Jensen, E. A. & Jensen, A. M. (2018). Stakeholder Focus Research: Quantitative findings. Arts Council England.
As a public body, the Arts Council England aims to maintain effective relationships with both individuals and organisations in the arts and culture sector across England. Since 2009, the Arts Council has engaged sector stakeholders through their Stakeholder Focus Research, to understand and respond to perceptions of its performance and effectiveness in its various roles.
To continue this ongoing series of research, the Arts Council commissioned Qualia Analytics in 2017 to conduct two strands of the Stakeholder Focus Research with the arts and cultural sector throughout England. The first strand was conducted between October and November 2017 using in-depth interviews to engage 27 key opinion leaders with the context and reasons behind their views. The second strand was carried out between January and February 2018 using a large-scale survey to gain a broad perspective from 982 stakeholders. These strands help establish a contextualised understanding of stakeholders’ perspectives and experiences with the Arts Council.
This report comprises findings from “Strand Two” of the 2017-2018 Stakeholder Focus Research. This research uses quantitative results from a large-scale survey to assess aggregate responses and patterns. Topics in this research include the ways in which stakeholders from arts and cultural organisations throughout England view the Arts Council, how the Arts Council addresses its stakeholders’ needs and whether it is meeting stakeholder expectations.
The Arts Council England operates in a challenging policy and practice context. Staying engaged and responding to feedback from different stakeholders helps the Arts Council stay attentive to the shifting arts and culture landscape. As part of its strategic research programme, the Arts Council has commissioned Stakeholder Focus Research since 2009. Findings from previous Stakeholder Focus Research, conducted in 2015, pointed towards opportunities for the Arts Council to improve its engagement and responsiveness to the arts and culture sector. The Arts Council has commissioned this research to understand how views of its performance have progressed. This research provides the Arts Council with a foundation for learning and growth as an organisation.
This report comprises the quantitative part of the 2017-18 Stakeholder Focus Research. This shows results from a large-scale online survey of stakeholders within the arts and cultural sector in England. This report is designed to reveal response patterns evident in the survey data.
