Completed Research

31.The Role of Culture in Knowledge Economy

In October 2009 The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage was designated to host the 11th Edition of the International Network on Cultural Policy INCP/RIPC. In this sense, MCNH requested the Center for Research on Culture to conduct a study on the role of culture in knowledge economy (topic suggested by Romania) among the INCP/RIPC member states. The research aimed at gaining a better insight regarding the countries’ experience on the subject and also concerning the practices related to their cultural policies.
One of the study’s main concerns consisted in defining the concept of knowledge economy which, according to participants’ inputs, is the type of economy that encompasses economic activities based on intellectual resources. Also, it has been emphasized the major role that creative industries play for the development of knowledge economy.
Another important aspect refers to the inter-relation between creative industries and the information and communication technologies (ICT), which has an important stake not only in what concerns the development of knowledge economy, but also from the point of view of their contribution to the national economy. It is notable that the respondents underlined the importance of two main factors for the development of knowledge economy: firstly, the dissemination of culture on a global scale, through partnerships and through promoting inter-culturality and secondly, sustaining the artists’ mobility and offering better means of education in the field of culture.

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30.The Economic Crisis’ Impact on Cultural Operators

The economic crisis pervades in every field of activity, including culture. In this effect, CRCC (Center for Research and Consultancy on Culture) carried out a study that aimed to illustrate the professionals’ perception regarding the changes that took place in their activity, on three dimensions: the financial level, the human resources matters and the short- and medium term investments. The methodology is similar to the one used by the economic institutions which estimate the expected trends.
Among the crisis’ main effects, stand out a decreasing trend in what concerns the self-financing, grants and scholarship revenues, and a cut down of the number of collaborators and cultural operators. Furthermore, there have been encountered some problems caused by the larger number of retours, by fluctuations of the Euro/local currency exchange rate, as well as by a lagging of negotiations with businesses involved in the promotion process. In what concerns the attenuation measures, there is a higher appetence for innovation, such as finding new distribution channels. Also, in Romania, as well as the international level, there is a decline regarding the investments in new products, considered to be “risky”. Most of the cultural actors who took part in the research consider public institutions such as ministries or local authorities to be responsible with the anti-crisis measures.

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29. The Contribution of Copyright-based Industries to the Romanian Economy

28.The Barometer of Cultural Consumption 2009

The Barometer of Cultural Consumption 2009 consisted of a nationally representative poll, applied on a sample of 1100 respondents over 15 years old. The objectives of the study were, on the one hand, to identify the changes in the public and domestic infrastructure and in the cultural field between 2005-2009; on the other hand, to evaluate the crisis impact on the cultural field. This second mentioned objective was achieved by comparing the cultural consumption from the period before the crisis (the first half of 2008) with the cultural consumption from de period when it started to have effects at the international level (the first half of 2009). The results show a reduced consumption in time of crisis, generated by the pronounced tendency to save financial resources.
At the same time, it seems that from the three identified categories – cultural activities with elitist profile, mass cultural activities and non-cultural activities of leisure – the strongest decrease is visible in the last category. The explanation is that the non-cultural activities of leisure are the most expensive and they represent the last priority on the pyramid of needs.

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27. The target audience for a future Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs advertising campaign

The study regarding an advertising campaign for protecting the heritage has been requested by The Ministry of Culture, Religious Affairs and National Heritage and it aims to determine the target audience for sensitizing the population with respect to national heritage. After analyzing the data gathered from surveys conducted in the past years, we identified two groups. The first one encompasses people who visit heritage objectives rarely and very rarely and  it is represented by 21% of the population. The second group encloses 6% of the population and it is represented by the people who never visit heritage objectives but who, on the other side, are above average from the point of view of cultural consumption

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26. Culture in the public space

The study regarding the cultural events that took place in Bucharest started from the assumption that these events play a double role for the city’s cultural scene. This role consists in shaping up the urban dwellers’ perceptions of open access spaces on the one hand and in creating a label for the city by defining some touristic attractions through a series of artistic events. The research focused on two objectives: identifying the core characteristics of public space and mapping these open access spaces from Bucharest. The data were collected from public institutions (Bucharest City Hall, Metrorex, RATB) and cultural organizations (British Council, The Polish Institute, The Czech Center and Goethe Institute). The results show a significant growth of artistic manifestations in Bucharest’s public space between 2003 and 2007. Also worthy of notice is the difference between the private event organizers on the one hand and the NGOs and public institutions on the other hand. The former have a predilection for the central area of the city, while the latter choose the central areas as well as the peripheral areas. Besides, data suggest that the emergence of a central-periphery type of structure in what concerns the presence of cultural events within Bucharest’s public space. Additionally, maps and tables regarding the events organized between 2003 and 2007 have been included in the study report.

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25. UNITER, november 2008

24. Sponsorship in the cultural field

The study on cultural sponsorship strove to identify the legislative measures that encourage the public-private partnerships in the field of culture. The methodology consisted in carrying on a document analysis, more precisely an examination of the European Union’s legislative provisions regarding sponsorship. Consequently, we worked out a comparison in what concerns cultural funding in several European countries and we analyzed what impact did the tax cuts have on the budgets allocated for funding. One of the most notable conclusions pertains to the fact that cutting off taxes does not lead to a higher rate contribution of private actors in the matter of sponsorship. However, promoting some income tax exemptions or reductions for long term investments in culture would make a viable measure. Furthermore, another salutary measure rests in attracting more small enterprises as sponsors, which could be encouraged by tax deductions.

 

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23. The Ministerial Reunion of the International Network for Cultural Policies (RIPC/INCP)

22. The cultural vitality of romanian cities

The study regarding the cultural vitality of Romanian cities came to complete a similar analysis performed by The Center for Research on Culture in 2007. It  aimed at attaining a thorough overview of cultural vitality from the point of view of the public goods’ availability, of creativity and of entrepreneurial techniques used for valorizing artistic and creative products. It has been laid stress upon aspects such as the activity of private and public companies from the cultural sector. Moreover, the research aimed to identify the cities that had the highest potential in terms of cultural activities dynamics. Taking into consideration several statistical indicators, we set out a cultural vitality coefficient and made an analysis of the main factors that turned the urban areas into spaces appropriate to the development of cultural projects.

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21. Draft for a politics for the stimulation of creativity

The main objective of this study consists in identifying flaws in the cultural sector and providing solutions in this sense, in order to formulate a public policy draft for the stimulation of creativity. The methodology consisted in interviewing 50 representatives of NGOs and companies from the cultural sector, as well as authors coming from all the cultural sectors (cinema, written culture, performance arts, visual arts, architecture, restoration, music). Generally, the problems encountered by professionals in the field appeared to be similar for all the cultural sectors, the most notable ones concerning matters of production and distribution. Whether they regard a lack of technology, of qualified personnel and proper spaces, or simply some administrative shortcomings, these problems have an impact on creativity as well as on the public’s access to culture. Another series of issues pertain to the judicial system and lie in legislative ambiguities and copyright uncertainties. All in all, the study provides a detailed analysis of the problems encountered in each cultural sector

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20.Resources and cultural consumption in Roma communities a pilot study in Ilfov county

The study conducted by The Center for Research on Culture and requested by the National Center for Romani Culture aimed to frame a series of methodologies in order to determine and quantify the coordinates of cultural resources and consumption in 33 villages from Ilfov County. In this sense, 120 Romani people from various age groups have been interviewed and another 39 local authorities have also participated in our research. The results revealed several aspects related to the perspective of creating programs concerning Romani traditional crafts and of coming up with new methods of production and distribution of goods. Moreover, another aspect that has come into focus is the introduction of Romani cultural products in the international circuit. Finally, the study inquired on matters regarding the expectations related to minorities’ mass media. 

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19. Study on the state of the Romanian museums

The study on museums was requested by The Ministry of Culture, Religious Affairs and National Heritage. Its purpose is to outline and propose a national strategic project for the museum employees in Romania, according to the initiative of the Ministry of Culture, through the Project Implementation Unit. In order to pursue the analysis, a set of data concerning museums has been gathered from previous studies conducted by the Center for Research on Culture. First of all, the results imply that, in 2005, Romania was the 12th out of 17 European countries from the point of view of number of museums/ 100 000 inhabitants and the 15th in what regards the number of museum visitors. As for the regional differences most of the museums were placed in the North and Center of Romania, while the South-East region was the first in terms of number of visitors. Secondly, concerning the aspect of cultural consumption, the history, art and ethnography museums were the most visited ones. On the whole, among the most popular cultural sites were the forts, the archeological sites and the churches.

 

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18. „Sibiu european capital of culture”

Given the context of “Sibiu European Capital of Culture  2007” project, the Center for Research on Culture carried out an impact study, meaning to measure some economic, social and cultural indicators, to quantify the program’s results and to analyze its performance. For the impact study we operated with the information resulted from a survey conducted among various categories of cultural operators. According to the survey, one can state that the program was successfully promoted, a factor which increased its notoriety. As for the subsequent benefits, most of Sibiu’s dwellers referred mainly to the economic gains and, secondly, to the advantages stemmed from increased notoriety. All in all, the program was perceived as favorable for Sibiu’s development.

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17. The cultural vitality of Romanian cities

The main objective of the study on cultural vitality of Romanian cities carried out in 2007 was to get an overview of how much do local authorities and the creative economy contribute to culture’s development within Romanian cities. In that effect, we designed an analysis on a sample of 250 cities throughout the country. Therefore, we designed two sets of indicators regarding the creative economy’s performances on the one hand and the financial support given by local authorities to culture on the other hand. Out of these two dimensions we used five indicators which defined the cultural vitality index, as follows: the companies’ turnover, the number of employees, public expenses in the field of culture, sports and religion and their share in the total of local expenses. The conclusions suggest that a larger diversity of cultural activities directly contributes to the development of the creative economy. However, the local authorities’ financial support is not vital for the economy’s growth. Furthermore, the creative economy is highly developed in large urban settlements, economically dynamic, such as Cluj Napoca, Timisoara, Oradea, Constanta, Sibiu.

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16. The Guggenheim Museum in Bucharest. The Culture of Museum Visit and an Impact Study

The main objective of the study „The Guggenheim Museum Bucharest – The Culture of Museum Visitation and a Market Research” was to estimate the potential of art consumption in the Romanian urban settings. The methodology consisted in a survey conducted on a sample of 1.100 people from Bucharest and on a similar sample in cities of over 100.000 inhabitants. The research aimed to analyze the willingness of the urban population to visit contemporary art museums, the museum-visiting behavior and also to construct social, demographic, cultural and economic profile of those interested in contemporary art. The results reveal that there is no clearly defined market for museum consumption at the moment but, at the same time, the visitation of museums is a preferable activity. A particular characteristic is that the Romanian public, when visiting a museum, appreciates the cultural and artistic aspects, considering the surroundings of little relevance.

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15. The Contemporary Art Scene from the Perspective of the Foundation of the Guggenheim Museum

The research was done in the perspective of a possible establishment of a Guggenheim Museum in Bucharest, at the request of the Ministry of Culture and Cultural Affairs. Its purpose was to acquire a panorama on the contemporary art scene in Romania. The study focused on four dimensions: identifying the main actors in contemporary art, describing the state of the contemporary art scene and its evolution and testing the Guggenheim „product” among the specialists in the field. The results indicated that the relationship between the galleries and the artists is inssuficiently standardized, that there is an insufficient number of art magazines and that the public is not familiar with contemporary art. The art market is still under construction, there are few collectors and there are no price regulation norms. Nonetheless, the study identified a change in the collectors’ profile and at the demand level and estimatest the development of the contemporary art market. The specialists regard the potential foundation of a Guggenheim museum as a positive change and the art galleries expressed their willingness to establish partnerships.

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14. The impact of “Sibiu – European Capital of Culture 2007” on the economic agents from the Sibiu region

The aim of the study “Sibiu – European Capital of Culture 2007” consisted in evaluating the program’s impact on the economic actors that took part in the program. The methodology consisted in a field research, which was carried on in two stages (June – July and November 2007). The economic indicators that were being used for the analysis were: the turnover/ the sales figure, the investments, the workforce and profitability. The conclusions pointed out a positive economic impact for the firms from Sibiu and from the city’s surroundings, especially in the fields of tourism and transportation.

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13. “Sibiu – European Capital of Culture 2007”

In respect of the beginning of the program “Sibiu European Capital of Culture 2007”, The Center for Research on Culture carried out a research among the shareholders involved in this project (meaning, the citizens of Sibiu, the general public from Romania, the cultural institutions’ visitors, the economic agents and the cultural operators from Sibiu’s area). To that effect, a public opinion analysis, as well as a set of analyses regarding the economic and cultural operators has been designed. The study aimed to achieve a series of quantifiable results of the programs’ objectives, by measuring some economic, social and cultural indicators on the one hand and recording the program’s performance throughout its evolution on the other hand. Another feature of the research consisted in providing some suggestions for further cultural programs. The results show a high level of notoriety and satisfaction with the program, as well as an attendance that comes near 5% of Romania’s population. As for the economic agents, the companies that invested the most in the program operate in the fields of hospitality, tourism and transportation. Finally, the cultural operators’ analysis pointed to the fact that they belong to various fields. Furthermore, they have started to prepare for the program more than a year before its beginning. They invested especially in improving the features of their sites and in hiring extra personnel.

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12. The Barometer of Cultural Consumption 2007

The Barometer of Cultural Consumption 2007 set forward to describe and analyze the infrastructure and the behaviours of cultural consumption in Romania. It represents a new edition of the similar researches of 2005 and 2006. The survey was applied on a population sample representative at national level for the population over 15 years old and the aim was to measure the development of the infrastructure for the distribution of cultural goods, the participation and the cultural needs. The results indicated an increasing need of distribution venues for written culture items, such as newspaper distribution stands, bookstores and libraries. From the point of view of private consumption, television and radio are the most demanded means, but the use of computers is on an ascending curve. Among the leisure cultural activities, Romanians prefer local feasts, shows and, to a lesser extent, museums. 

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11. The Analysis of the AFCN-financed Projects 2007. Research Report

The study on the projects of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund (ANCF), accomplished at the demand of ANCF with the purpose of improving the organization’s activities, had a methodology which consisted in a data codification and analysis of the information contained by the fund-demand forms. The results indicate a distribution of the AFCN-funded cultural events with a particular density in Bucharest (25%), followed by Cluj (7%), Buzau and Sibiu (6%). There was a low level of involvement of the small communities when it comes to promoting local identity. Nonetheless, the cultural programmes of 2007 were promoted at local level, as well as at national and international level. The target-audience of the cultural operators is represented both by professionals and by the general public, and the strategic objective of these operators is to promote the concept of participative culture.  

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10. Promoting the Romanian culture in the European space
Where? Who? And through what distribution channels?

The research that concerns promoting Romanian culture in the European space had two main objectives. The first one was to identify the best means of spreading the Romanian culture in Europe, taking into consideration the consumers’ tastes in matters of culture, from various countries. Secondly, we made a market segmentation, taking into consideration the particularities in what concerns the preferences for cultural activities of different European communities. As a methodology, we used the analysis of official statistics regarding the attendance degree and habits of participation to cultural events among several European countries. The most relevant results are based on a number of typologies, according to the characteristics of the countries included in the analysis. Consequently, the study revealed a propensity for museums among the Nordic Countries, for theater in Western Europe, for cinemas in North and West of Europe. As for the Central and Eastern Europe, the highest rate of cultural consumption was recorded in the case of musical institutions and museums. The field of audio-visual is very popular among most of the European countries.

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9. The Barometer of Cultural Consumption 2006

8. Data on the Cultural and Touristic Potential of Romanian Settlements

The study on the cultural potential of Romanian settlements was intended to evaluate this aspect, by calculating the score of each locality, based on the suggestions of the INCDT. We considered the four categories of the cultural sector: historic monuments of national interest, museums and public collections, artcraft and popular traditions and institutions of performing arts (shows and concerts). The contribution of CRC to this study - accomplished in partnership with several public institutions – was to elaborate a database with the information received from the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs and to map the distribution of man-made and touristic resources, the artcraft and popular traditions, the technical infrastructure, the specific touristic infrastructure and the touristic development potential. The results indicate that the most developed areas are those around Baia Mare (from the point of view of man-made resources) and around Suceava and Neamţ (from the point of view of artcraft and popular traditions). The touristic resources index indicates a relatively homogeneous distribution of the areas with good touristic infrastructure, with the exception of the South and South-West development regions. From the point of view of touristic potential, the South, South-West and partially the North-East development regions are the less developed areas

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7. The community house institution. An overview

The Center for Research on Culture designed a study for evaluating the Romanian community centers’ situation. The inquiry took place in the same time with the study on cultural tourism and collected information on 121 community centers from 40 counties throughout the country. Depending on infrastructure, institutional matters, compliance with legislation in the field and the activities carried out, we have identified four types of community houses: invisible, ordinary, emblematic and extraordinary. In most of the counties there is no official record of community houses, a condition that is being tolerated by the local authorities. One of the particularities that came out refers to the lack of coherent local cultural policies. Moreover, the public investments for training professionals in human resources are very low and it appears that there is no formal administrative set of rules. From the point of view of infrastructure, the community houses are used for local parties, rented for weddings, commemorations and baptisms. In what regards the budget, there is no financing from the local authorities for such community houses.

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6. Is Bucharest becoming a postindustrial city? Deindustrialization and economic restructuring within the development region of Bucharest

The research on the deindustrialization and economic restructuring within the development region of Bucharest started from a series of questions: “What uses do the postindustrial sits in Bucharest have gained?”, “How many of the postindustrial sits in Bucharest are used for cultural purposes/for social purposes/for the new economies?”, “How does the employment structure varies, taking into consideration the economic changes” and, finally, “whether different cultural goods types are dispersed, what are the reasons for  it?”. The methodology consisted in the collection and analysis of data from the point of view of land usage and of urban functions and structure of the workforce within different fields of activity. The results show that, generally, after ceasing the production activities, the industrial sits gained new meanings and became places designed for cultural and artistic manifestations and they embody a source of differentiation.

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5. Comparative Statistics on the Cultural Sector in Romania and other European Countries

The scope of the study was to evaluate the Romanian conditions, from the point of view of cultural resources and cultural consumption, compared to other European countries. With this purpose we used specific data on consumption (attendance, audience) and data on the available cultural resources, collected from statistics institutes’ sites from the respective countries. The indicators on infrastructure, resources and consumption constituted the basis for comparison. Hierarchies were established accordingly for the countries included in the study, in an attempt to identify Romania’s position. Among the important conclusions we noticed the high gap between Romania and the EU countries from the point of view of book acquisitions and cultural activities. In what concerns music tastes, Romanians are very similar to South-Eastern European citizens. The resemblances to EU countries are the domestic infrastructure, especially internet access and audio-visual channels. 

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4. Cultural Tourism and Community Development in Rural Romania – Status Quo and the Steps Ahead

The study concerning cultural tourism in rural Romania was an exploratory research with the purpose of identifying the extent to which there is a heritage with touristic potential and the structures, institutions, or persons capable to develop projects in this sense. Complementary, we aimed at obtaining data to answer the following questions: “How realistic are the community development projects through cultural tourism?” and “What can be capitalized in the context of such a project?”, as well as “Who is responsible for the development and what are the scopes?” The study included 354 cases of heritage sites in 160 localities from 37 counties. The findings stress the fact that the localities with the highest tourism development are those with natural objectives, compared to those which needed community intervention. Moreover, there are problems related to infrastructure, services, management and administration. As a conclusion, the study suggested several types of politics and behaviours to support development projects.

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3. The Barometer of Cultural Consumption 2005

The Barometer of Cultural Consumption 2005 was based on a nationally representative sample for the population over 15 years old, counting 1.636 respondents. The study aimed at mapping the cultural consumption from the point of view of the infrastructure and of the consumption behaviours. The Centre for Research on Culture intended a long-term survey which implies the annual repetition of the Barometer, in order to acquire a coherent image of the cultural consumption in Romania. The specific objectives of the study were to measure the development of the cultural infrastructure, the degree of participation to cultural activities and the needs of the population under these aspects. The results indicate a “professionalization” of written culture, with a preference for specialized books, a higher pervasiveness of internet access and a high consumption of radio and television. Also, the gap between rural and urban areas is not very large in what concerns the preferences for films, music and written culture.

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2. The Regional Indexes of the Cultural Sector

This comparative analysis at the level of development regions was designed by CRC to serve as a tool for the group of counsellors and experts responsible for the Operational Sectorial Plans, with the purpose of including culture in the specific development strategies. These plans, necessary for the accession of funds for cultural activities, are to be suggested to the Regional Development Agencies. The plans are designed with the aid of SWOT analyses on the cultural sector, as well as through socio-economic analysis. The task of CRC was to elaborate indexes and indicators needed for these analyses. For this purpose we used public data provided by the National Statistics Institute, data from The Barometer of Cultural Consumption, data provided by the Ministry of Justice, data concerning the number of Phare and Culture 2000 projects, as well as data produced by other studies on regional development.

 

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1. The Cultural Life Index 1998 - 2004

The 2007 ‘Cultural Life Index’ study was aimed at identifying the available cultural resources, the manner in which they are valued and the level of public accessibility. This study is based on official statistics about the dimension of the infrastructure necessary for cultural activities, about the production and participation dimensions, such as the quantity of cultural goods and services used by the population. The results indicate a decreasing tendency for the period 2000-2004 for this index. The cultural infrastructure and cultural participation dimensions decreased in this time interval, with an increase recorded solely for the cultural production. These tendencies can be due to several factors, such as to the external migration of a significant number of Romanian citizens, to the lack of funds directed to culture by the local authorities, the unclear situation of property rights for buildings destined for cultural activities, the increase of the domestic infrastructure, as well as the external funding of production facilities in Romania.

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