Periodic Reporting for period 1 - inDICEs (Measuring the impact of DIgital CulturE)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-01-01 bis 2020-12-31
inDICEs is a collaborative project involving 14 European partners, whose ultimate purpose is on the one hand to propose new frameworks that enable Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) to be competitive in an age of increasingly pervasive technological advancement, on the other hand to empower policy-makers and decision-makers in the CCI to fully understand the social and economic impact of digitisation in their sectors and address the need for innovative (re)use of cultural assets, with a specific focus on the rapid development of cultural e-participation.
To this aim, inDICEs will:
- Develop a comprehensive methodology to measure and assess the economic and social impact of digitisation of cultural heritage on the access to European cultural goods and services and their modes of production;
- Produce in-depth comparative analyses of the impact of digitisation and IPR regulations on the access to European culture and on creative cultural production;
- Formulate policy recommendations and develop novel solutions and business models to overcome bottlenecks in the creative (re)use and consumption of cultural assets;
- Establish an open observatory to track policies and trends over the long-term;
- Empower Cultural Heritage Institutions (CHIs) to make strategic self-assessment about their readiness for the Digital Single Market (DSM) and adaptation to the current legal frameworks in order to foster their digital transformation.
To this aim, inDICEs will:
- Develop a comprehensive methodology to measure and assess the economic and social impact of digitisation of cultural heritage on the access to European cultural goods and services and their modes of production;
- Produce in-depth comparative analyses of the impact of digitisation and IPR regulations on the access to European culture and on creative cultural production;
- Formulate policy recommendations and develop novel solutions and business models to overcome bottlenecks in the creative (re)use and consumption of cultural assets;
- Establish an open observatory to track policies and trends over the long-term;
- Empower Cultural Heritage Institutions (CHIs) to make strategic self-assessment about their readiness for the Digital Single Market (DSM) and adaptation to the current legal frameworks in order to foster their digital transformation.
During the first year, inDICEs researchers group investigated the basic research methods aimed at understanding the different modes of cultural production and participation in digital environments. The project aligned and integrated the already existing wealth of data collected from statistical institutes and other data gathering institutions, as well as from the scientific literature on the topic, relating to the effects of digital revolution on the production, dissemination and access to cultural and creative content. A list of best practices related to the digitisation of cultural assets in the major EU cities during COVID-19 lockdown was also collected and analysed. Through data analysis techniques, inDICEs partners started to identify the first list indicators to measure the impact of digital cultural heritage on the three regimes of knowledge production, from 1.0 to 3.0. This led to the creation of a methodological toolbox, which represents the analytical and empirical backbone of the entire project. The toolbox includes a set of indications defined on the basis of an in-depth analysis of current state of the art approaches in relation to the research questions and the type and structure of the available and acquired data.
The inDICEs Participatory Space (https://participate.indices-culture.eu/) was developed as a dynamic space where different actors and organisations can engage, collaborate, and keep up with the steady growth of, and complex changes in, the digital cultural heritage ecosystem. Several functionalities of the platform have been co-designed with the project partners, by running online co-creation workshops to generate user scenarios and to analyse and prioritise user needs based on direct input from participants. At the same time, work has continued on the development of the Visual Analytic Dashboard (https://indices.weblyzard.com/) with the aim of monitoring emerging trends on cultural productions, from mainstream cultural productions to the smallest heritage communities.
In terms of IPR and policies, inDICEs produced an in-depth comparative analyses of the impact of digitisation and IPR regulations on the access to European culture and on creative cultural production. The project provided, first, a detailed overview of the current and upcoming European IP legal framework affecting the activities of the CHIs, aimed at raising awareness of the legal constraints and opportunities that result from the IP framework as applicable at the EU level. This analysis also addresses the impact of copyright and related rights on CHIs and the new rules of the Open Data Directive that affect CHIs as well. Second, inDICEs delivered a comparative analysis of the copyright related rules in six national jurisdictions, namely in Belgium, France, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and Sweden. This analysis, which needs to be read in combination with the EU IP framework, aims at understanding where the copyright-related issues for CHIs stand at national level and what is preventing them from fully operating in the DSM. Finally, inDICEs provided a policy analysis of value chains of CHIs in the DSM. This analysis aims to foster the understanding of current business models of interaction between CHIs and creative industries and how such models can reinforce access to culture and European identity. Taking into consideration the changing perception of the role and responsibilities of CHIs, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the analysis conducted by the project discusses the issue of the value of digital cultural heritage and how it can contribute to the society and to the definition of European policies on digital heritage resources and the DSM.
A first consultation process and workshop with the cultural heritage sector on ‘IPR and value chains, future research competencies and change management’ was held on 15 -16 September 2020. Based on the results of this activity, the project has started to develop an interactive tool that will support CHIs to assess their readiness for agency in the digital realm in general and the DSM in particular, learning how to manage IPR issues, track progress of their status against a baseline and develop strategies based on innovative business models of interaction with creative industries.
The inDICEs Participatory Space (https://participate.indices-culture.eu/) was developed as a dynamic space where different actors and organisations can engage, collaborate, and keep up with the steady growth of, and complex changes in, the digital cultural heritage ecosystem. Several functionalities of the platform have been co-designed with the project partners, by running online co-creation workshops to generate user scenarios and to analyse and prioritise user needs based on direct input from participants. At the same time, work has continued on the development of the Visual Analytic Dashboard (https://indices.weblyzard.com/) with the aim of monitoring emerging trends on cultural productions, from mainstream cultural productions to the smallest heritage communities.
In terms of IPR and policies, inDICEs produced an in-depth comparative analyses of the impact of digitisation and IPR regulations on the access to European culture and on creative cultural production. The project provided, first, a detailed overview of the current and upcoming European IP legal framework affecting the activities of the CHIs, aimed at raising awareness of the legal constraints and opportunities that result from the IP framework as applicable at the EU level. This analysis also addresses the impact of copyright and related rights on CHIs and the new rules of the Open Data Directive that affect CHIs as well. Second, inDICEs delivered a comparative analysis of the copyright related rules in six national jurisdictions, namely in Belgium, France, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and Sweden. This analysis, which needs to be read in combination with the EU IP framework, aims at understanding where the copyright-related issues for CHIs stand at national level and what is preventing them from fully operating in the DSM. Finally, inDICEs provided a policy analysis of value chains of CHIs in the DSM. This analysis aims to foster the understanding of current business models of interaction between CHIs and creative industries and how such models can reinforce access to culture and European identity. Taking into consideration the changing perception of the role and responsibilities of CHIs, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the analysis conducted by the project discusses the issue of the value of digital cultural heritage and how it can contribute to the society and to the definition of European policies on digital heritage resources and the DSM.
A first consultation process and workshop with the cultural heritage sector on ‘IPR and value chains, future research competencies and change management’ was held on 15 -16 September 2020. Based on the results of this activity, the project has started to develop an interactive tool that will support CHIs to assess their readiness for agency in the digital realm in general and the DSM in particular, learning how to manage IPR issues, track progress of their status against a baseline and develop strategies based on innovative business models of interaction with creative industries.
The project aims at providing the first systematic attempt to conceptualise and evaluate the effects of digitisation processes in the CH sector, in the context of the overall ecosystem of cultural and creative production and the structure and evolution of business models, value creation and competitiveness in CCI. This analysis is now even more important in light of the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the CH sector. inDICEs strives to understand if audiences already characterised by high levels of cultural access and participation further increase their levels of access and, if so, to what extent and in which way, and how this feeds back on the content provision strategies of CHIs. Moreover, the project is investigating if the new digitised scenario also attracts new audiences that would have previously been intimidated by physical access to CHIs or more generally feel marginalised, and if it encourages more proactive models of access that include production of user generated content on a larger and more organised scale. These results may be useful in understanding what are the future long-term trends in cultural access and in helping CHIs design more effective and far-reaching digital interfaces and formats.
In addition, inDICEs will foster the development of new business and organisational models through the development of an innovative framework for the monitoring and self-assessment of the CHIs readiness for the DSM. This is a novel approach in the CH sector, as it focuses on value chains and economic potential of digitised cultural heritage within the DSM, as introduced by the Directive on the re-use of public sector information (Directive 2003/98/EC).
In addition, inDICEs will foster the development of new business and organisational models through the development of an innovative framework for the monitoring and self-assessment of the CHIs readiness for the DSM. This is a novel approach in the CH sector, as it focuses on value chains and economic potential of digitised cultural heritage within the DSM, as introduced by the Directive on the re-use of public sector information (Directive 2003/98/EC).