Opportunity: Invitation to tender for the West Midlands Cultural Sector Research Project 2.0
Culture Central and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) on behalf of their regional stakeholders and partners are seeking proposals for a research project to understand audience’s cultural and creative participation in the West Midlands geographic region*.
As part of our Arts Council England IPSO work, we are looking for innovative proposals that build on the first phase of the West Midlands Cultural Sector research project, including broad definitions of participation alongside socio-demographic information and insights that will be of value to cultural organisations, local authorities, funders and wider stakeholders connected to the cultural sector in the West Midlands.
Deadline: 10am, Wednesday 11th September
Timeline: All work and dissemination must be completed by 31st March 2025
Fee: A maximum fee of £75,000 (excluding VAT) to include all expenses and costs is available for this work
Please follow the link below for the full brief and information on how to apply:
Please email any clarification questions to info@culturecentral.co.uk by 3rd September.
*The West Midlands region includes the local authorities of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton and Worcestershire
Clarification Responses:
Will the ‘Infrastructure and Economic, and Social Impact Strand’ from phase one be updated in phase 2? Is there any expectation that any data from this would be incorporated into this strand of the project?
The ‘Infrastructure and Economic, and Social Impact Strand’ (LINK) from the first West Midlands Cultural Sector Research Project will not be updated as part of the second phase of the research project, although there are plans to revisit this part of the research project at a later date.
There are no expectations that the data from this phase should be incorporated into the audience research, however we are interested in what novel approaches can be taken with existing data that relates to both the cultural sector and the demographics of the region.
Who are the primary audiences for and/or users of this data - can you give example use cases?
The research project should provide insights that will be of value to cultural organisations, local authorities, funders, and wider stakeholders connected to the cultural sector in the West Midlands. We anticipate that the findings from this second phase of the research project will drive decision making on investment and activity in the West Midlands. Example use cases include:
Local Authorities: To inform decision making about cultural investment either in activities or infrastructure. Primarily for use by those working in ‘culture’, but may also extend to other areas such as public health, planning, economy etc.
Freelancers/Artists: To support the development of activity, understand more about demographics in a particular place and for inclusion or use in funding or commissioning bids.
Arts Organisations: To better understand audiences, demographics and forms of existing cultural engagement; this may support audience development activity, shape programming and artistic outputs and support fundraising activity.