A new £500,000 fund has been launched for cultural organisations to research and develop opportunities offered by digital technology.

The Digital R&D Fund for Arts and Culture has been created by Arts Council England, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts.

Cultural organisations are asked to submit project proposals for consideration to the new research fund. According to a statement issued by the arts council, it is hoped that these projects will produce new data that can be shared with the wider sector.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey said he was “delighted” to see ACE, NESTA and AHRC collaborating on the project.

Hasan Bakhshi, director of creative industries in NESTA’s policy and research unit, said: “The rapid development of digital technologies opens up exciting new opportunities for the UK’s world-renowned arts and culture sector. Through this programme we hope to explore what these opportunities are, and rigorously assess them to understand how these technologies can benefit the wider sector.”

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