The Racial Equity Media Collective (REMC) has called on public agencies and policymakers to collaborate on race-based data collection strategies in a new research report.

The report, published Wednesday (Nov. 1) and titled “A National Data System and Benchmarking for Racial Equity,” outlines a roadmap toward establishing a single, nationwide database to collect race-based data on key creatives in the Canadian film and television industry, as well as to set up targets and quotas toward racial equity.

The study was funded by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and includes feedback from 40 different industry stakeholders that was collected by REMC and consulting firm Nordicity. Participants include Telefilm Canada, CMF and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), as well as provincial funding agencies, broadcasters, government agencies, unions and guilds, equity-seeking organizations and production companies.

The report concludes that the industry must streamline its data collection processes with a national data system. In its recommendations, it highlighted CMF’s Persona-ID tool, Creative BC’s CIERA and Statistic Canada’s Culture Satellite Account as “possible models for expansion or emulation.”

While stakeholders were largely in consensus about the need for a data collection baseline, there were multiple concerns raised regarding its implementation. Among them are which organization would collect the data; privacy and security; transparency; inclusivity around streamlined definitions and terminology; and the need to establish trust for individuals who identify as LGBTQ2S+ or have a disability.

To help address these and other concerns, the report recommends that the next steps to establish the national database are to engage with stakeholders, include racialized community groups, and to create an independent non-profit organization to act as a third party outside of government agencies to house and collect the data.

The report recommends that CMF, Telefilm and the NFB should be the first to incorporate the national database and undertake a study “to develop a baseline of representation” across the funding agencies, followed by the implementation of quotas and targets.

The study noted that there should not be a “one-size-fits-all standard” nationwide for setting targets, since populations and communities vary across the country. “There is a need for a system that accommodates these differences, one that is developed locally, in collaboration with the communities it intends to serve,” read the report.

The final two recommended steps are to have provincial funding agencies and broadcasters begin to use the database following its adoption by CMF, Telefilm and the NFB, and to then expand its scope beyond key creative positions. The report recommends looking at on-screen and below-the-line talent, as well as expanding to digital media, music and books.

A presentation of the report is scheduled to take place on Thursday (Nov. 2) at an industry panel during the 2023 ReelWorld Screen Summit. The discussion will be led by REMC managing director Julian Carrington, speaking with panelists Mehernaz Lentin, Telefilm’s national director, feature film for the English market; John Christou, NFB’s director of production and operations, programming; and Marcia Douglas, CMF’s VP, inclusion and growth.

“Three years removed from 2020’s reckoning, it’s crucial that momentum for racial equity initiatives is not allowed to dissipate,” said Carrington in a statement. “To maintain that momentum, the industry needs tools that will enable us to evaluate progress and provide accountability. A harmonized, nationwide system of data collection is key to these efforts.”

The full report is available on the REMC website.

Image: Unsplash