PCH Survey of Cultural Information Systems

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PCH Survey of Cultural Information Systems
Summary Report

• Prepared for the Canadian Cultural Observatory of
  the Department of Canadian Heritage - March 2006

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(No Transcript)
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Table of Contents
Introduction 4 Background 5 Study Objectives
6 Methodology 7 Top-Line Results 9 General
Profile of Cultural Information
Systems 10 Purpose and Scope of Cultural
Information Systems 18 Funding and Marketing
Structure 26 Editorial Strategy and Technical
Structure 36
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Introduction
5
Background

• The International Relations Branch and the
  Canadian Cultural Observatory of the Department
  of Canadian Heritage will be hosting a two-day
  Cultural Information Systems Workshop. This event
  will be organized in consultation with the
  OEST/OAS, Mexico, Chile, the Convenio Andres
  Bello, and the Caribbean Community and Common
  Market (CARICOM). This workshop is also organized
  with the agreement of the Government through the
  Permanent Secretary responsible for Community
  Development, Culture and Gender Affairs of
  Trinidad and Tobago.
• The workshop will take place on March 20 and 21,
  2006, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. In
  order to gather information related to the design
  of the workshop, PCH commissioned Decima Research
  to conduct an online survey. The objective of the
  survey is to identify areas that are of interest
  to the participants. These areas will function as
  a reference point to frame group conversations
  and exchanges amongst participants at the
  workshop. Analysis of the results will help
  compare situations, look at similar challenges,
  and share best practices.

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Study Objectives

• The research was designed to collect information
  in areas such as
• Organization firmographics such as number of
  full-time employees, contact information, how are
  they constituted, relationship with their
  government, etc.
• Purpose of the organization in terms of mission
  statement, objectives and strategic operational
  steps considered to reach these objectives
• Nature of the services offered
• Sources of funding and revenue
• Target audience
• Marketing and communications practices and
  priorities
• Performance indicators
• Editorial strategy who prepares the content and
  who contributes and who has ultimate control on
  information presented
• Technical structure of the organization.

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Methodology

• Survey design
• Decima provided questionnaire design consultation
  based on a previous study of a similar nature.
  The Canadian Cultural Observatory team
  recommended appropriate changes and additions to
  the survey questions.
• Decima also designed an invitation text that
  outlined for the participants the purpose of the
  research, and how the information would be used.
  This letter also recommended to participants to
  involve as much staff as possible in the survey
  to ensure the highest degree of information
  accuracy possible.
• Sampling
• The Canadian Cultural Observatory provided Decima
  with contact information of 11 States
  participating in the workshop. Ten of these
  participants were invited via email, and one via
  telephone.
• Data collection
• The questions were fielded using an online data
  collection methodology (CAWI Computer Assisted
  Web Interviewing).
• The email invitation was sent by Decima on March
  2nd, 2006, and potential respondents were
  contacted via telephone to be reminded of the
  survey deadline.

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Methodology

• Data collection (contd).
• Data was collected from March 2nd to March 14th,
  2006. A total of 9 cultural organisations
  accessed and completed the survey during this
  period of time. These were considered the final
  sample for analysis and reporting purposes,
  resulting in an overall response rate of 81.
  All surveys returned were completed in English.
• Verbatim reporting
• A number of free field, or open-ended questions
  were included in the survey. In addition, Decima
  has provided the client the raw, verbatim
  comments provided by the respondents for their
  own use.

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Top-Line Results
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General Profile of Cultural Information Systems
11
General Information

• Results over the next six slides provide
  detailed profiling information on the CIS who
  participated in the study. These results can
  best be summarized as follows
• The majority of CIS are either governmental or
  not-for-profit. Most of them indicate their
  organisation has a direct relationship with the
  government.
• A vast majority say their CIS is engaged in
  commercial partnerships, mainly in the form of
  sponsoring deals.
• On average, 9 full-time employees and 1 part-time
  employee work for the CIS.
• Half of the survey participants have an
  operational CIS. All of those who are not
  operating indicate they have encountered
  challenges that have delayed their CIS launch.

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Geographic Distribution of CIS
Please provide the mailing address for the
organisation that manages your CIS - Country
P Antigua and Barbuda
P Barbados
P Belize
P Grenada
P Guyana
P Saint Kitts and Nevis
P Saint Lucia
P Saint Vincent and Grenadines
P Trinidad and Tobago
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Operational Stage of CIS
At what phase is your CIS now?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n8)
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Challenges to Launch CIS
Are there any specific challenges or obstacles
that have stopped or delayed the launch of your
CIS?
Base Respondents whose CIS is not operational
yet (n5) / Valid responses (n5)
15
CIS Status and Government Relationship
What is the governance of your CIS?
Does your organisation have a direct relationship
to the government?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Commercial Partnerships
Is your organization engaged in partnerships with
commercial partners? These could involve the
selling of products and/or services to commercial
organisations, exchange of deals, sponsorship of
deals, etc.
What kind of partnerships are these?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
Base CIS with commercial partners (n7) / Valid
multiple responses (n13)
17
Full-Time and Part Time Staff Profile
How many full time employees work for the CIS you
represent?
How many part time employees work for the CIS you
represent?
Average 9
Median 5
Mode 1
Average 1
Median 1
Mode 1
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n6)
Base All respondents (n8) / Valid responses
(n3)
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Purpose and Scope of Cultural Information Systems
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Overview of Purpose and Scope of CIS

• Results over the next six slides provide insight
  into the operational stage of participating CIS,
  their geographic coverage, and the type of
  services and information they provide
• Over half of the CIS are national cultural
  portals. A few say they are specialized thematic
  CIS.
• Six of the nine CIS have been operating for 2
  years or less.
• The geographical coverage is mostly national in
  scope.
• English is by far the dominant language of
  communication among participating CIS. A couple
  of CIS are available in French and/or Spanish.
• Cultural sectors are mainly heritage, folk
  culture, theatre and dance.
• The most common types of information offered via
  the CIS include educational resources, cultural
  calendars for important or local events, and
  contact information of individual artists,
  performers, or producers.
• The most common services offered include an
  events calendar, listing guides, and personal
  profiles or staff contributions.

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Type and Operational Stage of CIS
How would you best describe your CIS?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Age of CIS
When did you launch your CIS online?
Base Respondents with portals at an operational
stage (n9) / Valid responses (n9)
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Geographical Coverage
What is the geographical coverage of the various
audiences your CIS targets?
In what languages is your CIS available?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid multiple
responses (n21)
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid multiple
responses (n9)
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Cultural Sectors Coverage
What cultural sectors does your CIS cover?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Types of Information Provided
What type of information does your CIS offer?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Types of Services Offered
What type of services does your CIS offer?
Other Registration for educational tours,
volunteering or becoming a member.
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid multiple
responses (n30)
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Fundingand Marketing Structure
27
Overview of Funding and Marketing Structure

• Results over the next seven slides provide
  details on funding and marketing structure and
  activities
• Only one respondent was able to provide an
  approximate annual turnover of the CIS in 2005
  (US345), specifying that 100 of it was from
  other types of income (life membership).
• Similarly, only one respondent was able to
  provide the overall staff time dedicated to
  marketing (50), while none of the survey
  participants provided a percentage of their
  annual budget in 2005 allocated to marketing.
• The most common types of target audiences include
  cultural experts, and local amateur culture
  enthusiasts.
• One-third of respondents say they never conduct
  market research with their site users, and the
  remaining two-thirds were not able to respond to
  this question.
• Only one respondent promotes his/her CIS online.
  Partnering with other cultural sites seems very
  common for this CIS, which is more likely to
  undertake a variety of activities (online
  banners, logo postings, shared links, etc.) with
  other cultural sites rather than with
  non-cultural sites.

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Overview of Funding and Marketing Structure

• (Contd.)
• The most common methods used for reaching their
  target audience offline include cultural events,
  print media, or TV or radio.
• Cultural events are largely paid through an
  exchange use of newspapers, magazines, print
  flyers and posters, TV and radio is typically
  paid with a combination of money and exchange.
• The majority of respondents did not provide an
  evaluation of their marketing results against
  their expectations. Among those who rated their
  marketing results vs. the expected results (3
  respondents) 2 indicated their expectations were
  not met because of the lack of planning and human
  resources to execute them.
• None of the survey participants indicated if they
  use website metrics. However, some other
  performance indicators are used, such as the
  number of partnerships with cultural or
  commercial partners, membership, public
  awareness, and a membership/budget ratio.

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Target Audiences
Indicate how each type of target audience relates
to your CIS
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Market Research
How frequently do you carry out market research
with your site users?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Online Promotion
Do you promote your CIS online?
How do you promote your CIS online?
Base Respondents indicating they promote their
portal online (n1)
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Advertising Methods
How do you reach your target audience offline?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Advertising Payment
How do you pay for advertising?
Base All respondents (n9)
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Marketing Efforts Meeting Expectations
Why did your marketing activities not meet your
expectations? What were the main shortfalls?
To what extent did your marketing efforts in 2005
meet your expectations?
Base All respondents (n9)
Base Respondents whose expectations of
marketing results were not met (n2)
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Performance Indicators Used
Does your CIS use any of the following as
additional performance indicators
Base All respondents (n9)
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Editorial Strategy and Technical Structure
37
Overview of Portal Editorial Strategy and
Technical Structure

• Results over the next five slides provide
  insight into the editorial strategy and technical
  structure of the CIS
• One-third of respondents say the production of
  the main bulk of their CIS content is central and
  another third say it is decentral or both central
  and decentral.
• External contributors can upload content to their
  CIS primarily through a database exchange.
• Over half of respondents say they do not have
  writers and only one indicates that their writers
  have journalistic training.
• About half of respondents indicate that their CIS
  is updated every other month or less frequently,
  all of them agreeing this is not sufficiently
  frequent to meet their business objectives.
• One respondent provides RSS newsfeeds, and 2 say
  their portal harvests metadata from others
  through OAI, Z39.50 or web services. The majority
  of respondents were not able to provide this
  information.
• About half of respondents indicate that their
  CISs existing technical infrastructure presents
  management challenges that hinder meeting their
  business objectives.

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Editorial Strategy
Who produces the main bulk of the content is it
central or decentral?
How can external contributors upload or add
content to your CIS ?
Base Respondents indicating the main bulk of
the content is decentral or both central and
decentral (n3) / Valid responses (n4)
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Editorial Strategy
Do your writers have journalistic training?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Editorial Strategy
How often is the CIS updated?
Is the frequency at which your CIS is updated
sufficient to meet your business objectives?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Technical Structure
Does your CIS harvest metadata from others
through OAI, Z39.50 or web services?
Do you provide RSS newsfeeds?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)
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Technical Structure
Does your CISs existing technical infrastructure
present any specific management challenges or
constraints when it comes to meeting business
objectives?
Base All respondents (n9) / Valid responses
(n9)