Dance Ireland: Research into working conditions and payscales
Since 2008, Dance Ireland has consistently undertaken research into the working conditions of dance artists across the island of Ireland through our research strand Dance Counts. As the national representative and development organisation for professional dance in Ireland, we have taken part in consultations for the Arts Council of Ireland’s Paying the Artist policy, and actively promote dance as a sustainable and viable career in Ireland.
Further research into pay scales and working conditions for dance artists on the island of Ireland has been under consideration for some time in order to assess: the market conditions for making and presenting dance in Ireland; employment/contracting practices of dancers for work in dance and other art forms; the different roles for which dance artists may be employed e.g. performer, movement director, choreographer, curator, creative collaborator; commissioning; and the value of choreography as intellectual property within the performance sector.
This research proposal feels timely considering the changes in the sector post-Covid, and the shifting conditions in the ecology of dance.
We anticipate that the research will take place in three phases, and it is possible that each phase may be undertaken by a different researcher depending on experience and area of expertise, and that the findings from each phase will influence how the research will progress.
- Phase 1: A field study of work profiles and conditions in the dance sector and the factors that influence pay scales
- Phase 2: Data analysis, market analysis and a benchmarking process
- Phase 3: Report and recommendations
We now invite expressions of interest from researchers with experience in the arts sector in Ireland to undertake Phase 1 of the research.
This research should include:
- Literature review of existing research in Ireland, UK and Europe across similar ecologies
- Data collection through surveys, focus groups and interviews
- Delineation of the factors found to affect pay and funding for dance in Ireland
This work will need to begin in 2024; there will be a €6,000 fee available for the work.
We will work with the researcher to identify networks and channels beyond our own to reach more of the workforce in dance.
It would be useful to know in assessing each EOI:
Please email Expressions of Interest with details of your experience and body of research to louise.costelloe@danceireland.ie by 12pm on 6 December.
If you have any questions you can contact louise.costelloe@danceireland.ie
FAQs
1. How will you define the scope of the work?
We will work with the researcher to identify networks and channels beyond our own to reach more of the workforce in dance. We have definitions of professional artists in our membership on the Dance Ireland website, https://www.danceireland.ie/members/professional/, and take into account the Arts Council definition of a professional artist – “The Arts Council defines a professional artist as ‘a person actively pursuing a career as an artist in any artform, and who considers their arts practice to be their main profession or career. This applies even if their work in the arts is not their main source of income or they have other employment”.)
2. What are you looking for in the research?
We are looking for an in-depth survey and robust evidence of payscales, working conditions and work profiles in the field of professional dance in Ireland beyond the Dance Ireland membership. Part of this process will be to identify the factors influencing pay in the dance sector in Ireland.
3. What do you need to know in the expression of interest?
In assessing the expressions of interest, It would be useful to know your research interests and experience so far e.g. published reports and details of consultancy roles; your previous experience of researching payscales, or market analysis in the arts sector; designing surveys and questions and your knowledge and understanding of the Arts Sector in Ireland
4. What methodologies or approaches are you interested in using?
We are open to discussion about this, but we anticipate it will include surveys, focus groups, case studies, and interviews. We have identified other existing research in the arts sector in Ireland and in the European dance sector that may be useful in terms of comparators and we are connected to networks in Ireland and Europe that can support the dissemination of information and participation in the process.
5. We are open to collaborative EOIs
We acknowledge there may different skillsets and expertise involved in designing the research methodology and framework and know this can evolve as the research process progresses.