What our Paul Mellon Centre research revealed about digital journeys for galleries, libraries, archives and museums

New and returning journeys may differ

One of the clearest patterns in the research is that engagement is shaped less by interest and more by familiarity. People who already understand an organisation’s language, structure or culture tend to navigate it more intuitively. Those who are newer to it are more likely to hesitate, particularly at moments that require commitment.

For some of the Paul Mellon Centre’s audience, familiarity builds gradually over time through study, professional networks, publishing or repeated participation. For others, engagement is more episodic, shaped around a specific need, opportunity or recommendation.

Younger audiences and those earlier in their careers often experience a greater degree of evaluation before participating, working out whether an organisation feels relevant, accessible or intended for them in the first place.

For some, that uncertainty becomes a barrier:

The research highlights a challenge many cultural organisations face: digital experiences are often easier to navigate for people who already understand how the organisation works.

Designing journeys that support both existing and first-time audiences is especially important around higher-effort moments of decision making, where even small amounts of friction can affect whether people continue or drop off.

That has implications for both communication and audience development.

Acquisition strategy should vary by audience

Different audiences discover organisations in very different ways. Younger or newer audiences rely more heavily on social platforms, peers and word of mouth, while more established audiences often prefer direct, curated communication such as email newsletters.

The research suggests there is value in thinking more deliberately about how different channels support different stages of familiarity and confidence. For example, social platforms like Instagram may play an important role in helping younger audiences orient themselves and assess whether an organisation feels relevant or welcoming, while LinkedIn can support more professionally-driven engagement around opportunities, projects and sector visibility.

Across all of these channels, helping people understand what to do next matters. Without a clear pathway from discovery to action, awareness alone rarely leads to participation.

High-effort journeys need clarity

The research highlights how uncertainty tends to become most visible at moments that require effort or commitment. At the Paul Mellon Centre, these are the points where people move from browsing to acting:

• applying for funding
• registering for events
• accessing archives or resources
• signing up for programmes
• or deciding whether to participate at all

For confident and familiar audiences, these journeys may feel straightforward. But for newer users, even relatively small points of friction can create hesitation.

Several participants described uncertainty around how information was organised, how different parts of the organisation connected, or where to begin.

Importantly, the issue here is not content quality. The Paul Mellon Centre already has a vast amount of valuable content, programmes and opportunities in place. The opportunity for them is to make pathways through those experiences feel clearer and more connected, particularly at moments that require people to commit time or effort.

This could include reducing uncertainty through clearer pathways, stronger cross-linking and more visible next steps, particularly across high-effort journeys such as funding, events and archive access.

For cultural organisations in particular, this raises an important question: are digital experiences designed primarily for people who already understand how the organisation works, or do they actively support newer audiences through crucial engagement points too?

Funding and opportunities shape how people see themselves in a sector

Funding emerged as one of the clearest ways people interpret practical opportunity, legitimacy and visibility within a wider field. Participants described smaller grants as valuable because they supported work that might otherwise struggle to happen. At the same time, confidence in applying was heavily influenced by clarity.

Where eligibility criteria felt vague, application pathways felt buried, or processes appeared difficult to interpret, uncertainty increased quickly, particularly among less established audiences.

This reflects a broader pattern across the sector. High-effort journeys are not only administrative experiences; they also communicate who feels included, expected or welcomed.

The research also highlighted how people use funding information beyond the application itself. Grant listings, recipient announcements and project outcomes often act as informal sector signals, helping people understand:

• what kinds of work are being supported within the arts
• who appears visible within a field
• and where they themselves fit within it

That creates an opportunity for organisations to think more strategically about how opportunities are communicated, contextualised and surfaced over time. Making pathways, recipient stories and project outcomes easier to explore can help organisations communicate not only opportunity, but also visibility and representation within a field.

Hybrid experiences extend reach, but belonging still develops socially

Events were consistently described as valuable not only because of their content, but because of the social experiences surrounding them. Informal conversations, repeated encounters and small moments of familiarity all play an important role in helping people feel connected over time.

Hybrid and online formats change that dynamic. They make participation possible for people balancing geography, cost, work or time constraints, significantly extending reach and accessibility. At the same time, participants consistently described digital participation as feeling more informational than relational.

This reflects a wider tension many organisations are still navigating. Digital formats can be highly effective at supporting access, but they do not automatically create connection or belonging in the same way repeated in-person interaction can.

The research suggests that structured, repeat engagement often supports confidence more effectively than one-off participation, particularly for audiences earlier in their careers or entering from outside established networks.

That does not mean hybrid experiences are less valuable. In many cases, they are essential. But it does suggest organisations need to think intentionally about what different formats are best suited to achieving.

Strong content alone does not guarantee discoverability

Across all audiences, the quality of publications, archives and research materials came through strongly. Participants consistently described the Paul Mellon Centre’s content as credible, valuable and respected.

The challenge was less about quality and more about discoverability and connection.

Participants described:

• difficulty locating key outputs
• uncertainty around how content was organised
• and missed opportunities to connect related materials across an ecosystem

Even highly valued content becomes harder to use when pathways between resources are unclear.

This is a challenge many organisations face as digital ecosystems grow over time. Content accumulates across platforms, programmes and services, but connections between those areas do not always evolve at the same pace.

The opportunity is often not to create more, but to make better use of what already exists through clearer structure, stronger cross-linking and more visible pathways between related resources.

Designing for real journeys, not ideal ones

Taken together, these findings point towards a broader shift in how organisations think about digital experience.

This is not simply about improving websites. It is about understanding how people move through an ecosystem over time, from discovery to participation, to longer-term engagement.

That means:

• recognising that discovery happens differently across audiences
• supporting people at moments of uncertainty
• reducing friction at points of commitment
• and creating clearer pathways between different parts of an organisation’s offer

For arts, cultural and membership organisations, the challenge is often not the quality of what already exists. It is how easy it is for people to find it, understand it, and feel confident enough to take part.

If you’re working in an arts or cultural organisation, it’s worth asking:

• Where does your experience rely on prior knowledge?
• Where do people hesitate before taking part?
• Who still feels like they are “showing up as a guest”?
• And how clearly do your systems connect the things you already offer?

In most cases, the opportunity is not to create more, but to make what already exists easier to find, understand, and act on with confidence.