Statistics on Cultural Industries - International Trade Centre

5)Infrastructure and Policy Environmenti) legal frameworkii) institutional frameworkiii) financial frameworkiv) physical infrastructureThe increased capacity to establish baseline data and document resources and activities in thecultural industries sector, as well as the impact of these activities, will provide decision-makerswith the information needed to invest in the drivers of cultural industries sector developmentin a strategic way, while tracking the progress of investments over time. The identification ofindicators for the efficacy of the “drivers” of cultural industries sector development in a countrywill furthermore allow benchmarking for the cultural industries sector across countries and areas.Hence, the Framework for <strong>Statistics</strong> on Cultural Industries provides a basis for the development of amethodology for data collection and analysis that allows propelling and tracking of growth in thecultural industries.Unlike most studies that have been undertaken so far, the Framework for <strong>Statistics</strong> on CulturalIndustries aims to illuminate the dynamic contribution of the cultural industries to the economy (interms of GDP, employment and trade exports) as well as the social impact of the cultural industries(reflected in the notions of cultural consumption, participation and the diversity of culturalcontent and artistic expression). Information about changes in participation in culture and culturalindustries, as well as on changes in the consumption of cultural goods and services, is important indetermining industry trends and in assessing the social impact or effect of the development of thesector. This kind of information is important for all categories of the cultural industries, especiallyin regard to policies promoting cultural participation as a basis for fostering social cohesion andcommunity development.There are several ways to collect data on the social impact of cultural industries development,including time use surveys as perhaps the most sophisticated methodology. Surveys such asthe World Values Surveys (www.worldvaluessurvey.org) provide a way to gauge non-monetarydimensions of the society’s interest in developing cultural industries as a strategy for moresustainable growth. For the purpose of tracking the development of the cultural industries sectorand its effects on economic growth, employment and participation in culture (through communityactivities, spending on leisure activities, and spending on cultural goods and services) on a regularbasis, these kinds of surveys may be both too complex and resource demanding to be feasible.Instead, the national data projects implemented as part of the Jodhpur Initiatives programme willinclude additional questions to ordinary household surveys as a more affordable and effectivemethodology (Modules 3 and 4 of Component B).While it is possible to identify indicators for all human activity, measuring social impact is not only amatter of what to measure but also a question of how to interpret data. The formulation of nationalprojects must respond to the need to elaborate standard analysis and reporting formats that willfacilitate policy makers’ use of the data. The development of standard reporting formats will alsocontribute to the incorporation of internationally acceptable quality standards.The data framework includes an analysis of the national environment’s conduciveness to thedevelopment of the cultural industries sector. Taking the statistical findings of Components A and17