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Expert advise on cultural community platform
Project leader:
Cathy Cardon
Expert Culture & Tourism
Contact Cathy Cardon
" My personal key learning point was the importance of the key question: what do you want to happen? Is it primarily about facilitating functional transactions (e.g. ticket sales, venue finder, etc.)? Or do you want to connect people who are not yet well connected? Or do you want to support and further develop a strong, active online community? Each of these basic choices requires a different definition of target groups, objectives and features.”
The challenge
How often do we hear that an online cultural platform or cultural community is needed for a cultural goal or a target group? It is always a huge challenge to clearly define the conceptual principles in order to avoid your expensive investment dying a quiet death. In 2024, our colleague Cathy Cardon collaborated with an international research team on a study for Stichting VRIJDAG & KultuurLoket, which attempted to clarify this strategic issue.
Approach & result
The research report examines the difference between a platform and a community and the growing need for digital meeting places. Through partner discussions and stakeholder analysis, the needs of the parties involved were identified in order to form a picture of the potential of an online community to meet those needs.
An important finding of the research is the need for clarity and consensus on the intended purpose of an online initiative. The report introduces the metaphors of a “Transaction City”, “Transition City” and “Transformation City” to illustrate different levels of ambition and impact. It is important to determine whether the focus is on facilitating individual interactions (platform-oriented) or on building a sustainable and vibrant community with a deeper impact.
Read the long read by project leaders Lars Brouwer and Inez Boogaarts on LinkedIn.
More information (in Dutch) on the website of Kultuurloket.
The team on this project
Cathy Cardon
Expert Culture & Tourism
Partners in this project
