SYNAPSE C Launches for Culture Sector Data Sharing

In Canada, a non-profit organization called SYNAPSE C has been established, to help cultural and arts organizations better understand audience behaviour through data analytics.

Set up by representatives of the cultural, business and data science communities to provide the sector with a shared intelligence, SYNAPSE C's primary focus is to help cultural organizations make better use of the data they generate from areas such as ticket sales, social media engagement and web site visits. The organisation will also enhance and pool arts and culture data development expertise, and aims to become an international reference in the expansion of this data.

By pooling their data through SYNAPSE C, cultural organizations will gain access to a local and up-to-date picture of their audience's cultural habits, along with other information and indicators, to enable them to more effectively manage audience relations and develop more targeted and relevant business practices. A three-year financial support package totalling $2.2m has already been committed to the initiative from a number of funds; and until 2022, the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, the initial leader of the data-pooling project, will be responsible for SYNAPSE C's implementation phase.

Éric Lefebvre (pictured), Chair and interim Director of Synapse C, comments: 'The creation of SYNAPSE C meets an urgent need for new knowledge and processes for using data generated by the cultural sector. We have a dynamic cultural industry, digital technology, top data-marketing professionals and artificial intelligence specialists. Our common goal is to create a true leverage effect for the arts and culture in our country.'

Web site: www.synapsec.ca .