The Département des études, de la prospective et des statistiques (DEPS) was founded in 1963 by Augustin Girard, making it one of the first research, planning and statistics services for culture and communications in Europe.

Since then, this department has continued to conduct socio-economic research into culture and has continued to develop expertise in cultural statistics, working closely with the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national de la statistique et des études, INSEE), and also with Eurostat and UNESCO.

The DEPS is proud of its current achievement in increasing these types of services, of its launching of working groups on cultural issues with the European Commission, and particularly of the way it has improved statistical knowledge of the cultural sphere. The DEPS is committed to supporting this on an ongoing basis, as part of the initiative to establish a common database of consistent and comparable information at both European and international level, which will prove an invaluable tool in national cultural policymaking.

These studies are international in scope, and as such, language can prove a barrier to the sharing of knowledge and theoretical and conceptual tools. The DEPS is therefore pleased to now offer English translations of select sociological and economic studies, overing such issues as cultural practice and computer usage, now a major area of cultural practice in France and throughout the rest of the world. Beyond our objective to share this research and analysis, we also ultimately aim to work collaboratively to extend scientific thinking, and to debate the available options and methodological approaches.