Centre for Cultural Value

Cultural Vitality: A discussion of national cultural indicators
2025-07-01 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online
Join us for the national launch of the Cultural Indicator Suite.
Cultural vitality is a central part of understanding the cultural and artistic health of places. It involves dynamic interactions between cultural activities and participation, diversity, access and infrastructure, which collectively shape the identity and well-being of communities.
The Cultural Indicator Suite project, undertaken by the Centre for Cultural Value and The Audience Agency, supported by Research England, aims to develop a framework for measuring cultural vitality. By reviewing existing national approaches to data collection, the project seeks to better capture and communicate the everyday cultural vitality of communities.
At this event, we will discuss the project to date, share the framework of suggested indicators, and invite discussion and questions.
Speakers and programme to be announced soon.
Who would find this event valuable?
Policymakers and cultural sector leaders from across the UK who are interested in how everyday culture and cultural vitality might be measured and reported to support policy, placemaking, and funding initiatives.
Format

Online via Zoom
Presentations and Q&A/discussion
Zoom automated captions will be available
Session presentations will be recorded

Accessibility
If you do not receive a Zoom link directly from TicketSource, please email us at ccv@leeds.ac.uk.
We want to make the event a positive experience for all participants. If you have particular access needs please let us know in advance by emailing ccv@leeds.ac.uk.
Zoom automated captioning will be used throughout the event.
The session takes place on Zoom. Read Zoom’s accessibility FAQs here.
Please note that we will be recording this event. Only speakers will be recorded.

What have we learnt so far, and what’s next for the National Cultural Data Observatory?
2026-06-08 14:00 - 16:00
Join colleagues from the Centre for Cultural Value, The Audience Agency, MyCake and Culture Commons to discover more about the blueprint they have developed for a National Cultural Data Observatory (NCDO).
We’ll be sharing updates about the launch of the NCDO website, manifesto, public report and long-awaited demonstrator. You’ll be hearing from Ben Walmsley, Dean of Cultural Engagement, University of Leeds; Patrick Towell, Director of Creative Economy, The Audience Agency; Sarah Thelwall, Director, MyCake; Stephen Miller, CTO, The Audience Agency; Trevor MacFarlane FRSA, CEO, Culture Commons; Stephen Dobson, Director, Centre for Cultural Value.
In this online webinar, we will share an update on our collaborative work to date and invite our panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following themes:
Panel 1: How can better, collectively gathered intelligence potentially transform cultural policymaking?
Chair: Daniel Ashton – Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton
Speakers:

David Johnson – Director, Strategic Partnerships and Place, Arts Council England
Jennifer Huygen – Head of Policy and Strategic Partnerships, Community Leisure UK
Jules Lent – Head of Policy, Insight and Performance, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority
Paula Orrell – National Director, Contemporary Visual Arts Network England (CVAN)
Harman Saggar – Head of Cultural Analysis, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Thorsten Dreyer – Vice Chair, Chief Leisure Officers Association (CLOA)

Panel 2: Reflecting on evidence, how can we better reflect lived experiences and the views of our communities alongside the needs of funders, policymakers and the sector?
Chair: Anne Torreggiani – Chief Executive, The Audience Agency
Speakers:

Helen Bewsher – Evaluation Director, Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture
Rishi Coupland – Executive Director – Industry and Innovation, BFI
Evan Dawson – Chief Executive, Celfyddydau Cenedlaethol Ieuenctid Cymru | National Youth Arts Wales
Jan Garrill – Associate, Yorkshire Funders
Richard Welpton – Head of Data Service Infrastructure, Economic and Social Research Council

There will be an opportunity to ask questions and for further discussion with the NCDO team and panellists.
What is the National Cultural Data Observatory?
The National Cultural Data Observatory (NCDO) is an ambitious, long-term, sector-wide collaboration aimed at building a shared, intelligent data ecosystem for the arts, culture and heritage sectors. Through better data integration, it will connect people, policy, and practice, representing the collective intelligence of policymakers, funders, sector bodies, practitioners and communities that form our cultural and creative ecosystem.
The NCDO stems from a research partnership funded by ESRC and Research England that consulted with over 470 cultural leaders, policymakers and researchers to lay the groundwork for the Observatory. We’ve mapped more than 70 existing observatories across the UK and internationally and reviewed over 200 datasets to design a framework that unites cultural, social and economic data.
NDCO is led by a collaboration between the Centre for Cultural Value, The Audience Agency, MyCake and Culture Commons.
ncdo.org.uk
Format

Online via Zoom
Zoom automated captions will be available
This event will not be recorded

Accessibility
If you do not receive a Zoom link directly from TicketSource, please email us at ccv@leeds.ac.uk.
We want to make the event a positive experience for all participants. If you have particular access needs please let us know in advance by emailing ccv@leeds.ac.uk.
Zoom automated captioning will be used throughout the event.
The session takes place on Zoom. Read Zoom’s accessibility FAQs here.
