Local government cultural economy data practices and futures: Capacity, decision-making and partnerships

This article investigates local government cultural economy data practices in England (UK). Engaging with academic literature and policy reports, it highlights the following issues relating to these data practices: types of data; the context and drivers for using data; the possibilities and challenges of data volume; and training and expertise required to position data in relation to strategic decision-making. Engaging with the authors’ research project with local government councillors and data officers working in local authorities in England, this article provides insights into situated experiences and working contexts. The analysis reveals specific challenges and opportunities around resources and capacity, decision-making and partnerships. These data practices and challenges are critically examined through perspectives from critical data studies and the data feminism principles of context and visibility. Insights and issues are raised around decision-making, intuition and capacity, expertise and gatekeeping and more encompassing concerns around data characteristics and social power. In response, approaches from data literacy, namely data biographies, are explored to inform interventions into local government cultural economy data practices.