, ward, city and regional levels.
With the expert support of the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics (LIDA), we explored how different datasets could be opened up and linked together in ethical and functional ways. This included datasets held by Public Health England, Morrisons, Born in Bradford, The Audience Agency’s Audience Answers cultural engagement platform and MyCake’s non-profit sector financial data.
The project also saw us engaging with researchers, sector leaders, and policymakers, enabling us to foster a more place-based and people-centred approach to cultural data and policy development.
You can visit the NCDO website to discover more about the project to date, add your name to the NCDO manifesto and sign up for future updates and ways to be part of the next development phase (mailing list managed by The Audience Agency).
Photo: Be Curious, University of Leeds
Initial scoping study
The NCDO project builds on our previous ESRC-funded project Making Data Work: A scoping study to develop a mixed-methods evaluation framework for culture.
Running from January 2021 to March 2022, the research team consisted of researchers from arts management, cultural policy, psychology and quantitative sociology, working closely with industry experts from The Audience Agency and MyCake.
Our findings suggested the potential to build upon the cultural sector’s strengths and data resources, although we also highlighted the importance of building communities of practice around data and evaluation.
The project recommended the development of a national cultural data observatory to bring together quantitative and qualitative data, develop common standards, and act as a repository of data and research findings.
Join our journey
Please sign up to the Centre’s mailing list to stay informed of the latest project developments to transform cultural sector data.