Impact of the Digital Now Initiative

In July 2021, the Canada Council for the Arts engaged Hill and Knowlton Strategies to undertake an analysis of the impact of the Digital Now initiative.

Research goal

The report examines the extent to which the Digital Now initiative helped the arts sector make the leap into the digital world and stimulate job creation.

Methods

Hill and Knowlton Strategies reviewed grant applications of 725 successful recipients of the Digital Now initiative to understand how recipients expected to use the funding.

Outcomes

Hill and Knowlton Strategies concluded that:

• The initiative is expected to have a broad reach, with close to 69,000 artists and arts workers being expected to receive compensation through funded projects.
• The funding is expected to support a broad range of artistic activities, including production, creation, dissemination, and distribution.
• 56% of applicants indicated their work would reflect Indigenous peoples/experiences, while 52% wrote about how their work would pertain and/or involve racialized communities.

Questions? 

Please contact the Research, Measurement and Data Analytics Section at research@canadacouncil.ca.