Component 3, Relative Values III: Research Process

RELATIVE VALUES III (2018-19): A pilot research project commissioned by Itaú Cultural for the application of the Relative Values toolkit with five arts organisations in urban and rural territories across Brazil.

LINK TO OVERALL INVESTIGATION ON RELATIVE VALUES: In component three HERITAGE and VALIATI were commissioned by the Brazilian cultural foundation Fundação Itaú Cultural to adapt the Relative Values methodology to assess the socio-economic impact of cultural initiatives supported by Rumos (an open-call funding programme sponsored by Itaú, Brazil’s largest private bank). Rumos supports hundreds of grassroots artists and projects across Brazil on a bi-annual basis. HERITAGE proposed an initial pilot project to work with five cultural initiatives in urban and rural territories across Brazil that were sponsored by the programme in 2018-19. The aim was to adapt the Relative Values toolkit in a way that would allow for less intensive training and for the research process to be supported from a distance, whilst still enabling artists working in fragile and peripheral contexts to identify, assess and produce evidence about the socio-economic impact of their artistic practice.

3.1.1 Workshop, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, October 2018

Research Output

HERITAGE led an introductory workshop with arts managers from Itaú Cultural's Rumos team. Following an introduction to the Relative Values toolkit, HERITAGE and the Rumos team selected five performance-related arts projects (from the 109 projects supported by the programme) to undertake the pilot.

3.1.1.1 Workshop with Itaú Cultural Arts Managers

Contextual Material

3.1.1.2 Presentation from workshop with Itaú Cultural Arts Managers

Contextual Material (Physical Item)

3.1.2 Research briefing for five selected regional partners

Research Output (Physical Item)

HERITAGE prepared an initial briefing to introduce the five organisations to the Relative Values methodology and to the process of assessing the socio-economic impact of their work in relation to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Each arts organisations differed in discipline, approach and region, but all undertook performance-related creative projects with vulnerable peripheral communities:

Editora e Gráfica Heliópolis - a favela-based literature and spoken word project in the city of São Paulo (South Eastern Region);
Grupo Ninho - a theatre company from the city of Crato touring a play using elements from northeastern popular culture across Brazil (North Eastern Region);
Hip Hop Caboclo - a music duo from São Paulo visiting Brazilian popular/traditional culture masters to create a music project combining rap and traditional elements from Brazilian performance (South Eastern region);
Retratistas de Morro - a favela-based photographic and public arts project run by individual artists in the city of Belo Horizonte (South Eastern Region);
Verdevez - a visual/performance arts residency project in the city of Teresina (North Eastern Region).

3.1.3 Site visits and workshops with regional partners

Contextual Material

HERITAGE visited the five organisations to understand their needs and expectations in order to adapt and improve the research instruments. Each of the organisations had different levels of research literacy or experience and this was reflected in the changes made to the research instruments.

3.1.3.1 Internal report Editora e Gráfica Heliópolis

Research Output (Physical Item)

Internal report and photo-essay of initial site visit and workshops: Editora e Gráfica Heliópolis, December 2018

3.1.3.2 Internal report Grupo Ninho

Research Output (Physical Item)

Internal report and photo-essay of initial site visit and workshops: Grupo Ninho, January 2019.

3.1.3.3 Internal report Hip Hop Caboclo

Research Output (Physical Item)

Internal report and photo-essay of initial site visit and workshops: Hip Hop Caboclo, January 2019.

3.1.3.4 Internal report Verdevez

Research Output (Physical Item)

Internal report and photo-essay of initial site visit and workshops: Verdevez, February 2019.

3.1.3.5 Internal report Retratistas do Morro

Research Output (Physical Item)

Internal report and photo-essay of initial site visit and workshops: Retratistas do Morro, February 2019.

3.1.4 Questionnaires and semi-structured interview templates

Research Output

HERITAGE adapted the Relative Values research instruments, in collaboration with the participating artists who fed back continuously throughout the process. As well as detailed questionnaires for participants, a shorter questionnaire was developed that could be undertaken with audiences. In addition, a semi-structured interview template was developed to enable collaborating cultural initiatives to undertake research with participants and audiences with different access requirements. Each participating organisation undertook the process of data collection in their territories, resulting in the production of a range of data from questionnaires, audio recordings and transcription of semi-structured interviews.

3.1.4.1 Questionnaires for participants

Research Output (Physical Item)

3.1.4.2 Questionnaires for audiences

Research Output (Physical Item)

3.1.4.3 Interview templates

Research Output (Physical Item)

Semi-structured interview templates for participants/audiences with access requirements