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Creative & Cultural Skills, Arts Council England, and NESTA have joined forces to commission new independent research into the influence of publicly funded theatre on commercial theatre, with a view to gaining a greater understanding of the role of public investment in the arts. 

The survey, which launched yesterday, will track the careers of people in the industry, and the talent that has emerged from it, in order to better understand the impact that public investment in the theatre sector makes. 

The aim is to collect the views of a range of theatre professionals currently or previously working in the sector, as well as those who have aspired to do so, on how their careers have developed.

How to take part in the research

The survey should take approximately ten minutes to complete, and will be entirely anonymous.  It is for people who currently work, aspire to work or who have previously worked in the industry.

Findings from the research will be published in the summer of 2012.

Take the survey now.

Richard Russell, Director, Strategy, Arts Council England said:  

'The arts could be described as the R&D division of the creative industries, which are the fastest growing sector of our economy.  Anecdotally, we know how much things like tourism, box office and talent career paths contribute to the creative industries' success, but it's vital that we can also understand these contributions in a more quantifiable way. Hopefully this research will be a significant step in our being able to do so.'

James Evans, Director, Research, Creative & Cultural Skills commented:

'Theatre productions can start as publicly funded ventures before growing into large commercial projects, crossing over into film, television and other mediums. Individual practitioners with specific skills, experience and working practices are critical to this process. We hope this study will contribute to an increased understanding of the impact of different types of funding on the movement and working patterns of people working in the theatre industry, the performance of the sector and the potential impact on the broader economy.'