Arts Council England (ACE) chief executive Alan Davey and BBC director general Mark Thompson are to launch a new programme to build digital capacity for the arts next month.

ACE and BBC Academy are working together on the project, with further details to be made available at the launch event. Culture minister Ed Vaizey will also attend. The Building digital capacity programme will help support the development of the industry's media production skills with the help of the BBC Academy's digital experience.

It forms part of ACE and the BBC's bid to increase public value and encourage innovation in the arts, as well as expanding audiences. Davey said: "The Arts Council and the BBC can equip more arts organisations with the skills necessary to harness the potential of digital technology and bring about a new era of public engagement in the arts.

"We believe this partnership will be a launch pad for digital innovation in our world class arts, generating ideas that our new lottery funded initiatives can turn into a reality." Thompson added: "Britain produces some of the best art in the world and we want it to reach new and bigger audiences."