ABSTRACT
Like any number of other arts councils, the Arts Council of England has come to the decision that it must pursue a much more aggressive research strategy. The research department of the Research and Development Directorate of the arts council is one of several recent initiatives around the world that symbolize a new investment in cultural policy research, albeit one with a rather particular point of view. The council is now organized into four directorates: Arts, Communications, Planning and Resources, and Research and Development. The Research and Development Directorate is responsible for taking the lead within the council on research, arts education and training, employment in the arts, and the social and economic impact of arts practices. One specific task that the research department has taken on is called the "Research Round Up". It will ask all of the arts-funding agencies to indicate what research they have commissioned.
