Counting down III

With only a couple of weeks to go with Audiences UK, I've used the odd (and very rare) quiet moment to reflect on what has changed since I took up my post. To be blunt, many changes would fall into the negative column. At the top of the list would be funding, or more specifically revenue funding for Audience Development Agencies. But let's try and look on the bright side.

Dig deeper and there are plenty of things to be positive about. This week I'll focus on the death of the 'Target' and the rise of the 'Indicator'.   'Targetology' (is this really a proper word?) was doomed long before our current Coalition administration took control.  But make no mistake, they slayed the beast in culture and across Government swiftly when they came to power.

I have never been a fan of targets, but I have observed how much useful data and intelligence has emerged due to government (both local and national) setting daft targets.  Would the data that has fed the model Arts Council England has used to develop its art-based segmentation ever have been available without the need to invest in collection driven by Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets?   Would we have robust local area data on levels of engagement without the arts being a potential target for Local Authorities to choose in their Local Area Agreements?  In both cases, I think not.

My fear (and I know I wasn’t alone in this) was that we would move back into the data dark ages with the death of targets.  In a period of very challenging public finances, what is the point of investing in gathering data if it isn’t being used to score performance?

Early signs weren’t good: most local level data collection has gone for culture (although Sport England continue to prioritise their investment in this area).  But on a national level in England, I’m delighted to be able to say I was very wrong as the Taking Part Survey is continuing and developing, and the CASE programme made it through the cuts.

Why?  Well, it seems that government and funders do realise that even if they don’t have top down targets imposed on them, there is a lot to be said for understanding trends and examining and accounting for their performance.  And you need to invest in gathering consistent and robust data to do this.  So goodbye horrible ‘Targets’.  And hello lovely ‘Indicators’.

But this good judgement from funders and government is nothing compared to the growth in the desire from some cultural organisations to gather good comparative data to cut their costs and improve their performance.  We’ll return to that next week in Counting Down II.

David Brownlee, Chief Executive, Audiences UK