Understanding Membership Data in the Creative Industries: The Creative Edinburgh Data Project

In October 2023, the teams of Creative Edinburgh and Creative Informatics joined forces to spearhead an innovative project exploring the power of data for the creative sector, called Creative Edinburgh & Creative Informatics Data Project. The overall goal of this innovative project was threefold: (1) to conduct a case study project into exploring the power of data for the creative sector, specifically for Creative Edinburgh (CE); (2) to develop concrete recommendations for CE how to improve their existing data collection and membership database approach; and (3) to showcase this project as a potential template for other creative sector organizations regarding the deployment of an ethical and diversity-embracing approach to using data as a powerful tool for the creative industries sector. This report documents the work undertaken and provides a range of key recommendations across three categories: User-Centricity; Equality, Diversity & Inclusion; and Data-Circularity.