Manifesto

Mission

To create a shared, intelligent data infrastructure that makes the cultural and creative life of the UK visible, valued, and understood - nationally, regionally, and locally.

A National Cultural Data Observatory will bring together cultural, social, and economic data to help everyone - from policymakers and funders to artists, communities and researchers - make better, evidence-based decisions about culture’s role in our society and economy.

 

Beliefs

We believe that:

• Culture and creativity underpin the UK’s identity and economy. The cultural and creative sectors enrich our communities, improve wellbeing, and drive growth.
• Evidence is essential. Strong, accessible data is the foundation of good policy and investment but the current evidence landscape is fragmented, inconsistent and incomplete.
• A Cultural Data Observatory is needed. To make cultural data coherent, connected and usable – bringing together datasets and insight to strengthen the sector’s and communities’ voice and decision-making.
• Collaboration is key. The cultural ecosystem is complex and interconnected; understanding it requires the collective intelligence of organisations, funders, local authorities, and researchers working together.

 

Proposal

A National Cultural Data Observatory will:

• Combine and aggregate datasets to build a fine-grained, evolving picture of the UK’s cultural ecosystem.
• Enable researchers and analysts to explore questions that matter - from participation and equity to local investment and impact.
• Provide accessible insight tools and dashboards for local authorities, funders, and sector bodies to support evidence-based cultural planning.
• Offer a searchable repository of research and evidence, linking new analysis to existing knowledge.
• Enable “state-of-the-nation” reporting to identify trends in cultural engagement and people’s creative lives.

 

Values

The National Cultural Data Observatory will be:

• Integrated – bringing together diverse datasets across the cultural ecosystem to represent wide range of people and organisations.
• Useful and impactful – translating collective intelligence into insight that informs policy, funding, and practice.
• Efficient – reducing duplication and saving resources through shared data standards and infrastructure.
• Non-extractive – giving value back to contributors through open tools, benchmarks, and insights.
• Transparent – clear about data sources, methods, and interpretation.
• Ambitious and developmental – setting new standards for high-quality, up-to-date, relevant, and detailed cultural data. 

 

What Happens Next

The NCDO Blueprint, funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), has shown what’s possible, and the upcoming Bradford demonstrator, which tests how national, regional, and local datasets can be connected in practice.

The next step is to build on this foundation through new funding, partnerships, and data contributions to scale the Observatory nationally.

We invite you to join this shared effort to create the UK’s first Cultural Data Trust, a federated, collaborative infrastructure that represents and benefits the whole sector.

 

Call to Action

Join us in shaping the future of cultural evidence. By signing this manifesto, you are supporting the creation of a National Cultural Data Observatory that will strengthen the sector, support better decisions, and help culture thrive across the UK.

Sign up to:

• Express interest in becoming a future user of the NCDO
• Help develop shared data standards and frameworks
• Explore potential collaborations in delivering the NCDO
• Contribute data or expertise
• Access the NCDO demonstrator when launched, which brings this manifesto to life with real data on cultural activity in real places