Methodology to develop sub-national Cultural and Creative Industries’ Satellite Accounts for Provinces, Districts and Metros

Overview

Both the public and private sectors need information to make well informed decisions. In the public sector, evidence-based policy decisions are informed using both rigorously verified and objective evidence. Further, without reliable data it is very difficult to know whether policies and implementation are successful or not - you cannot manage what you cannot measure.

Data can also help spot policy or implementation gaps that need to be corrected. There needs to be a clearly established metric for success. This will help quantify progress and adjust processes to produce the desired outcome. Measurement is, however, difficult. This is particularly the case in the cultural domain.

A country’s System of National Accounts (SNA) constitutes the most important source of information about any state and the performance of its economy. It provides comprehensive and detailed records of the complex economic activities taking place within an economy and of the interaction between the different economic agents. Given the history of national accounts, they are general in nature. As society and technology change, new demands on what data is collected and presented are created. To partially fill this need, Satellite Accounts have been developed.

Two problems are addressed in this report. Firstly, all spheres of government need disaggregated information regarding the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) since the data is not adequately captured in the SNA. Secondly, this information is also necessary for sub-national governments for their planning and monitoring of policies and implementation.

Prior to developing a Cultural Satellite Account (CSA), it is necessary to define all cultural products and services. Since culture permeates society and includes its beliefs, customs, and arts, it is not always an easy task to define and delimit cultural products and services. Although cultural or creative goods and services may have little or no commercial value, they may be paramount to societal concerns. However, many cultural goods and services do have an economic value.

CSAs are not standardised internationally and therefore countries use their own approach and classification of cultural activities. The UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics (FCS) published in 2009, is intended to be an international guideline, used for international comparisons and providing a recognised framework for countries wishing to construct their own CSA. It is based on six cultural and two related domains.

The data required depends on the classification of what is included in the definition of cultural industries and CCIs. It will also depend on what the requirements are for both the Department of Sports Arts and Culture (DSAC) and Statistics South Africa. Much, although not all, of the data is already being collected in one way or another by Statistics South Africa. Unfortunately, the format in which it is being collected may not be aligned to the requirements of a CSA. It may be necessary to either change the way questions are currently asked in Statistics South Africa surveys, include additional questions, or just to capture the data in a way that the cultural sector can be identified (for example, in spending on “Entertainment”).

The report then goes on to show how a regional I-O or SAM can be derived using both survey and nonsurvey techniques. Various techniques are discussed pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each. To ensure that the Sub-national CSA is comprehensive, additional sources of data, including trade and employment data, are discussed.

A proposed process is described graphically that can be used to implement the sub-national CSAs. The process map shows the sequence of events that must occur before the sub-national CSAs can be established.