Stakeholder research for Cultural Participation Fund.
The Fund for Cultural Participation promotes active cultural participation through grant funding and by using programs to connect people, organizations and governments. In recent years, the Fund has been continuously aligning its programs, services and processes with the needs of target audiences and changes in society.
Challenge
Understanding demand is needed to monitor what effect these efforts have had:
- Whether the service is consistent with the current needs of applicants and other stakeholders;
- Whether there are developments in the field of cultural education and participation that the fund can better anticipate.
In 2018, cultural funds will be audited on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In preparation for this, the Fund for Cultural Participation wants to prepare well for this visitation by the Ministry of OCW through a self-evaluation.
Vision
Understanding demand is needed to monitor what effect these efforts have had:
- Whether the service is consistent with the current needs of applicants and other stakeholders;
- Whether there are developments in the field of cultural education and participation that the fund can better anticipate.
In 2018, cultural funds will be audited on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In preparation for this, the Fund for Cultural Participation wants to prepare well for this visitation by the Ministry of OCW through a self-evaluation.
Solution
1. Kick-off meeting
This kick-off session is important to discuss the design of the study and involve all stakeholders. This provides the basis for successful collaboration and the opportunity to test mutual expectation. In the case of the Fund, there was high involvement from everyone in the organization. This involvement among employees is a success factor in making the research successful. Involved employees are motivated to pull out all the stops to achieve the goals set within the organization.
2. Approach to qualitative research: stakeholder interviews
To gauge whether the Fund's programs, services and processes meet the needs of their target audience, a series of stakeholder interviews were conducted. In this case, a face-to-face research design was chosen.
Major applicants such as museums, other grant providers, governments and parties from the education and culture sector were spoken to for this purpose. The Fund for Cultural Participation made its own selection of stakeholders they wanted to involve. They based their selection on four types of stakeholders:
- Rural
- Regional
- Applicants
- Partner
In this way, the Fund gains an in-depth picture of the individual views of stakeholders such as provinces and municipalities, as well as fellow funds and partners. Of course, these interviews are also suitable to learn more about underlying view and opinions. A face-to-face interview takes more time than a telephone interview. But it is more personal and intensive, because you can ask more in-depth questions and include non-verbal communication.
The stakeholder interviews followed a fixed structure and dealt with the following four themes:
- Stakeholders and applicants' satisfaction with the relationship and cooperation with the Cultural Participation Fund was discussed.
- Their perception of the Fund was examined.
- The Fund for Cultural Participation communicates through various channels. Stakeholders therefore encounter it regularly. During the interviews, one of the topics discussed was the appearance and content of the communication. Also discussed was whether applicants are satisfied with the communication and whether this fits the image stakeholders have about the Fund.
- The performance focused on satisfaction with the grant application process, the speed of application processing and the understandability of the forms.
- In addition to gathering insights, this type of research is an excellent opportunity to further strengthen the connection between the Fund and stakeholders. Despite the busy schedules, all requested stakeholders took the time for an intensive interview. It was striking to notice that many high-level conversations took place and nice to note the high level of engagement among stakeholders.
3. Quantitative satisfaction survey
To obtain objective information and numerical results among a broad group of clients in addition to gathering insights, quantitative research is the next step. The target group for this online research consisted of applicants for grants at the Fund for Cultural Participation. Based on the four themes mentioned earlier: relationship, perception, communication and performance, research was conducted among a representative target group.
When analyzing the results of the applicant survey, we examined whether applicants differed in satisfaction and perception when we distinguished according to the type of applicant, the type of project, the type of regulation and the status of the grant application.
This allowed us to test, for example, whether the Fund is viewed more positively when an application is granted than when the application is rejected.
In addition, the Fund also conducted a self-evaluation, assessing staff and website.
Result
The quantitative survey clearly showed the level of satisfaction with the Fund and where there is room for improvement in the future.
The Cultural Participation Fund itself appeared to be well informed about its environment, and the results were little surprise. They were largely aware of the areas of concern. So the Fund is on the right track, there is still an opportunity to play more of a connecting role in the educational landscape.
4. Let's Play: presentation research results in game form
Because it is important that a report after a stakeholder survey is also actively used on the shop floor, we always present the results to the client. In consultation with the Fund, the Let's Play workshop was chosen. This is a game format that ensures attention, concentration and involvement among the employees.
During the Let's Play workshop, insights were given from the research, then the employees were asked a question about it. They could assess whether what they thought matched the figures from the quantitative research. The employees of the Fund were motivated to take part in this game format, discussion started immediately and the group appeared to be well informed. They were never far off the percentages and had the right insights.
5. Infographic stakeholder survey
In addition to the report and workshop, we also provided an infographic for the Fund, in their style and colors. This infographic could be included in the organization's internal communication. This makes the research even less of a report that ends up in the bottom drawer.
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