Project: European Alliance for Education and Training in Audiences Development (CONNECT)
Principal Investigator: Macarena Cuenca Amigo
Main external stakeholder: Fondazione Fitzcarraldo
Start date: 01/01/2017
End date: 31/12/2019
Interdisciplinary Platform/ Area: B-Creative
Funding scheme: Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances
CONNECT contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 4: “Quality Education” by developing a training programme aimed, on the one hand, at experienced and active professionals in the cultural sector and, on the other hand, at junior profiles at the beginning of their professional career. The project focuses on the issue of training in the development of cultural audiences and is aligned with European Commission priorities. CONNECT seeks to make it easier for young people to access the labour market, which is a European, national and regional concern.
The project has enabled to:
- on the scientific level, use various research methodologies via:
- Detailed needs analysis of arts management post-graduate students: 5 countries involved; 49 students interviewed; 2 focus groups studied
- Detailed needs analysis of practitioners in the cultural sector: 5 countries involved; 628 completed questionnaires; 24 questions
- Survey of programmes for the development of entrepreneurial skills: 5 countries involved; 138 courses analysed; 2 Audience Development indicators analysed
- implement a dual training programme (Twin-Track Programme) in 5 European countries (Spain, Italy, Poland, Denmark and the United Kingdom).
- Participation of 63 junior profile students, 60 senior profile professionals and 41 external mentors
- The training programmes were designed and implemented in 53 different organisations, where there has been a major impact which has transcended the actual trainees and affected other organisation members, and in some cases, the cultural audiences themselves.
- create a new postgraduate programme at the University of Deusto: “Expert in Audience Strategy”. This is the only university programme in Spain that specialises in developing cultural audiences and audience training.
- develop students' entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation skills
- disseminate the results by participating in several outreach events:
- Seminar in Madrid on museum audiences (May 2018)
- Event for local professionals in Rome (June 2018)
- Warsaw Forum featuring leading international experts (September 2018)
- publish a book in the Deusto Leisure Studies collection: “Audience Development in Spain. Reflections based on theory and practice”
- publish scientific papers in specialised journals
- publish a Social Impact Briefing “Becoming an audience-centred organisation. Guidelines for developing an audience approach at cultural organisations”.