Big data's not just for the big boys

Data. Even the word causes a mix of yawns and paranoia, let alone having to deal with the actual data itself.

Thanks to GDPR we’ve all got data fatigue. We know it’s important. We know we should care, but it’s very difficult to grapple with it beyond whether or not we’re on the right mailing lists or if our selfies have the right security settings on Instabooker or MyFace.

It’s hardly surprising then that our embattled arts, heritage and culture sector also struggles to get to grips with data, especially the small-to-medium galleries, museums, cinemas, theatres and dance groups who fight the daily battle to keep arts and culture alive in the face of governmental apathy and ever-reducing lottery funding. But it IS very important, and if we want arts – local, regional and national - to survive, we all need to get with the program (sic).

Trouble is, before we even get started, we need to know about different types of data and what they mean, especially as everyone is now a little scared of storing the wrong kind of information and getting into trouble.

The Herefordshire’s a Great Place project currently running in our county is a prime example. While everyone – including the project funders, the Arts Council and Heritage Lottery Fund, and the project partners, the Herefordshire Cultural Partnership and Rural Media – acknowledges the role of so-called ‘Big Data’, former Bulmers charity the Brightspace Foundation is fighting a bigger fight, namely the quest for ‘Open Data’.

What’s the difference? The names are actually literal, ‘Big’ is all about size (MASSIVE datasets) while open is about accessibility for anyone and everyone to do with it as they please. Now, to quote that old hair product ad, here comes the science…

Big data is made of very large, complex, rapidly-changing datasets that are so big and complex that traditional data-processing software is inadequate to deal with them.  Recently, the term has evolved to encompass predictive analytics, user behaviour analytics and similar methods used for targeting consumers. Basically, it’s the info companies, organisations and governments use to push stuff in our direction (aka sell us things – products, policies, ideas) after analysing our habits. It’s widely defined as having five characteristics:

· Volume (quantity)

· Variety (type and nature)

· Velocity (speed that the data is generated and processed – big data is often ‘real time’)

· Veracity (quality, in terms of ‘truth value’)

· Value (the summation of all of the above)

Open data, on the other hand, is accessible public data that people, companies and organisations can use as they wish, to analyse patterns and trends, make decisions, solve problems, even launch new ventures. It must be publicly available for anyone, and it must be licensed for reuse (free of copyright, patents or mechanisms of control, so not easy to bankroll because it’s not ‘monetised’). Ideally it should be easy to use and free.

Big Data can also be Open, and it’s easy to see that open data can make big data more useful and democratic – and less threatening – but open data’s fight is with both the rise of intellectual property rights as more content has gone online via streaming platforms and the increasing desire for individuals and groups to control access to their information. But it could be worth it.

The reason it’s vital for arts, heritage and culture in the UK to better use data is that it can make stronger arguments for funding and provision through analysing ‘cultural consumers’ habits, measuring the impact on people’s wellbeing and, crucially, its contribution to the economy. And for that to work, it needs to be a two-way street between the funders and the funded, with information/data being shared freely in both directions. That’s why open data may be as important as big data to the future of arts in Herefordshire, the Midlands, England, the UK, and beyond. Organisations can make better decisions based on better quality information and analysis that is collected and measured in better ways that everyone understands and embraces. In theory – we’re a long way off that still, but Great Place represents an early, small step.

Time for another digital buzzword: insight. The dictionary definition still applies for data: “an instance of apprehending the true nature of a thing, especially through an understanding of relationships that shed light on or help solve a problem.” It’s all about analysing patterns to better understand who wants what and how we give it to them – and showing it to the purse string holders so can get more cash to make more work. Simples, as a leading brand’s meercats would say.

As the future of arts, heritage and culture in Herefordshire is up to us – and we’re doing a great job, but we can always do better – it’s time to stifle the yawns, get positive and embrace data as what it is: a tool that can make us, our work, our lives and our county more vibrant, artistic and culturally vital. So don’t be scared of the word - Herefordshire is already a great place, but proper data use can make it even better.