Developing the evidence base for UK film strategy: the research process at the UK Film Council

Abstract

The UK Film Council established a Research and Statistics Unit in order to gather data relating to film to inform the development of UK Film Council strategy and to provide an information service to the industry, government, the arts and cultural sector and the wider research community. The Research and Statistics Unit draws data from both official and unofficial sources and commissions its own special-purpose studies to gather information relevant to the strategic objectives of the Council. Key tasks are the measurement of the size of the market for film and the various elements of the film value chain, the performance of films supported by the UK Film Council and the performance of UK films in general. Special-purpose research projects currently include a detailed survey of the film production workforce, a study of the economic impact of the UK screen industries and studies of the social impact of local cinemas and the experience of Black- and Minority-led film production companies. A range of industry and official partners are collaborating in these studies. The Research and Statistics Unit also provides statistical and policy analysis relating to the wider policy environment of UK film, including issues such as the future of film tax incentives. This analysis has been developed within the HM Treasury ‘Green Book’ framework with particular reference to understanding market failure in relation to film. Central to the market failure argument is the cultural value of film in both its qualitative and its quantitative aspects. UK Film Council research is placed in the context of the literature on hedonic pricing and contingent valuation. The industrial challenges of increasing cultural value are discussed. Finally, consideration is given to the potential of film to contribute directly to ‘public value’.