DCA Research report

Gaming the contemporary arts complex: enhancing experience through digital thinking
Dr Gail Greig, Lecturer in Management, University of St Andrews Professor Nic Beech, Professor of Management, University of St Andrews

Executive Summary
Background
The purpose of the project was to explore alternative ways of innovating which would fully engage employees, challenge existing ways of thinking and make use of principles of digital gaming. The idea of applying game design methodology to innovation was inspired by a quote from Ted Nelson: 'Why are video games so much better designed than office software? Because people who design video games love to play video games. People who design office software look forward to doing something else on the weekend'. The project was very open-ended and sought to apply the idea of an artist in residence in a new way. Here, it would be technologists in residence in a creative organisation. Using principles of game design implied that the design of products or tools to be used by staff or audience members should not be merely functional but also attractive and fun. The project was awarded 24,050 from the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts in Scotland.

The project
Employees, including those with customer-facing expertise, were engaged through workshops which included game-playing and imaginative thought. Two projects were selected: first, an exploration of how to encourage DCA loyalty card holders to register when using the gallery; second, a rethink of principles of the DCA donations box.

Results

The projects resulted in the development of digital prototypes of a visual reward scheme for loyalty card holders and a new form of donations box. An initial phase of testing has been conducted and as a result of this testing plans have been made for the next phase of further development of the prototypes.

Insights
The residencies were a success in greatly enhancing employee engagement in innovation. The two projects were refined and redesigned through the engagement process and the outcomes included both project-outcomes for DCA and insights into engaged forms of innovation. Innovation based on technologists in residence meant that the collaboration between the creative and digital organisations was conducted on a different footing. The relationship was not merely a commercial exchange, but became a high-trust collaboration with genuinely shared goals. Similarly, employees were engaged in a way which enhanced their confidence to be risk-taking and sometimes playful at work, hence increasing the creative possibilities of DCA itself. Lessons Learned Developing aims and objectives collaboratively helps and fostering strong partnerships and generating innovative thinking in both arts/culture and digital media organisations. Time requirements need to be given serious consideration. R&D approaches require time to establish collective objectives within the project and ways to address these. Project partners should not underestimate especially time needed for developing ways to enact those ideas/concepts and testing them out in situ. Contrasting demands on time and staff in respective partner organisations need to be acknowledged, and a flexible approach to managing these demands be adopted. Maintaining an appreciation of collaborative aims and processes and pursuing an equal partner approach to the project contract helps securing commitment from all partners in the face of challenges. A high-trust collaborative climate enables both more innovative thinking and flexibility of process. Devising a project process which was fun and experiential helped encourage buy-in and motivation from staff across the organisation.

Future
The next stage for the projects is to further develop the prototypes. This stage will entail a scoping analysis and collaboration with partners who can support fabrication. It will be necessary to find partners to share in the potential costs of the next phase of development. The projects have laid the basis for future innovation in DCA as the learning from a gaming orientation, close engagement and high-trust collaboration can be extended to new projects. The project has helped enhance the innovative culture of DCA and the method will be used again in future. It is hoped that the method of technologists in residence may also be applicable to other organisations.

1. Background
This project takes an innovative approach to innovation. It challenges some of the received wisdom about how innovation should be managed and is playful with how collaborations can 2

be structured. It brought together Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) with technology partners Denki and Lucky Frame. Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) (http://www.dca.org.uk/) is an internationally-known centre for the promotion of contemporary arts and culture, engaging audiences through a range of facilities and interactive activities including: international contemporary art exhibitions, two cinemas, analogue and digital print studio resources, education and activity centre, shop and bar / restaurant, and research centre (Duncan of Jordanstone, University of Dundee). Clive Gillman (DCA Director) led the project on behalf of DCA. Lucky Frame (http://www.luckyframe.co.uk/) is a small Edinburgh-based digital media company, specialising in music-related software and innovative interfaces with audiences to encourage creativity (for example, in education). Director Yann Seznec led the project for Lucky Frame. One of Scotlands longest established digital companies, Dundee-based Denki (http://www.denki.co.uk/) is a digital toy boutique working with media partners such as Disney, DreamWorks, Warner Bros and Universal Pictures. They produce games and digital solutions to enhance how people engage in everyday activities (for example, in healthcare or crowd flow). Managing Director Colin Anderson led the project for Denki. The project was based on strong connections and areas of mutual interest between all three key participants over several years, making existing collaboration the bed-rock for this project. At its heart was an exploration via collaboration, experimentation, and a research-oriented approach of how the processes, methods and tools involved in games thinking and design can enhance staff and audiences experiences of, and engagement with, the work of DCA and arts and cultural organisations more widely. The idea for the project originally came about as a challenge to the idea that serious matters, such as customer loyalty or increasing donations, can only be dealt with through traditional and serious ways of working. Principles of game design and playing, including having fun, attractiveness of product and a willingness to challenge the rules, were applied. The idea of applying game design methodology to innovation was inspired by a quote from Ted Nelson: 'Why are video games so much better designed than office software? Because people who design video games love to play video games. People who design office software look forward to doing something else on the weekend'. The project was awarded a budget of 24,050 by the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts in Scotland. Its organic approach to innovation was successful in developing stage one prototypes as well as a wealth of learning and soft benefits (see sections 3-5). For DCA the project was of interest on three levels. Firstly, it provided DCA with new routes for increasing customer engagement with the full range of facilities and service provision. DCA had previously not had effective ways of collecting data on gallery audiences and visitors to the center appeared to be unsure of whether and how to use the donations box. Staff had commented that generally the centre needed to be better at engaging audiences and visitors once they entered the physical premises. Increased donations and sales revenue from such better engagement were an attractive opportunity. Secondly, DCA were keen to engage a broader employee base in creative thinking and innovation. In so doing they were looking to extend their innovative capacities and include employees whose remits normally did not include creative and development activities in imaginative and playful tasks and thus enhance their work experience. Thirdly, the project promised to improve audience experience at DCA. The application of gaming principles implied a focus on playfulness, fun and accessibility. Innovations that enabled the galleries and other offerings of the DCA in a non3

intimidating and fun way would therefore make visits to the centre more enjoyable and attractive to visitors. Beyond the DCA itself the project provides a promising case study for the wider arts sector. Innovation in the delivery of services and facilities is crucial to arts organisations, as is engaging with other, related providers such as digital and marketing agencies. With respect to such innovation and collaborations, the process provides a case study of radical thinking and an approach to innovation which should be translatable into different organisational environments and scalable to organisations of different sizes.

2. The project
Overall research proposition The DCA project challenges conventional knowledge on both innovation management and collaboration. Much research on innovation is focuses on manufacturing and it has tended to emphasize best practice which is, itself, similar to project management. Hence, espoused processes are often step-wise strategic models of problem specification, resource allocation, solution development, testing and implementation (Ettlie, 2013). Research on best practice in innovation management has argued for more focus on strategy and commercialization and less on project climate and metrics (Kahn et al., 2012). However, despite advances in new innovation practice, success rates have been assessed in a meta-analysis of 233 empirical cases as below 25% (Evanschitzky et al., 2012). Therefore, although a traditional way of thinking may be appropriate, especially when considerable capital investment is involved, it may not be the best choice for all forms of product and service, and particular questions may be raised regarding its applicability in SMEs and the arts sector. Innovation in arts and creative organisations is often of a different order. Innovations may be aesthetic, experiential or broaden access rather than creating new physical products. Hence, a more organic approach to innovation based on stimulating an organisational climate of idea-generation may be more appropriate. Arts organisations have been found to be as effective as manufacturing and service industries in non-technical innovation, but less so in technical innovation (de-Miguel-Molina et al., 2013) and so the DCA project is interesting from a theoretical perspective as it combines technical and organisational innovation, and does so by focusing on project climate and process rather than simply on strategic outcome. In many fields collaboration leads more commonly to inertia and failure rather than success (Vangen & Winchester, 2013). Lack of shared agendas, a lack of openness and transparency and problems of mistrust are typical inhibitors (Hibbert, et al., 2010). Hence, best practice has been thought of as either having very explicit, instrumental collaborations, which tend to be short-term and designed to bring together resources to exploit a particular market opportunity or the development of long-term joint ventures (Schepher, et al., 2014). Both approaches are governed through contractual arrangements which specify expectations, contributions and outcome agreements. However, in the wider arts sector, both structured collaboration (Andres & Chapain, 2013) and informal and less structured collaborations are more common (Bilton & Cummings, 2014). In the DCA case a more informal style of collaboration was applied to an arts-digital collaboration and led to interesting results.

The project set out to explore what might happen if a game-oriented approach were adopted to innovating in the DCA. Initial broad aims were to explore how games design thinking might assist day-to-day work processes throughout DCA and develop processes to enhance sustainable audience engagement and interaction. Following the consultative engagement, the projects focused on the narrower aims to (1) examine how to encourage DCA loyalty card holders to register when using the gallery, and (2) to rethink the principles of the DCA donations box how do we help people to give us something for nothing? The technologists in residence approach entailed the tech partners spending time embedded in DCA, getting to know the people and the place and co-designing a process of research-oriented innovation. The agreed approach used questionnaires and events such as workshops to enable the technologists to work directly with staff. A project plan and timeline were agreed between all three partners, beginning in September 2012, when DCAs Head of Marketing conducted a survey amongst DCA staff. Data were gathered on staffs current use of and interaction with digital technology (hardware usage, e.g. smartphones; shopping online or in-store interaction preferences). The survey also invited suggestions about issues or challenges the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts in Scotland project might address, related to visitors experiences of DCA or working at DCA. This survey was followed in November 2012 by workshops for two consecutive groups of DCA staff, hosted jointly by the project partners. As many members of staff as possible, from all areas of work within DCA, were invited to attend. These fun, highly participative events introduced staff to the project aims, provided feedback from the staff survey, gave staff experience of using digital media through gaming in small groups, and stimulated discussion about how digital media and play ideas could be used in day-to-day work processes to enhance staff and audience experiences of DCA. In workshop 1 , staff group 1 discussed the intimidating nature of contemporary art spaces in general, and the benefits and pitfalls of the physical layout of the DCA complex in particular. Staff reflected on the need for DCA to simultaneously present critically acclaimed contemporary art (reputation, associated exclusivity) and be inclusive to as wide an audience as possible (reflecting one of DCAs key aims). They identified difficulties for staff and visitors alike in navigating DCAs complex offer of services and activities in different areas, and agreed that it would be helpful to enable audiences to move through and engage more easily with these different aspects of DCA. In workshop 2 , staff group 2 also identified customers difficulties in exploring the DCA complex. This workshop included staff who worked in front-of-house positions and observed first-hand how people interacted with the building on entry. They highlighted the way people engaged with the foyer and issues with the corridor linking the foyer to the gallery space. They observed how people were unsure of where they should go, whether the corridor led anywhere, where installations and exhibitions began, and whether everyday objects were art or not. They felt these confusions inhibited visitors exploring and experiencing DCAs offerings. For example, staff had observed that people either did not notice or were uncertain about the function of the donations box in the foyer (art or donations box?). They agreed it would be good to make visiting DCA more satisfying and interactive, as soon as visitors entered the building. They felt such improvements would encourage them to explore and 3 navigate the complex and its activities more freely.
2 1

1 2

Fieldnotes from staff gaming workshop 1, DCA, Dundee, 13 November 2012 Fieldnotes from staff gaming workshop 2, DCA, Dundee, 21 November 2012 3 Fieldnotes from staff gaming workshop 2, DCA, Dundee, 21 November 2012

Based on these observations and ideas, DCA and both tech partners agreed in early 4 December 2012 two sub-projects for the collaboration. These sub-projects were in line with the overall project objectives of enhancing staff and audience/visitors experience of the DCA as well as develop opportunities for generating usable data for a range of organisational purposes. One sub-project, led by Denki, involved developing the existing DCA Loyalty Card Scheme. The existing scheme only gathered data on cinema usage and the aim of this subproject was to encourage more use of the gallery by extending the scheme. The second subproject, led by Lucky Frame, involved developing the existing donations box into an interactive, digital donations box in the gallery in order to increase giving. Each sub-project would aim to deliver a prototype. The project partners agreed these sub-projects needed to meet three quality criteria: To fit with the aesthetic aspects of DCA as an arts and cultural organisation; To deliver good user interaction and DCA as an arts and cultural organisation; 5 To generate usable data, aligned with DCA as an arts and cultural organisation;

A timeline was agreed for developing the prototypes. However, in late January 2013, following discussion between the two technology partners and DCA, the prototype projects were swapped around at the request of Lucky Frame. On reflection, Lucky Frame felt that the Loyalty Card Scheme was a better fit with their expertise and organisational capacity, and 6 Denki agreed to swapping sub-projects. Building on existing data and usage, Lucky Frame developed a prototype for an extended use of the Loyalty Card Scheme. A mechanism would need to be developed to facilitate swipe entry at various points around DCA. Using this mechanism, cardholders would be able to accumulate points when they interacted with any aspect of DCA. If they visited the gallery or print studio, they could scan their card on entry. The accumulation of points would trigger the growth of a personalised digital tree, which would be displayed visually in the foyer. Various means of realising such displays were under consideration. Additional aspects would be awarded - for example, a small bird perching on a branch - depending on the nature of the points-generation interaction, so gallery visits and cinema attendance would generate different types of growth or awards. Each tree would be unique to the particular cardholder. Building on research amongst DCA staff, other people in the contemporary art sector, and contemporary art works, Denki presented the conceptual plans for a donations box prototype named Artcade. The aim was to engage users in the foyer area in an interactive way that blurred the boundary between art and entertainment. Part art installation, part vending machine, part seaside arcade machine, part photo booth, part donations box, the Artcade would aim to engage visitors as soon as they entered DCA, drawing them in and conveying an invitation to explore and engage with the whole complex in an interactive way - whilst perhaps raising more revenue for DCA through increased donations. The official project completion date was extended to May 31, 2013. Both technology partners presented working digital illustrations of their sub-projects outcomes to DCA staff at two 7 launch workshops in early May. Lucky Frame launched the digital aspect of the loyalty card tree prototype publicly at a Small 8 Society Lab session at DCA. A possible solution for housing the scanning equipment
4 5

Fieldnotes, meeting between DCA, Denki and Luckyframe at DCA, Dundee, 4 December 2012 Fieldnotes, meeting between DCA, Denki and Luckyframe at DCA, Dundee, 4 December 2012 and interview with Clive Gilman, DCA, May 2013. 6 Interviews with: Yann Seznec (Lucky Frame) Edinburgh, May 2013; Colin Anderson (Denki), Dundee, May 2013; Clive Gilman (DCA), Dundee, May 2013. 7 Fieldnotes, prototype presentation and update workshops, DCA, 9 May 2013.

emerged following a conversation with a colleague from the Dundee-based technology company NCR who had attended a Small Society Lab event. This idea was subsequently 9 followed up by DCA. The partners mutual interest drove engagement in the exploratory process: [Audience engagement with, and loyalty to, physical organisations is] something that Im interested in, because thats essentially what were trying to do with our productsI thought that we could learn a lot from engaging with DCA and seeing how their audience responds to certain types of promotion and different types of 10 communication. The collaborative nature of this process-driven project was also exemplified in the project contract. Rather than DCA defining objectives and sub-contracting with technology partners to deliver those, all three partners were jointly responsible for delivering on the mutually agreed objectives identified through the collaborative process.

3. Results
The projects initial broad aims were to explore how games design thinking might assist dayto-day work processes throughout DCA and help in general with organisational needs such as enhancing sustainable audience engagement and interaction. Following the consultative engagement, the two sub-projects focused on the narrower aims to (1) examine how to encourage DCA loyalty card holders to register when using the gallery, and (2) to rethink the principles of the DCA donations box, how do we help people to give us something for nothing? A number of soft benefits emerged from the project. The sub-projects aims were addressed through the production of prototypes. The use of games thinking in the development of the loyalty card scheme led to the idea of highly attractive and dynamic graphics: We want to create a digital forest of trees - one tree for each Red Card holder. The size and characteristics of each tree will be generated from the number and type of points currently on the card. A publicly viewable screen will show the whole forest. This [screen] should be located somewhere with a great deal of foot traffic - perhaps behind the reception desk. It will show the forest as an organic, growing, and gorgeous abstract set of trees. When an audience member presents their Red Card and makes a purchase, the camera will zoom in and focus on their tree, showing it grow and displaying the statistics (how many current points, where the points have 11 been accrued, etc.). Several other scanning points should be placed around the building, encouraging exploration of the space. [These scanning points] would display the forest and allow gallery attendees to scan their cards to check up on their trees. [These checks] will show them how big their tree has grown, as well as let them know if any rewards (fruits) are available. Scanning your card at these other areas (such as at the
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The Small Society Lab is a joint project by DCA and the University of Dundee and is an umbrella for a series of activities exploring the intersection between art, science and community. The main platform for the Small Society Lab is a series of public events that have taken place in DCA in June over the past three years. 9 Fieldnotes, Small Society Lab, DCA, Dundee, 20 June 2013 10 Interview with Colin Anderson, Denki, October 2012. 11 DCA Nesta Digital R&D final report January 2014

entrance of the gallery, or in the print studio) would help your tree grow in different ways as you scan more often in the gallery, for example, you could acquire a new type of leaf on your tree, and unlock a new type of fruit. The aesthetic of the tree will reflect the origin of the points - whether they are from cinema, workshops, bar, shop, or gallery. Rewards will be represented on the tree as hanging fruit - if a free cinema ticket, discount at the shop, or other rewards are available a piece of fruit will grow on 12 the tree, labeled with what is available. An initial prototype of loyalty card scanner that Lucky Frame conceived is depicted in Picture 1.

Picture 1: Loyalty scanner prototype by Lucky Frame. The donations box rethink produced the Artcade machine which is made up of three giant pixels and a message box. Each pixel is illuminated with a solid colour, one of 12 from the RGB colour wheel. When a coin or note is placed in one of the three pixels, that pixel will change colour and a Thank You will be illuminated on the message box in the corresponding colour. While waiting for somebody to donate money into it each pixel will stay illuminated and the message box will say Donations Welcome. In addition, the Artcade machine has a secret game for visitors to discover over time. The game is based around colour theory. If a visitors donations change the colour of the pixels so that the three pixels show three triadic colours (colours that are located at 120 degrees apart from each other on the colour wheel), the visitor has won. The pixels will flash white and the
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DCA Nesta Digital R&D final report January 2014

Thank you will flash through a spectrum of colours. An initial prototype of loyalty card scanner by Denki is depicted in pictures 2 and 3.

Picture 2: Artcade donations box by Denki.

Picture 3: Donating or playing? Artcade donations box by Denki.

A further soft benefit of project was that the methods used led to a high level of involvement amongst DCA staff. The response to the initial survey on staffs use of digital technology was comprehensive and twenty-two people participated in the workshops. DCA has a large number of staff (over 70), but many are part-time with a fairly small full-time core team of around 20 people. The workshops comprised a mix of full-time core staff with some staff from areas such as Front of House and Box Office. An important soft benefit of these workshops was that they encouraged staff buy-in. Staff feedback on the processes, prototypes and 13 overall project was overwhelmingly positive. Staff suggested how gaming processes might be embedded in day-to-day working practices at DCA. For example, they proposed using gaming for team-building and staff development by running workshops like the initial November project workshops, as those workshops had brought people together and opened 14 lines of thinking about new ways of tackling challenging issues facing the organization. Staff also made suggestions for the further developing and installing the working prototypes in 15 situ. The DCA as well as the technology partners Lucky Frame and Denki found using the workshop model highly beneficial, in terms of enhancing understanding of user/audience engagement and interactivity. Both technology partners derived valuable insights about interactive processes and about workshops as a way of gathering user feedback on services and/or prototype digital products. Engaging with challenges around presenting digital interactive products in a physical location, in a way that meets the aesthetic demands of an arts and cultural organisation, has provoked new thinking for each of the tech partners on how they present their products to their own audiences. The collaborative research focus has also prompted them to reflect on their own workflow processes and organisational issues. Another soft benefit of the project so far is that the collaboration between each of the technology partners and DCA is likely to continue beyond the project. Despite the lack of further funding, all three organisations have committed to continuing to work to bring about the development of the prototypes, in order to achieve the collaboratively identified objectives for the project and to maximise the benefits of the experimental, exploratory approach 16 taken. Their commitment to the project was exemplified through the efforts of all three partners to retain an open-minded approach to identifying issues to explore. As they put it, they sought to ...for as long as its possible remain open before start[ing] to shape the project 17 into something that might produce a tangible outcome. The partners emphasised repeatedly the value of the research-based nature of the project, and despite the challenges, all felt this nature was key to achieving maximum benefit from the project. For the technology partners, the advantages of a research-orientation related to working processes, for example: [Lucky Frames expertise is in] thinking very creatively about the interfaces and so on, [so] we came to the conclusion that we had loads of ideas but that trying to come up with the output at the beginning was not really a good approach We realised what we really needed to do is start from the beginning and research a project together. And thats when we set these much wider targets of looking at gaming 18 and the organisation of DCA.

13 14 15

Fielnotes, prototype presentation and update workshops, DCA, 9 May 2013. Fielnotes, prototype presentation and update workshop 1, DCA, 9 May 2013. Fieldnotes from staff gaming workshops 1 & 2, DCA, Dundee, November 2012. Fieldnotes, Colin Anderson (Denki) information-gathering visit to DCA, Dundee, April 2013. 16 Interviews with Clive Gilman (DCA), Colin Anderson (Denki), Yann Seznec (Luckyframe), May 2013. 17 Interview with Clive Gilman, DCA, Dundee, May 2013. 18 Interview with Yann Seznec, Lucky Frame, October 2012.

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For Denki, the benefits were partly testing out the collaborative process of innovation 20 partly working collaboratively with DCA, a key local organisational partner.

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and

All partners acknowledged explicitly that the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts in Scotland had been invaluable in enabling the collaboration. All agreed that the level of innovative thinking achieved through the project would have been impossible without the Digital R&D Fund, details of which are provided in table 1 below. They agreed that ideally there should be recurring funding for exploratory projects to enable collaborations to stimulate new thinking 21 and approaches to mutual challenges throughout the arts and cultural sector.
Travel for team to attend Scotland-wide workshops and meetings Catering for workshops Fee to tech partner 1 for research workshops Fee to tech partner 2 for research workshops Fee to tech partner 1 for meetings to review workshops and plan project 1 Fee to tech partner 2 for meetings to review workshops and plan project 2 Project development meetings fees tech partner 1 Project development meetings fees tech partner 2 DCA cluster staff time for workshops and development activity Prototype development fee to tech partner 1 Prototype development fee to tech partner 2 Equipment, transport etc. costs for prototype installations Software development for Donations Box Total 225 105 1,200 1,200 600 600 300 300 375 8,500 8,000 495 2,150 24,050

Table 1: Final budget DCA project

4. Insights
The move away from a traditionally highly structured form of innovation (Kahn, et. al., 2012) was effective for DCA and its partners. The more organic style allowed for greater team involvement which, in turn, facilitated a highly motivated orientation from all sides. The DCA staff team worked with both a questionnaire and experiential workshops which enabled them to express thoughts and experiences beyond the merely cognitive. The experiences of staff in the workshops were embodied, emotional and enjoyable, and in this sense challenged the predominantly cognitive approach to much innovation management. The process involved different forms of expertise, each given their own space to contribute. The curating and artistic expertise of the DCA directors, the customer-facing expertise of staff and the technical expertise of the technology partners were all shared and there was no evidence of gatekeeping of knowledge. The collaborative approach rejected the more contractual style which predominates in commercial industry (Schepker, 2014). The joint setting of goals and a gradual development of mutual understanding were particularly important to the informal collaboration in this project, a finding which confirms previous studies on collaborations (e.g. Vangen and Winchester 2013; Hibbert et al. 2010). The advantage of a collaborative approach is that it
19 20

Interview with Colin Anderson, Denki, Dundee, October 2012. Interview with Colin Anderson, Denki, Dundee, May 2013. 21 Interviews with Clive Gilman (DCA), Colin Anderson (Denki), Yann Seznec (Luckyframe), May 2013.

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allows for trust-building and a beyond-self interest in the project, as evidenced in this case. However, whether collaborations can deliver such benefits depends not only on the orientation of the collaborative arrangements, but also on the inter-personal skills and personal engagement of the organisational representatives. All those involved were bought-in to the idea of games and fun as part of thought-generation in innovation. The management of such an organic approach depends not on structures, but on the management and innovative skills of the people involved. Leadership is key and the leadership style needs to be one which draws in the contribution of others rather than being top-down. The case exemplifies a high-trust form of collaboration. Drawing on game design and gameplaying, it encourages a challenging of rules and traditional ways of thinking. It introduces experience and emotion into innovation processes and supports the idea of organic innovation based on the establishment of an enabling climate. Lessons Learned Developing aims and objectives collaboratively helps and fostering strong partnerships and generating innovative thinking in both arts/culture and digital media organisations. Time requirements need to be given serious consideration. R&D approaches require time to establish collective objectives within the project and ways to address these. Project partners should not underestimate especially time needed for developing ways to enact those ideas/concepts and testing them out in situ. Contrasting demands on time and staff in respective partner organisations need to be acknowledged, and a flexible approach to managing these demands be adopted. Maintaining an appreciation of collaborative aims and processes and pursuing an equal partner approach to the project contract helps securing commitment from all partners in the face of challenges. A high-trust collaborative climate enables both more innovative thinking and flexibility of process. Devising a project process which was fun and experiential helped encourage buy-in and motivation from staff across the organisation.

5. Future
Whilst the digital aspects have been completed, at the end of the funded period work remained to be done on the material aspects of the prototypes. Lucky Frame needed an aesthetically pleasing way of housing the scanners to allow users to swipe their cards, and to agree where and how the trees would be displayed; Denki needed an equally aesthetically acceptable casing for the Artcade, so that it could be installed for use. Both technology partners and DCA were continuing to work together on these remaining tasks after the funded project period. The partners would all engage in the technologist in residence method again. They would allow more time for the process and ensure that resource was available to continue projects. They would also choose to work with partners who have shared values and enthusiasms rather than having a merely contractual arrangement.

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6. Further resources
Further project information
Further information on DCA can be found at: http://www.dca.org.uk Information on the Technology Partners can be here for Denki http://www.denki.co.uk/ and here for Lucky Frame http://luckyframe.co.uk/

Tools and guidance

The DCA project was a genuine exploration of the use of digital innovations in art centres. The following article asks similar broad questions: http://www.theguardian.com/cultureprofessionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2013/sep/23/digital-innovation-arts-creativepractice An introduction to the geeks-in-residence approach can be found here: http://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionalsblog/2014/feb/28/geeks-residence-tech-arts-developer An article on why using digital innovation to encourage staff involvement and collaboration is beneficial comes from Involve: http://www.involve.co.uk/promoting-digital-collaboration-inyour-team/ Other examples of museums, galleries and theatres utilising digital technologies and games to enhance visitor experience and generate user interactions typically focus on apps, such as: Tate Magic 8 Ball app (http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/apps/magic-tate-ball); The National Museum of Scotland Capture the Museum App (http://www.capturethemuseum.com/); National Galleries ARTHunter app (http://www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/arthunter), another project from the Nesta R&D in Scotland Fund.

More general examples of introducing digital into an arts organisations strategy come from Pitlochry Festival Theatre who discuss the introduction of strategy with the help from Ambition and the Make:IT:Happen Fund: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sd44IVEo0w&feature=player_embedded Clevelands Museum of Art, Gallery One, which is combines arts and technologies to guide the users journey through the gallery: http://www.clevelandart.org/gallery-one

Further reading

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Andres, L. & Chapain, C. (2013) The Integration of Cultural and Creative Industries in local and regional development strategies. Regional Studies 47(2): 161 -182 Bilton, C. & Cummings, S. (2014) Handbook of Management and Creativity. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar De-Miguel-Molina, B., Hervas-Olivier, J-L., de-Miguel-Molina, M. & Boix, R. (2012) Beautiful Innovation in Hervas-Olivier, J-L. & Peris-Ortiz, M. (eds) Management Innovation, New York: Springer Ettlie, J.E. (2013) Managing Innovation. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth- Heinemann Evanschitzky, H., Eisend, M., Celantone, R.j. & Jiang, Y. (2012) Success factors of Product Innovations: An updated meta-analysis. Journal of Product Innovation 29(1): 21 -37 Hibbert, P., Huxham, C. & Ring, P. (2010) Managing collaborative inter-organisational relations in Cropper, S., Ebers, M., Huxham, C. and Ring, P. (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Inter-organisational Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kahn, K., Barczak, G., Nicholas, J., Ledwith, A. & Perks, H. (2012) An examination of new product development and best practice. Journal of New Product Innovation Management 29(2): 180 - 192 Schepher, D., Oh, W-Y., Martynov, A., & Poppo, L. (2014) The Many Futures of Contracts. Journal of Management 40 (1): 193-225 Vanger , S. & Winchester, N. (2013) Managing Cultural Diversity in Collaborations. Public Management Review. DOI 10.1080

Other examples
DCA used a technologists in residence model for their collaboration with Denki and Lucky Frame. Other examples of such collaborations include the following: Geeks in Residencies program by Sync, where developers and designers were placed in arts organisations and funded for their time http://www.welcometosync.com/geeks/, with the Example of We are Snook (http://wearesnook.com/snook/?case=geeks-in-residence) Chicago Public Library Geeks in Residence is a peer mentorship programme where the Geeks offer free business and technology advice: http://cplgeeksinresidence.wordpress.com/about/ The Happenstance project was a technologist in residence project in 2012, produced by Caper, funded by the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts in England: http://happenstanceproject.com/ The Australia Council devised the Arts Geek in Residence Program to equip funded arts organization with the skills and knowledge to be competitive in the digital era: http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/grants/grant-decisions/reports/arts-organisations/geek-inresidence-2013

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V&A Museum in London employed Games Designer Sophia George on a 6 months Games in residency: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/g/game-designer-resident-sophia-george/ and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22704984

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