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Understanding the difference culture makes

We are building a shared understanding of the differences that arts, culture, heritage and screen make to people’s lives and to society. We want cultural policy and practice to be based on rigorous research and evaluation of what works and what needs to change.

About us
Arts Together at Left Bank Leeds – Mafwa Theatre. Photo: Tom Arber
A group of young performers, wearing brightly coloured outfits and fancy hats. They each have a drum and drumsticks.
Barnsley Bright Nights 2025. Northern Lights Celestial Carnival. Photo by James Mulkeen.
Our work

Cultural Vitality

Discover more about our current work exploring the pivotal role culture plays shaping place identity, fostering social cohesion and improving wellbeing.

More about Cultural Vitality

Exterior photo of the front of a traditional opera house at night.
La Fenice Theatre, Venice. Photo by Alice Borchi.

Beyond the bailout: What Italian opera houses reveal about cultural policy

News
What can the experience of Italian opera houses tell us about the wider relationship between cultural policy, investment and cultural vitality?
Three participants at a cultural vitality lab. They are stood around a table, making a collage together.
Cultural Vitality Labs with Norwich Creative City Compact. Photo by Andi Sapey.

Creative methods, cultural vitality and relational consultation practice

News
Holly Sandiford shares her reflections on how creative methods played a key role in spotlighting and connecting the many voices of the Norwich cultural sector in a recent series of Cultural Vitality Labs.
A person presenting in front of screen.
Cultural Vitality Labs with Norwich Creative City Compact. Photo by Andi Sapey.

Start from place, not planning. Grounding policy in cultural vitality.

News
Lia Ghilardi draws on her experience as a cultural planner to argue for a place-based and cultural vitality-focused approach to urban regeneration in cities, where local mapping of cultural DNA comes before strategy.
Six women stood together wearing colourful saris and holding parasols. They are each wearing a colourful, glowing wristband.
 

Research Digest: Understanding Cultural Vitality

research
This digest draws together research and practice on how to support the cultural vitality of places. Cultural vitality can be evaluated by locally specific indicators collected by local government, organisations and informal and community-led groups. These go beyond official statistics and visitor data to include qualitative and dynamic evidence of ...
A group of children, smiling and laughing stand next to a person with long dark hair, wearing sunglasses singing into a microphone. They are outside, behind them is a green gazebo with a sign that reads DJ Booth
Mafwa Theatre. Family Flourish Day. Photo by Molly McGee

Our essential reads: Evaluation Principles in practice

essential-read
A collection of articles, reports and resources providing some helpful examples of what the Evaluation Principles can look like in practice ...
A photo of 'Hibiscus Rising', an outdoor sculpture made by Yinka Shonibare, photographed in front of redbrick buildings in Leeds city centre. The sculpture is tall and plant-like, with a selection of different colourful patterns in red, yellow, blue, purple and green.
Hibiscus Rising Statue – Leeds (Photo: West Yorkshire Combined Authority)

Making evaluation count in cultural policy

research
As Lead Evaluation Officer for Culture at West Yorkshire Combined Authority, my role is concerned with how evaluation and cultural policymaking processes meet. This is an exciting space to work in, as it's where insight and learning connect directly with decision-making. Evaluation for accountability, evidence and learning For the Combined ...

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