Rannsachadh Mòr – The Big Survey – is the largest ever piece of research on arts and culture in Skye and Western Isles. The survey will arrive on the doorstep of 1 in 4 houses in the Western Isles and Skye and Lochalsh on or before the weekend of 10 June, offering a unique opportunity for residents to give their views and help shape the future of arts and culture in the area. The survey will focus on the Gaelic arts and their impact on the Gaelic language, probing on issues such as whether the Gaelic arts are essential to the survival of our culture, if they motivate young people to learn the language and work and live in their home area and whether they play a part in boosting local tourism.

The value of the survey lies in its unique scale and in the range of issues that it covers. It has the potential to provide a robust snapshot of the behaviours and views of the population of the Western Isles and Skye and Lochalsh. In addition to providing an understanding of the potential audiences for the Gaelic arts, the results will be of value to local authorities and non-governmental agencies, and provide context material for the Scottish Parliament.

Peter Peacock, Minister for Education and Young People, said, “The Gaelic arts and culture have a high profile in Scotland and are a very important feature of our cultural life. We are all aware that the Gaelic language has a rich and distinctive culture but we must remember that it is the language which is the key to the survival of this culture and this must be protected. I hope people will take the opportunity to give their views on this important subject and that this in turn will improve the provision of Gaelic artistic and cultural events in the Western Isles and Skye and indeed throughout Scotland.”

The survey follows a similar piece of research, undertaken by Glasgow Caledonian, in 1996. The opportunity to benchmark the results against previous findings is an important element of the study. Professor Alan Sproull, director of the research, explains the unique value of capturing changes over the last 10 years: “The results from that earlier survey will give us a base on which to gauge how much has changed in the way people engage with arts and cultural activities and the impact these activities have on their own behaviour as consumers and on attitudes and behaviour within their communities”.

The work was commissioned by Pròiseact nan Ealan, on behalf of the Gaelic Arts Strategic Development (GASD) Forum. Professor Sproull commented, “The GASD Forum is to be congratulated on the very thorough but risky approach they are taking in establishing the views of the people of the Western Isles and Skye and Lochalsh. The message the arts bodies receive may not always be comfortable reading for them. But they appear driven by a desire to learn the views of a genuine cross- section of the population on the services they provide and how these services can be improved”.

Kirstie Anderson, Audience Development Manager for GASD added, “We urge everybody who receives the questionnaire to take the 20 minutes needed to complete it. The thoughts and opinions of the people of the Western Isles and Skye are vital to the success of this project. In taking this opportunity to voice our views collectively, our opinions will be very hard to ignore”.