The Arts Council's ongoing Stakeholder focus research has been running since 2009. We published our 2011 stakeholder research report in April 2012, it can be downloaded here or using the link on the right, as can the official statistics release from the second and third waves of research conducted in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
We take the findings from the research very seriously and our Chief Executive, Alan Davey writes a response to the findings explaining how he intends to take them forward. You can download the response to the 2011 findings in the same place.
The next wave of the research is currently being undertaken for 2012. We published the 2012 headline findings as official statistics on Tuesday 6 November and a full report, along with Alan's response will be published in January 2013.
About the research
The 2012 fieldwork has been completed and we can now report on the headline findings. A full report, exploring the findings in more depth will be published in January 2013.
The fieldwork for the 2012 research took place 20 September and 24 October 2012 and was run by an independent research agency, DHA Communications in conjunction with ICM Research, building on the 2011 wave of the research which they also undertook for us. These two waves of research build on a first phase undertaken in 2009 by Ipsos Mori.
The headline findings from the 2011 research were published as official statistics in September 2011 and can be found below.
Download the headline results
Download the pre-release list
Headline findings from the 2011 research
The findings from the 2011 research highlight areas where we are performing well:
Good working relationships - individuals are key
Most of our stakeholders feel that their working relationship with us is good and that the Arts Council is a supportive organisation and a source of expert knowledge. 77 per cent of respondents say they have a good or fairly good working relationship with us, and 71 per cent regard us favourably overall.
Some opinion formers felt that recent changes have improved our effectiveness in achieving our mission: 'They've been through some very tough times and they've made some very sensible decisions and they've worked collaboratively with us.'
Concern about reduced investment and increased responsibilities
The research also suggests areas for us to improve, for example, stakeholders would like us to ensure that there is clearer personal contact, with clearer advice and continued funding. Stakeholders also voiced concerns about our capacity to maintain relationships and build new partnerships with the forthcoming reductions in administration costs: 'My concerns are for the Arts Council, rather than concerns with them'
The Arts Council is bureaucratic... but perhaps that is okay?
This wave of research attempted to drill down into the exact reasons why people felt we were bureaucratic. Stakeholders felt that overall our funding processes were less complex than other funding organisations and that much of the bureaucracy that people encountered was a necessary part of our systems of accountability.
About Stakeholder focus
In 2009 the Arts Council England introduced a regular stakeholder survey to support continual organisational improvement, and help focus our delivery on what really matters to people.
Our survey asks the public, artists, arts organisations and other interested partners their opinions on what we are doing well and where we need to improve. For more information about who our stakeholders are see below.
Organisations of all sizes and from all geographical regions are represented in the research. Members of the public who are surveyed include those who do currently engage with the arts and those who don't.
Stakeholder focus helps us to strengthen our relationships with the public and other stakeholders and to encourage more artists and arts organisations to engage with wider communities, supporting our work around Achieving great art for everyone.
The fieldwork for the first wave of Stakeholder focus research took place in September 2009 and was run by independent research agency Ipsos Mori. The headline findings from the first wave were released as official statistics in November 2009.
Our stakeholders
To help us reach the full range of our current and future stakeholders we have grouped them into three types:
Arts sector and partners
These individuals and organisations either receive funding or are key partners and collaborators in delivering our mission. They include:
- organisations that receive regular funding
- Grants for the arts recipients
- central government and local authority staff who are involved in the arts and culture
- a range of national and regional agencies such as unions, trade associations, development agencies
Opinion formers
Opinion formers play an important role in shaping policy or government funding decisions about the arts. This group includes:
- 'political' audiences, such as MPs, peers, think tanks and lobby groups
- some leading and high-profile artists and arts professionals who receive either public funding or are commercial
The public
This group includes:
- consumers of the arts who either currently attend arts events or participate
- people who may not be actively engaged with the arts but have an interest as tax payers and potential beneficiaries
Using the research
Stakeholder focus research is an important tool for helping the Arts Council improve its relationships with stakeholders. Since the first wave of research was carried out in 2009, staff across the organisation have been examining the findings in detail and developing an action plan, which is summarised in Alan Davey's response. The Arts Council is committed to using the research as a basis for creating a better dialogue with stakeholders to measure any changes in opinions and to track the Arts Council's progress.
Contacts
If you have any questions about our Stakeholder focus research contact Alexandra Albert, Officer, Research and Knowledge, Arts Council England, via email or on 020 7973 5332.
