In the coming months, IFACCA is profiling the key aspects of its new five year strategic plan: networking, knowledge and analysis, capacity building and advocacy. In this second edition, we highlight the creation of the ‘Knowledge and Analysis’ function enabling IFACCA to provide tangible and unique benefits to its members by creating and sharing resources that may otherwise be difficult for them to produce independently.
IFACCA offers a trusted platform for knowledge exchange and information analysis. It provides a gateway to the latest knowledge, research, good practice models and international forums on arts policy. Its internationally informed services include tools to strengthen the capacity of arts councils and ministries of culture to meet the challenges and opportunities of a world in constant flux.
IFACCA’s diverse data and research projects include D’Art reports, discussion papers, co-commissioned studies, the ACORNS news bulletin, and WorldCP profiles. Such projects are undertaken with a commitment to ‘keeping a finger on the pulse’ of members’ interests, and are all characterised by a rigorous focus on current issues affecting the arts and culture internationally.
In recent years, IFACCA’s research has covered a range of themes such as design policies, artist residencies, government awards, Indigenous arts support, and creative intersections. Meanwhile, member requests for analysis of new topics – such as governance models, art form policy and youth policy – continue apace. In future, IFACCA will build on its achievements, such as its international database of cultural policies; its research partnerships with key players; and its researchers’ meetings, which have become an important space for collective exchange on trends and needs.
IFACCA will continue to uncover sources of information and broker the joint commissioning of internationally relevant resources, research and analysis in collaboration with new and existing partners. By consolidating the collective knowledge and expertise of arts councils and ministries of culture, IFACCA will help facilitate the processes by which knowledge is investigated, documented, shared, applied, analysed, reflected on and recreated – by, with and for its various stakeholders – thereby building a global hub.
Some of our recent D’Art reports have dealt with issues as diverse as research (D’Art 26B Policy Research by IFACCA Members), environment (D’Art 34b Arts and ecological sustainability) or cultural networks (D’Art Report that will be published in November 2015).
IFACCA coordinates WorldCP (www.worldcp.org), the International Database on Cultural policies. IFACCA was nominated by the founders of the highly regarded Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe (www.culturalpolicies.net), the Council of Europe and the ERICarts Institute, to develop an international version of the Compendium as a tool for policymakers, researchers, advocates and the global community. WorldCP aims to be a central, web-based and continuously updated database of country-specific profiles of cultural policies. With the support and cooperation of key regional organisations such as Asia-Europe Foundation in Asia and European Cultural Foundation that offers funding for Arab profiles, the data stored in the central database will also be able to be presented online in regional versions (like the existing European site). The database will also provide the capacity to monitor and analyse global trends in key aspects of cultural policies. IFACCA also manages Cultural Policy Quick Facts, an international overview of the existence of cultural policies, plans and guidelines that is regularly updates.
In 2015, IFACCA has been developing a Members Only-research on the models and methodologies of governance, programming, funding management and other features of the daily operations of Arts Councils and Ministries of Culture. The research is developed in three phases (Governance, Operations and Financial matters) that are then collected into one report and delivered to the members. The early findings of this research show for example that music and literature are the most common art forms supported by IFACCA members. It also shows regional differences in the influence of the government in the management of cultural policies.
Did you know that IFACCA has a large database of resources and news articles on many different topics that you can access through the IFACCA webpage?
For more information and access to our resources on D’art reports and other comissions, please search through our topics and themes pages on our website.