Shaping cultural strategy through cultural audience insight and research
Supporting cultural organisations, councils, artist-run initiatives to develop audience-first, insight-led engagement strategies, alongside ACE and NLHF aligned research and evaluation.
Trusted by Arts Council England and Heritage Fund funded clients.
Contributing to the UK’s cultural future
Our cultural engagement expertise has contributed to policy change for two decades, with our contribution to the Arts Council England and DCMS 2025 reviews influencing the national conversation on cultural access and creative participation; we frequently setting the standard for engagement practice.
What we do
We combine audience insight, strategy and engagement to help cultural organisations reach more people and create lasting impact.
Using audience psychology to shape participation and impact
Powered by Disconnected Bodies’ Sandbox Toolkit
Sandbox moves past Audience Agency’s dangerously simplified segmentation and surface-level data, overlooking the complexity of how people think, behave and engage. Sandbox is grounded in behavioural insight and audience psychology, using real-world research over 20 years, to understand how people make decisions, engage with culture and sustain participation over time through 3000 psycho-segmented profiles and 150 strategic frameworks. Exclusive to Disconnected Bodies.
Selected clients
A selection of 2026 projects demonstrating our approach to audience insight, participation and cultural strategy.
Culture Trust, Luton
The Culture Trust needed to develop an evidence-led cultural strategy grounded in audience behaviour to strengthen participation and inform long-term decision-making.
Our approach
We combined audience profiling, behavioural insight and stakeholder engagement to build a comprehensive understanding of how people engage with culture across the area.
- Analysed audience behaviour, motivations and barriers to participation
- Conducted stakeholder consultation across cultural and civic partners
- Applied psycho-segmented audience frameworks to identify growth opportunities
- Developed a strategy aligned with Arts Council England priorities and local policy context
The strategy provided a foundation for sustained cultural development, enabling The Culture Trust to make confident, informed decisions and strengthen participation across diverse communities.
- A clear, evidence-led cultural strategy grounded in real audience behaviour
- Identification of priority audience segments and pathways to participation
- Stronger alignment with funding frameworks and public value objectives
- A practical roadmap for increasing participation and long-term cultural engagement
Tamworth Castle
Tamworth Castle required robust behaviour-led research and evaluation that provided clear insight into participation, impact and future strategy to inform an Arts Council England Unlocking Collections bid.
Our approach
We designed and delivered a tailored, people-centred research and evaluation framework, combining quantitative and qualitative methods.
- Developed bespoke surveys and in-venue data collection tools
- Captured audience behaviour, motivations and barriers in real time
- Facilitated dialogue-led engagement to gather deeper qualitative insight
- Applied behavioural analysis to interpret participation patterns and cultural value
Tamworth Castle gained a deeper understanding of how audiences engage, enabling more effective decision-making, stronger funding cases and improved long-term outcomes.
- Rich, evidence-led insight into audience behaviour and participation
- Clear understanding of programme impact and cultural value
- Actionable recommendations to strengthen future engagement
- Robust reporting aligned with Arts Council England and Heritage Fund requirements
Black Country Touring
Black Country Touring sought to better understand audience behaviour across local touring locations to inform participation and programming, supported by real-time insight and a clear strategic framework.
Our approach
We designed and delivered a tailored audience research and strategy framework, combining in-venue surveying with behavioural analysis.
- Developed bespoke audience surveys adapted for touring environments
- Captured real-time data on audience behaviour, motivations and decision-making
- Analysed patterns of participation across different locations and communities
- Applied psycho-segmentation frameworks to identify opportunities for growth
- Translated findings into a clear, actionable engagement strategy
Black Country Touring gained a deeper understanding of how audiences engage, participate and make decisions, enabling more confident strategic planning, stronger community connections and more effective touring delivery.
- A robust evidence base grounded in real audience behaviour
- Clear insight into participation patterns across touring locations
- Identification of key barriers and opportunities for audience growth
- A strategic framework to guide programming, marketing and engagement
Unlock the psychology of arts audiences
Ground-breaking, insight-led frameworks built on over two decades of research and real-world engagement.
Disconnected Bodies’ Sandbox Toolkit
Sandbox moves past Audience Agency segmentation and reveals how cultural audiences how audiences think, behave and make decisions; transforming cultural strategy forever. Exclusive to Disconnected Bodies.
Trusted by cultural organisations across the UK and beyond
We build long-term partnerships grounded in trust, insight and shared ambition; working with organisations across the UK and internationally to deliver meaningful cultural impact and value.
– 143 Arts Council England funded organisations
– 31 National Lottery Heritage Fund projects
– 19 Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations
– 14 Higher and Further Education institutions