Slidecast: impact of West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012 so far

Here’s a slidecast by Lauren Amery, Cultural Research Analyst at the Observatory, summarising her research to monitor and evaluate the impact of the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012.

Get the PowerPoint slides (ppt, 860kb)

The first of a series of reports, West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012: An evaluation of impact (2008–2010) (pdf, 1.54mb) published 13th April 2010, presents evidence associated with:

• The social and economic impact of the programme to date
• The extent and value of media coverage that for the programme
• The programme’s impact on the capacity of the West Midlands cultural sector
• Changes in peoples’ perception of the region and its cultural offer (having taking part in programme activities and events)

For more information about the research contact Lauren Amery (lauren.amery@wmro.org / 0121 202 3249).

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Despite a positive performance in the last quarter of 2009, the Cultural Observatory’s latest recession snapshot (pdf, 311kb) suggests the West Midlands’ cultural sector is facing a period of ‘funding uncertainty’.

Evidence highlighted in the paper suggests that while many local cultural organisations remain optimistic about the short-term stability of core funding sources, perception of funding security is low compared to confidence levels pre-recession.

In the Cultural Observatory’s own economic survey with local cultural organisations, 72% of respondents stated that they were ‘less optimistic’ about the stability of core funding sources compared to 2007.

Against a backdrop of funding concerns, the research shows that the cultural sector continued to see increases in numbers of customers through the door in the last three months of 2009, building on the unusually high increase in footfall seen over the summer.

Cultural sector recession survey – can you help?

The West Midlands cultural sector recession survey for the October–December 2009 quarter is now live.

If you work in the region’s cultural sector we’d appreciate your help in getting the word out.

Consumers choose to spend their cash on cultural attractions when the going gets tough according to West Midlands Cultural Observatory

They said it would happen and according to research published this week by the West Midlands Cultural Observatory it is happening: the recession has caused consumers to be more selective about what cultural products and services they spend their cash on.

Evidence cited in the latest recession paper suggests that over the Spring and Summer months, people have been saving money on accommodation, but continuing to spend on visits to cultural attractions such as museums, historic houses and visitor attractions when visiting in the region.