How we work

First and foremost, we have commissioned projects that aim to delight their audiences. The members of our small commissioning team have senior level experience across the creative industries, from broadcasting and online media to publishing and visitor attractions. They have been recruited for their considerable expertise in tailoring projects for segmented audiences.

We integrate content, technology, finance and audience knowledge in everything we do. We bring together organisations that would not necessarily normally work with each other. Many of our projects have combined the knowledge and assets of England's cultural institutions with an audience-focused production house and a cutting-edge technical company. Others draw on the skills of innovative technologists and performing artists or bring together educators and designers.

Unusually for the DCMS, Culture Online issues contracts rather than grants for its projects. One of the reasons for this is that we actively help our partner organisations develop the best experience for a target audience. Commissioning Executives and Development Producers work closely with our partner organisations to develop proposals before projects are commissioned. Our involvement continues right up to launch.

As well as aiming to delight our target audiences, we are looking to deliver value for money to the taxpayer. We assess all our projects in terms of cost per user in addition to a number of other measures, including levels of user participation, fit with the National Curriculum (where appropriate) and legacy.