Cultural Research Network

What Cultural Research Network does

The Cultural Research Network (CRN) is an open, free community of practice for individuals involved in arts- and culture-related research, established in 2013 and operated as an independent, volunteer-governed network. Its core platform centers on a SimpleLists-managed email listserv that functions as the primary channel for members to share questions, insights, news, and methodology, supplemented by Virtual Study Groups delivered in webinar format with guest experts, monthly Research Sharing of curated academic work, an archive of conversations dating to 2013, and in-person meetups at conferences such as Grantmakers in the Arts, AAAE, and STP&A. The technology stack is deliberately lightweight — a WordPress site using the Arcade Basic Theme, SimpleLists for email list management, and Vimeo for webinar recordings — with no proprietary software, API, or AI features disclosed.

The network serves a horizontal community of self-identified cultural researchers, including emerging scholars, private consultants, seasoned academics, and analysts embedded in nonprofit, governmental, or commercial organizations, with members located across the US, UK, Australia, Singapore, Canada, and other regions. CRN's business model is non-commercial: membership is free and open to all, with no pricing tiers or subscription plans. The only disclosed revenue-adjacent inflow is philanthropic grant funding, notably from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which supported the buildout of the CultureLab Library and CultureLab Fellowships in partnership with WolfBrown. Institutional partnerships — with arts councils in Singapore, Australia, and Canada, the American Evaluation Association, WolfBrown, Wellcome Trust, and ACMI — anchor the network's programming rather than functioning as commercial channels.

Name

Cultural Research Network

Legal name

Cultural Research Network

Website

https://culturalresearchnetwork.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cultural Research Network is a free, open community of practice for arts and culture researchers, providing a SimpleLists-managed email listserv, virtual study groups, monthly research sharing, and an archive since 2013. It serves scholars, consultants, and policy researchers globally through a volunteer-led, grant-supported network anchored by partnerships with major arts funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic and Professional Research Community

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Social CRM & Community Engagement Platforms (HDAEAFAF)

Keywords

• Arts research community
• Culture research network
• Academic listserv
• Professional practice forum
• Virtual study groups

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Free Membership: The Cultural Research Network is free and open to any self-identified cultural researcher. There is no explicit revenue model described - the network operates as a free community of practice without charging membership fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cultural Research Network (CRN) is a free, open community of practice for arts and culture researchers, providing a member-driven email listserv (via SimpleLists) as the central communication channel, supplemented by webinar-based Virtual Study Groups, monthly Research Sharing of new academic work, an Archives repository of discussions since 2013, and in-person Meetups at conferences. Membership is free and self-serve, open to any self-identified cultural researcher from emerging scholars to seasoned academics and embedded nonprofit, government, or commercial researchers.

Product overview

Cultural Research Network (CRN) operates as a single, unified community platform rather than a modular product suite. The network provides a collaborative platform centered on an email listserv, supplemented by Virtual Study Groups (webinar-based learning sessions), monthly Research Sharing (curated academic research), Archives (historical repository since 2013), and in-person Meetups at industry conferences. These components work together to enable peer connection, methodological exchange, and knowledge sharing among arts and culture researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CRN Email Listserv Free email-based discussion list, operated through SimpleLists, that serves as the central communication channel of CRN for sharing questions, insights, news, links, tips, and techniques related to cultural research. Open to any self-identified cultural researcher who subscribes via the website.
• Virtual Study Groups Webinar-format learning sessions featuring guest experts on emerging topics in cultural research, including presentations, panel discussions, and Q&A components. Sessions are free to all CRN members and often delivered in partnership with organizations such as the National Arts Council Singapore, the Australia Council for the Arts, and the American Evaluation Association.
• Monthly Research Sharing Monthly curated sharing of new academic research, reports, and publications relevant to cultural research, distributed through the CRN listserv with an international scope and focus on the membership.
• CRN Archives Online repository of past CRN conversations, virtual study group recordings, and research sharing posts dating back to 2013, providing a multi-year record of insight and discussion across the field of cultural research.
• CRN Conference Meetups In-person gatherings of CRN members at conferences and events such as Grantmakers in the Arts Conference, the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) annual conference, and the Social Theory, Politics and the Arts (STP&A) conference. Activities include happy hours and luncheons for member networking.
• CultureLab Library Free online resource library for students, researchers, and managers in arts and culture, containing curated collections of research literature. Developed in partnership with WolfBrown and supported by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with CultureLab Fellowships offered to CRN members.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Evaluation Association's Arts, Culture & Museums GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCRN partnered with the American Evaluation Association's Arts, Culture & Museums group to host a 3-part webinar series on Equity & Evaluation Practice in Cultural Organizations in 2021.
• National Arts Council, SingaporecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCRN partnered with the National Arts Council, Singapore to host a Virtual Study Group on Implementation Science in July 2021, with speakers from the Centre for Evidence and Implementation.
• CultureLab LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA free online resource library for students, researchers, and managers, developed in partnership with WolfBrown and supported by CRN. The library contains curated collections of research literature.
• Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEI speakers from Australia, Singapore, and the UK provided international perspectives on implementation science approaches for evaluating cultural policies and initiatives.
• Australia Council for the ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCRN collaborated with Australia Council for the Arts for the Virtual Study Group on Decolonizing Public Arts Funding, hosted by Christen Cornell from the Australia Council.
• Canada Council for the ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCRN collaborated with Canada Council for the Arts for the Virtual Study Group on Decolonizing Public Arts Funding, hosted by Gabriel Zamfir-Enache from the Council.
• Wellcome TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCRN's Virtual Study Group 'Contagious Cities' discussed the Wellcome Trust's international cultural project exploring epidemics and urban environments.
• Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerACMI partnered on the Museum Soft Power Map project featured in a CRN Virtual Study Group, developed in collaboration with the University of Melbourne.
• WolfBrowncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlan Brown of WolfBrown serves as Chair of CRN and has been instrumental in developing the network and CultureLab Library.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Grantmakers in the Arts: A membership association of US arts funders, with whom CRN co-hosts conference meetups. Comparable as a convening body for the arts/culture field, but focused on grantmakers rather than researchers, making it an adjacent community rather than a direct competitor.
• American Evaluation Association (AEA) — Arts, Culture & Museums Group: The professional home of US evaluators, including a topical interest group on arts, culture, and museums that has co-hosted programming with CRN. Comparable in advancing evaluation practice in the cultural sector, though embedded within a much larger professional association.

Direct peers

• ResearchGate: A large-scale online network for researchers to share papers, ask questions, and find collaborators. Comparable to CRN as a community-of-practice platform for researchers, though operating at much greater scale and across all academic disciplines.
• SSRN (Social Science Research Network): An open-access repository and community for social sciences research, now part of Elsevier. Comparable to CRN as an open resource-sharing network for social-science and humanities researchers, with overlapping membership base and similar mission of accelerating research dissemination.
• Academia.edu: A widely used academic social networking site where researchers share papers and follow research in their fields. Comparable to CRN as a free, community-driven discovery and discussion network for academic researchers, but with a far broader, multi-disciplinary audience.
• H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online: A consortium of scholarly listservs and networks for the humanities and social sciences. Highly comparable to CRN's listserv-centric, community-of-practice model, with overlapping member base in cultural and arts-related disciplines.

Others

• WolfBrown: A consulting firm specializing in research and strategy for the arts and culture sector, and CRN's core convening partner (with Alan Brown serving as CRN Chair). Closely aligned with CRN in mission, audience, and content focus, and a natural strategic partner or peer in arts/culture research infrastructure.

Regional players

• National Arts Council Singapore: A national funder and developer of the arts in Singapore that has co-hosted a Virtual Study Group with CRN. Comparable as a stakeholder in cultural research and policy, though operating as a government agency rather than a researcher community.
• Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE): An international association of educators in arts administration with whom CRN co-hosts annual meetups. Comparable as a community of practice for arts administration and policy, with overlapping academic researcher membership.

Emerging players

• Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI): A non-profit that synthesizes evidence and supports implementation in social policy, including arts and culture. Comparable in bridging research and practice for cultural initiatives, and has co-presented with CRN on implementation science approaches in the cultural sector.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/hashtag/culturalresearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Cultural Research Network