Doing digital better: 'Beyond the Promise' report & resources now live

I'm really excited (genuinely excited, not just 'Linkedin excited') today to be launching the Beyond the Promise report into digital failure in the cultural sector.

Over the past few months, I’ve been researching a knotty but important question:

Why do so many digital projects in the cultural sector fall short or fail altogether?

The answers are complex, but it feels like they matter. Because behind every faltering project are real people, real frustrations, limited resources, and missed opportunities to do work that could have a real impact.

To try and make this work as practical and useful as possible, the report is being launched alongside:

• Free, practical tools to support reflection and change
• A short webinar series unpacking key themes and ideas
• Audience-specific summaries, for when time is short but you're still feeling curious

You can explore the full set of resources via the Beyond the Promise resources hub.

The report

This report has been shaped by the generous insights of dozens of people working in the sector, as well as the research, frameworks, and ideas that many of you have already developed and shared to support better digital practice in the culture sector and beyond.

The full report explores recurring project challenges, systemic barriers, and the deeper organisational dynamics that influence the success of digital work.

It’s grounded in real-world stories and aims to be practical, clear, and helpful.

You can access the report, in full (subscribers-only) here.

Throughout the writing process I shared the report for feedback with a number of people who work in sector leadership, or supporting digital work, to try and make sure that the report was clear, useful, and responding to the way stuff actually happens in our sector.

Here are some nice things they said about the work:

“Ash's report gets to the heart of the issues that can derail digital projects in the cultural sector. The practical insights for navigating the messy human side of digital work should be read (and internalised) by everyone working in the field.” Chris Unitt, Founder and CEO - One Further

“This is more than just a report - it’s full of actionable takeaways and practical tools you can use right away. It’s not something to sit on a shelf, it’s designed to help navigate real organisational change." Holly Conneely, Director of Communications - The Place

“This report on digital failure isn't about blame, it's a mirror that reveals where our strategy, culture, and outcomes have lost alignment. It invites us to ask not just 'What went wrong?' but 'What could we have done differently together?’” Christina Østerby, Consultant, and former Director of Customer & Innovation - Royal Ballet and Opera

“Grounded in lived experiences and genuinely helpful. The recommendations are practical, the challenges sector-wide, and the message refreshingly clear: digital is a tool, not the solution in itself.” Fiona Morris, Creative Director and CEO - The Space

Webinars

Over the next month, I’ll be running a series of short webinars to explore the report’s findings and what they mean for different roles and contexts.

These sessions are free for subscribers, and recordings will be available to watch back anytime.

• Webinar 1: Unpacking the report's key findings and recommendations - silos, shortcuts, and silent lessons - Monday 2nd June, 16:00-16:45 (CET) / 15:00-15:45 (BST) / 10:00-10:45 (ET)
• Webinar 2: How to spot trouble before it starts - assessing digital readiness - I'll be joined by One Further's Chris Unitt. Monday 16th June, same time
• Webinar 3: What if failure became part of the plan - building a culture of reflection and learning - I'll be joined by TPX Impact's Tash Willcocks. Monday 30th June, same time

Tools & resources

Alongside the report, I’ve developed a set of simple, practical resources to help you reflect, discuss, and act on the findings:

• The 3 Modes Model: a way to clarify what 'digital' means in your organisation, and to align conversations around purpose, intent, and success.
• Digital Readiness self-assessment: a light-touch tool to assess your starting point.
• Organisational Archetypes: a framework to help name and reflect on the digital conditions in your organisation and, hopefully, spark productive conversations.
• Cheat-sheet summaries: quick, actionable one-pagers with key findings from the report, if you're short on time. I have written a few summaries for specific audiences:
  • Leaders: building digital confidence
  • Digital practitioners: making it work
  • Cultural workers: digital is everyone’s business
  • Funders: shaping better conditions
  • Suppliers: delivering with care

I’d love your thoughts

Whether you read the report in full, come to a webinar, or just skim a cheat sheet - I’d love to hear what resonates, what surprises you, and where we might need to go next.

This is an invitation to be honest about what’s not working and to start to imagine how we might make it better.