INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS AND ARTS POLICY RESEARCH1

1. This article is based on a paper presented at the Third International Conference on Cultural Policy Research, 25–28 August 2004, Montréal, Canada.

Abstract

There is a growth of networks in the cultural policy arena. Many of these networks have been formed to share information and to engage in comparative documentation and research. The International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) is one such network, established with aims of consolidating the collective knowledge of arts councils and culture agencies, adding value to that knowledge, and improving the management and sharing of information on arts and cultural policy. Networks such as IFACCA impact on the research agenda in two main ways: directly, by undertaking, commissioning or collaborating on research projects, and indirectly, by highlighting the perceived information needs of their constituents or members. IFACCA’s main research programme, D’Art, is used as a case study to evaluate the direct impacts of the network, and this forms the basis for a discussion of the influence of such networks on the global arts policy research agenda.

KEYWORDS:

• arts policy research
• cultural policy research
• international networks

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is grateful for the help of Sarah Gardner, Louise Godley and two anonymous referees in the drafting this article. The usual caveats apply. Comments and suggestions are welcomed at: [email protected].

Notes

1. This article is based on a paper presented at the Third International Conference on Cultural Policy Research, 25–28 August 2004, Montréal, Canada.

2. Although the author is employed by IFACCA, the views expressed here cannot be taken to represent those of the IFACCA secretariat, the board of IFACCA or the members of IFACCA.

3. Many of the issues are mirrored for arts policy research in the United States in Morris and Pankratz (2003).

4. Reference will be made to IFACCA’s ‘network members’. These are not just fully paid IFACCA members, but the more than 1,500 people who receive the Federation’s newsletter. A recent internal analysis of this network indicates that the network includes people in national arts councils and culture agencies (44 members of IFACCA and more than 110 non‐member agencies), arts funding agencies at the state and local level, arts organisations (including performing arts, visual arts, literature and music), artists, librarians, policy makers, researchers, private foundations, business sponsors, academic institutions, consultants, students, international bodies, arts advocacy organisations, journalists, aid agencies, diplomatic personnel and individuals interested in arts support.

5. The term ‘open source’ has been used primarily to describe an online collaborative method for computer software development (used, e.g., in developing the ‘Linux’ operating system). Open source techniques, complemented by the ‘copyleft’ movement, are being increasingly applied outside of information technology, such as in the social sciences and policy research (see Goetz 2003; Lawton 2002; Schweik & Grove 2000).

6. The survey was sent via e‐mail to 599 people. A total of 90 responses were received (a 15% response rate). Respondents came from 36 countries across all continents except the Middle East, and were evenly spread between members and non‐members of IFACCA.

7. Unpublished data from World Summit evaluation. In all, 45 delegates from 23 countries completed the questionnaire (a 36% response rate). Respondents were from Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, South America and North America.

8. Most citations are recorded in the ‘forum’ for each topic on the IFACCA website (login required).

9. From an e‐mail sent to IFACCA Secretariat, 20 June 2003.