We provide the empirical baseline for arts funding. Rejecting defensive advocacy, we publish open datasets, policy comparisons, and interactive allocation models for the creative economy.
For too long, cultural advocacy has relied on emotional appeals while economic strategy demands hard numbers. The Institute bridges this gap. We track where public money goes, measure the multiplier effect of cultural venues on local high streets, and evaluate intervention outcomes using strict econometric standards. No fluff. Just the data required to build resilient policy.
An analysis of Section 114 notices and the disproportionate targeting of non-statutory cultural services in municipal budget cuts.
Read ReportTracing the secondary spend generated by independent music venues, theatres, and late-night galleries on adjacent hospitality sectors.
Read ReportA complete mapped dataset showing the per-capita discrepancy between capital city funding and regional distribution over a 10-year period.
Explore DataWe build open-source calculators and models to help policymakers scenario-plan budgets and researchers verify claims. Stop relying on outdated PDFs and use live, adjustable models.
Key indicators tracking the health, funding, and output of the cultural economy over the last decade.
Creative industries employment grew at 3x the rate of the wider UK economy between 2011 and 2019.
Over 32% of the sector operates as freelancers, highly vulnerable to economic shocks and lacking basic safety nets.
Services exported by the creative industries accounted for £41.4bn in 2021, representing 13% of all UK service exports.
Tracking the retreat of local authority spending on non-statutory cultural services and proposing alternative financing models for regional infrastructure.
Analyzing wage stagnation, the freelance penalty, and socioeconomic barriers to entry in creative professions.
Mapping the concentration of capital grants and philanthropic giving in metropoles versus peripheral regions.
Developing rigorous frameworks for assessing the non-market value of cultural participation and heritage preservation.
Our researchers publish regular analysis on breaking policy announcements, funding settlements, and structural shifts in the cultural sector.
View All Commentary →Requiring organizations to prove financial resilience while systematically cutting their core grant funding is a contradictory policy directive that accelerates venue closures.
An analysis of giving trends shows private philanthropy is highly concentrated in London and heavily skewed toward classical art forms, widening the geographic divide.
Film and high-end TV tax reliefs have driven unprecedented inward investment, but the domestic independent sector remains structurally undercapitalized.
Heritage buildings make up 40% of the UK's cultural infrastructure. Retrofitting them requires capital interventions far beyond current lottery allocations.
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Aggregated RO5 data showing local authority net current expenditure on arts, heritage, and libraries.
DownloadSurvey data of 5,000 creative freelancers cross-referenced with HMRC self-assessment medians.
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