It's a project that began about three years ago. When we talk about co-operation between for-profit organizations and not-for-profit organizations, this a good example. We managed to gather data on all of the Quartier des spectacles venues and their operations. Over time, we were able to create a set of pooled data, thanks to a private intervention by the firm Aimia, which does philanthropic data work. They lent us about a hundred specialists to analyze the behaviour of spectators in the Quartier des spectacles, that is to say to find out at what time, where, and when they purchase their tickets, whether they are men or women, and whether they live in the suburbs or close to Montreal. Thanks to that information we have a much clearer idea of where we are going. None of these venues would have had the means to obtain that data on its own.
This gave us a second idea, which was to share risks. In fact, our purpose is to increase the quality and scope of the shows offered in the Quartier. In summary, all of the venues collect a certain amount of money in various ways and place it in a common fund. That money, either through interest-free loans or subsidies, is used to increase production budgets for those companies. In this way, the risk is shouldered by the entire community, which allows each of the venues to present more elaborate performances, hire more actors, more musicians, have more lighting, in short to offer better shows.