Data provision in the Games Industry in Scotland

Project description

The aim of this project is to support the improvement of the data provision about the Games Industry in Scotland, where policy makers and practitioners have identified that data-related issues are hindering decision-making. The project is being undertaken by a team at the University of Glasgow and supported by a University of Glasgow ESRC IAA grant/award and Creative Scotland.

Various data providers do exist but there is a lack of accessible public data that provides the requisite detail, and the data that do exist have limited integration. Such factors have contributed to the uncertainty about the data relating to the Games Industry in Scotland and made it difficult to identify the economic impact . Creative Scotland is therefore investigating such data deficiencies in collaboration with the University of Glasgow.

This project will focus on two key data-related issues, namely:

• Existing firm-related data. The aim is to understand data users and their requirements relative to the existing data provision. This includes the barriers to data collection, and how best to address these, while avoiding duplication of effort and cost.
• Industry heritage and archival data. The aim is to share historical data about the Scottish Games Industry (including an entrepreneurial genealogy map) and engage with industry and policymakers to assess how best to illustrate how the industry has evolved.

The PI for this project is Prof. Colin Mason.

Outputs

• Meetings with key data providers and users from the public sector and industry.
• A workshop with data users and providers.       
• An engagement event with industry stakeholders.
• A report identifying the current data provision and gaps, user needs, barriers to data provision and access, and recommendations for future data provision.   

Outcomes

• Increased awareness and understanding about the available data sources.
• Improved insight into the issues relating to data access particularly constraints.     
• Recommendations for improving data accuracy and availability.  
• Clarity about the data collection, management and usage activities of industry organisations.
• An understanding of the economic, social and cultural values of the Games Industry in Scotland.        
• An understanding of the quality and quantity of activity in the Games Industry in Scotland.
• A more integrated network of data providers involved in the Games Industry in Scotland.

This project is one of two being undertaken by the University of Glasgow staff to engage with the games industry in Scotland (the second focuses on business models and can be found here http://bit.ly/IPgames).