Legacy for the Cultural Sector 3.18 It is also important to gauge whether funding through the Programme produced a legacy for the cultural sector in terms of new ways of working and professional development. Scottish data returns from the UK Evaluation Survey provide evidence of a willingness to continue with projects or use some of the context in the future beyond the end of the London 2012 Games. Although a restricted set of projects reported on their intentions (those responding as part of the UK Evaluation Survey), encouragingly - as Figure 6 illustrates - 19 of the projects said that they were intending to continue with these partnerships in the future, 9 in a similar form and 10 in a different form. Figure 6: Continuation of project, by number of projects
Source: ICC/DHA Cultural Olympiad Project Survey (base 37 projects) 3.19 The Programme was designed to be a unique, once in a lifetime festival and it was never the intention for all projects to continue. However, continuation of relationships and new opportunities for exhibiting and performing are useful measures of success. In survey returns and at the research symposium, stated future plans included preparations for 2014 projects, ongoing standalone activity and touring a performance or exhibition that had been delivered as part of the London 2012 cultural offer. Some projects looking towards 2014 will continue because of the nature of their funding but those that were not likely to continue (n=5) indicated that they were either a one-off project (and therefore had no expectation of future activity) or that they did not have concrete plans in place. 3.20 The wider legacy ambitions of the Programme also included an objective to ‘challenge and inspire ambitious professional development within the cultural sector and across other sectors’. There is some evidence that artists, organisations and the cultural agencies themselves benefitted from the experiences gained during the preparation, delivery and evaluation phases of the Programme. Those organisations in Scotland responding to the UK Evaluation Survey identified the deployment of new technologies, new ways of working and skills development as valuable outcomes from their involvement in London 2012. 3.21 An example of this was the Edinburgh Writers’ Conference 2012, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the original 1962 Writers’ Conference with a contemporary, digital twist. Debates were simultaneously broadcast live online and subsidiary events were hosted throughout the remainder of 2012 and into 2013. Investment as part of the Programme enabled this internationally important event to secure professional development for its creative team beyond what may otherwise have taken place.
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