The Digital R&D Fund for Arts and Culture is a partnership between the Arts Council England, Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and NESTA to support arts and cultural organisations across England who want to work with digital technologies to expand their audience reach and engagement and/or explore new business models. Scratch Online is an online space that provides the opportunity for people to create and share ideas and develop them in collaboration with a creative community.

1. SCRATCH ONLINE will be an online space that provides the opportunity for people to set up creative projects:
o online space – a space that is more like Pinterest than the Guardian blog because it is primarily a creative and social space
o creative project – a period of time in which something is made - could be a piece of theatre, a game, a present for someone etc.
THERE ARE 3 CHARACTERS IN SCRATCH ONLINE:
o producer – this individual will create & host each creative project space, with the opportunity to provide general updates for each project
o artist – this individual is (or individuals are) the maker of the creative project & will post progress on the project from beginning to completion
o audiences – these individuals will respond to each stage of the creative project and offer feedback, ideas and support with research
EACH OF THE 3 CHARACTERS IN SCRATCH ONLINE HAS A TRADEMARK BEHAVIOUR:
o the producer is host and does all the things a good host does: catalyse, introduce, contextualise, clears up spills, troubleshoot, timekeeps
o the artist is creator and does all the things a good creator does: asks questions, makes things, shows them, makes connections
o the audience is commentator and does all the things a good commentator does: experiences, responds, does research, makes connections
THREE SCRATCH ONLINE RULES
o that anyone can be anything (for example, anyone can set up a creative project as a producer)
o that you can only be one thing in any single creative project (i.e. you can’t switch roles on a single project)
o that everyone has a Scratch Online profile that shows their Scratch Online history as producer, artist or audience member

2. 2. What will your project deliver?
Products and Knowledge and Research
services skills outputs
An online space for Artists, INSIGHT INTO INSIGHT INTO:
Producers and Audiences to have - what support and tools artists want - Opportunities and challenges of the
creative conversations and create or need to use digital technologies digital platform for artists,
work together. more creatively. organisations and audiences
- How best to absorb content created - Differences between digital
A digital scratch of BAC more in this digital form into a digital archive enthusiasts and those less engaged
accessibe platform (or online space) (BAC Digital Archive is also currently with technology
to make the work le by encouraging in development). - The role of technology in exposing
audiences to engage with artists and differing visions of the same process
experimental forms of theatre. A WORKING PRACTICE by stakeholders
-for producers, understanding how to
Four Creative Projects which will all host this online creative space. DISSEMINATION:
use open source technology. -for Artists understanding how to get - EVA London (Electronic
the most from this creative space. Visualization and the Arts), 11 July
SCRATCH ONLINE ARTISTS: -for Audiences understanding how to 2012
- Shlomo foster relationships with artists, so that - AoIR Salford (Association of Internet
- Hollie McNish they become invested in, and Researchers), October 2012
- Gemma Brockis and Silvia embedded within, the creative - Public-facing summary report
Mercuriali process. highlighting each of the Scratch
- Rio Occupancy - 30 artists Online Artists
- Nic Green (non digital control case) - Journal articles planned

3. 3. Who is in your R&D team? How are you working together to make the
project happen?
Text
Core Project Team BAC Archive

4. 4. What are you learning and developing that could be of value
to the sector?
Arts organisations and artists from the performing arts sector could use the data about digital audience
profile and behaviour as part of their audience engagement strategies. Scratch Online uses digital means to place
audiences at the heart of the creative process, and as such, in terms of art form development, this has real value
in terms of broadening the definition of making theatre. By opening up the creative process in this way, we are able
to expose audiences to the kinds of participatory and pervasive forms of theatre that are being made at centres like
BAC to an audience previously unreached by the art form.
Insert
We recognise that this is also a new way of working for Artists, and so organisations could also use the data on
the support that artists want and need, to engage better and more creatively with digital technologies and create
improved support programmes.
In the future, we would like to offer the digital space to development houses nationally and internationally, who
could all adapt Scratch Online for their own purposes. We hope also that audiences will feel able to become artists
and producers on their own projects through access to this space.

5. 5. Where are you in terms of your project’s development?
Items Done Project Timetable Still to do
Oct ’11 Nov ’11 Dec ’11 Jan ’12 Feb ’12 Mar ’12 Apr ’12 May ’12 June ’12 July ’12 Aug ’12 Sep ’12
Show second
Fund Deadline for First Iteration of Hollie McNish Prep for Shlomo
Site iteration
Awarded Applications: Site ready for Artist Residency Residency
Nick (VJ) to team
Artist testing Begins
Commissions presents initial
wireframe Early feedback
designs to team React to feedback Research write
gathered from artists & up begins
Shlomo online
activity begins audiences
Commissioning Shortlist Artists Discussion of how
to tie BAC Archive Meet with Artists
Call out Written
with Scratch Online to update them as
to project Shlomo Residency
progress. Gather RIO week with selected
Digest the Captured their thoughts to Occupation Young People’s
ideas/requirements feed into second Beat boxers and
from brainstorms, iteration 3/4 point review
Site tested by Street dancers
artists' proposals and between partner
Research Artists Gemma orgs
Team and Silvia - and Next steps confirmed
Contracted shown to a small with core team
test audience Strategy Planning for
Absorb feedback
platform development
Entire team Artist
Partner orgs meet in 2013
gathered to watch Brainstorm Have a second Research
a Scratch Night at Meeting to refocus brief in presented to
Site iteration
BAC. reaction to Funding Orgs
available to show
feedback
a more public test
audience