The SoFEST Project and the Festival Monitoring System

In anticipation of Act II ofthe Festival Forum, scheduled for early May in Bourges, and in order to gather a broader range of data on festivals,France Festivals, theCNRS, andtheDEPS were jointly commissioned by the Ministry of Culture to conduct a study on socioeconomic indicators covering a broader sample of festivals (performing arts, film, books, and visual arts). CEPEL is at the heart of this initiative. This is a recognition of a research institute that has been publishing its findings on this subject for more than 15 years now.

In 2018, CEPEL launchedthe research project “SoFEST!—The Social and Territorial Impact of Festivals.” The SoFEST! study, initiated and coordinated by France Festivals, is the result of close collaboration between a research team, regional and national festival networks, as well asthe Grand Est Cultural Agency and Occitanie en scène. Several partners are supporting the project: the DEPS(Department of Studies and Forecasting at the Ministry of Culture), Sacem, and Crédit Coopératif. The questionnaire for this survey covers the identity of festivals, their indicators of cultural, artistic, and regional activities, their human and budgetary resources, their pricing practices, and more.

More information: Festival Monitoring Program

Overview of a research project: link