Sustainable Business Models for Digital Cultural Heritage

For more comprehensive and contextual learning, students undertaking this project are strongly encouraged to enrol in the Heritage Management Elective to benefit from both a solid theoretical foundation and applied contextual implementation. 

An AI of Our Own (AAOO) is an initiative of Living Arts International, an international NGO with Cambodian roots that builds a peaceful, sustainable future through the living arts. AAOO envisions a future where ethical, community-centered AI replaces extractive data models, advancing sustainable community stewardship of tools and data through advocacy, applied model development, and interdisciplinary research. Currently reliant on project-based, one-time grants, AAOO seeks an organizational strategy to transition toward a self-sustaining hybrid social enterprise model without compromising its commitment to ethical standards and community ownership.   

The project engages students to explore existing heritage, cultural, and indigenous knowledge business models internationally and regionally to identify viable commercial and operational frameworks. Students will challenge traditional approaches by discovering innovative connections across digital heritage, technology tools for culture, and ethical data monetization. Working alongside the AAOO team, students will analyze market trends, evaluate operational successes and failures, and formulate actionable avenues for AAOO to achieve financial independence while maintaining its core mission of cultural transmission.

This project provides students with practical experience in strategic analysis, business model research, and non-profit sustainability design in direct collaboration with Living Arts International (LAI)  in relation to their flagship Project: An AI of Our Own (AAOO). Students are challenged to address AAOO’s primary operational dependency on project-based grants by exploring more viable, hybrid social enterprise business models that can preserve ethical standards and community-centered data stewardship.

The final deliverable is an internal Business Model Research Report (maximum 10 pages). This document will evaluate global and regional best practices and outline actionable hybrid enterprise models for AAOO. The document sections will include: 1) Existing Business Models Audit: A review of existing business models linked to digital heritage, cultural knowledge platforms, and technological tools for culture. 2) Comparative Data & Trend Analysis: A synthesis of regional and international case studies highlighting what works and what fails, key industry trends, and risk considerations. 3) AAOO Application & Strategic Recommendations: Tailored recommendations proposing viable hybrid social enterprise avenues, complete with community-alignment strategies and actionable steps for AAOO's transition.