News and views
We are building a shared understanding of the differences that arts, culture, heritage and screen make to people’s lives and to society.
Catch up with our latest news and hear from a range of voices sharing perspectives on cultural value.
Fun Palaces, Feltham. Photo: Helen Murray
Featured news
Next steps in transforming cultural sector data
Ben Walmsley and Patrick Towell outline the motivations behind a new scoping project to develop a blueprint for a national cultural data observatory There is a crisis in cultural data ...
Granny Jackson's Dead. Big Telly Theatre Company. Photo by Neil Harrison.
Granny Jackson’s Dead: exploring grief, memory, commemoration and technology
Their collaborative research partnership explored how 'arts-led dialogue' can uncover the psychological and social effects of digitising memory and memorialisation through immersive theatre performance, Granny Jackson's Dead.
Press Play Films animation workshop. Photo by Lara Leslie.
Moving Minds: designing effective, engaging extra-curricular activities for autistic and neurotypical children
How can extra-curricular activity providers become more inclusive with their offer for children? An animator and neuroscientist explore factors hindering and facilitating the engagement of autistic children.
Treasures of Brotherton Gallery. University of Leeds. Photo by Mark Webster.
Findings from Culture Commons: The future of cultural devolution in the UK
New research into how the ‘devolution revolution’ and increased local decision-making can affect the creative, cultural and heritage ecosystem has been unveiled by Culture Commons.
Photo by Roswitha Chesher
Creative Voices, Activist Voices: exploring the radical potential of cultural participation
Can finding your creative voice unlock your civic activist voice? And what potential barriers or social inequalities might limit this?
English Touring Opera. Photo by Julian Guidera.
Reflecting upon the Centre’s first five years
2024 marks five years of the Centre for Cultural Value. Our recently published five-year review reflects upon the work and impact of the Centre across its first five years.
Under Canvas Festival. Eden Court. Photo by Dylan Morrison.
New research paper explores the role of cultural strategies in local decision making
A new research paper, produced by the Centre for Cultural Value in partnership with Culture Commons as part of a major open policy development programme, highlights the growing importance of inclusive, sustainable and locally tailored approaches when developing and evaluating cultural strategies.
© Cottonbro Studio
How English Touring Opera is using research to support young people
Find out more about English Touring Opera's new songwriting programme for young people, inspired by our research.
New book explores the impacts of Covid-19 on UK cultural sector and implications for the future
Reflecting upon the findings from the Centre's research into the impact of Covid-19, our new publication Pandemic Culture is now available to buy or download for free.
Research collaborations are messy and challenging – here’s why we need them more than ever
Centre Manager Liz Harrop reflects on what we can learn from the Centre’s experience of supporting collaborative research projects.
Centre for Cultural Value appoints new director
Meet our new director, Dr Stephen Dobson, Associate Professor of Creativity and Enterprise at the University of Leeds.
New Evaluation Learning Space unlocks hidden insights
The Evaluation Learning Space is a newly launched resource hub, sharing hidden learning about evaluation from the cultural sector. Find out more about the space and our in-depth look at UK Cities of Culture.
Discover new visual ways to think about co-creation
At a time when the cultural sector is increasingly invested in “co-creation” – what does the process look like in practice? Compass Live Art has been working with researchers Matthew Reason and Lauren Hall digging deeper into questions of co-creation.
Rising Arts Agency - This Is The Work (Photo by Olu Osinoiki)
This Is The Work: reflecting on new research findings about power in partnerships
How does power imbalance manifest in creative partnerships - and how do we remove it from our work? We reflect on the findings of a collaborative research partnership between Rising Arts Agency and researcher Andreana Drencheva at Kings College London.
Talking cultural policymaking with Pam Johnson, Leeds City Council
In this Q&A, Pam Johnson, Head of Culture Programmes at Leeds City Council, shares more about how the decision-making process works and discusses the value of collaboration between policymakers, academics and cultural practitioners.
Quarantine's 12 Last Songs, at HOME Manchester. Photo: Chris Payne
In Arts Professional: The Beauty Project
Artist Sarah Hunter, physicist Rox Middleton and philosopher Lucy Tomlinson spotlight what they learnt from spending a year exploring the cultural value of beauty through their collaborative research project.
Watch online: Evaluation for Arts, Culture and Heritage Workshop
Have you taken our online course, 'Evaluation for Arts, Culture and Heritage: Principles and Practice'? Add to your learning by watching our follow-up workshop, featuring conversations with our course leaders and insights from participants
Photo by Olumide Osinoiki/Rising Arts Agency.
In Arts Professional: Power in partnerships
In their collaborative research project, Euella Jackson and Jess Bunyan of Rising Arts Agency have been exploring the unequal balance of power inherent in partnership working.
The Beauty Project. Photo by Lisa Mattocks.
Revealing the beauty of using lab books for audience research
The collaborative research team behind The Beauty Project assess the value and challenges of collecting audience reflections offline.
The joy of doing: what we know about everyday creativity and how to support it
Read more about a new Arts Council England resource, produced by the Centre of Cultural Value and The Audience Agency, that helps cultural organisations interested in supporting everyday creativity.
Crafts Council’s Equity Advisory Council. Photo by Elijah Serumaga.
In Arts Professional: What is an equity steering group?
When Crafts Council and Glasgow Caledonian University London began their collaborative research project looking at the cultural value of craft in the context of race and racism in the UK, they decided to recruit a group focusing specifically on equity.
Watch ‘Friction’ – a new short animation about the role of the artist in society
Artist Rebecca Farkas highlights the main themes of the Centre's new research digest exploring the role of the artist in society.
Crafts Council and Glasgow Caledonian University (London) Living Lab with Legacy West Midlands. Photo: Gene Kavanagh
Young, diverse voices: my experience as a Young Craft Citizen
How can cultural organisations make sure placements are meaningful for all involved? Yashika Munjal reflects on her experience as a Young Craft Citizen with the Crafts Council, working on one of our funded Collaborate research projects.
Craft Council - Leather Making Workshop with Deborette Clarke. Photo: Gene Kavanagh
Three golden principles to power-up your collaborative practice
What makes a great collaboration? Marianna Hay and Lisa Baxter draw out lessons from a range of partnerships in this collaborative blog post which explores how to sustain your work with partners over the long term.
Image by Gene Kavanagh.
Collaborate project explores making meaning through craft
Craft can boost wellbeing, celebrate culture and help build communities, according to a new report produced by the Crafts Council working with academics from Glasgow Caledonian University London.
Centre for Cultural Value launches free-to-access, online evaluation training
Are you keen to develop evaluation skills and confidence? Find out about our new online course - Evaluation for Arts, Culture and Heritage: Principles and Practice.
Listen to our new podcast series exploring evaluation practice
It's been two years since we first launched the Evaluation Principles. We wanted to talk to sector professionals about how they have informed their work.
Opportunity for artists – creative micro-commission
We would like to commission a visual artist, filmmaker or animator to produce an original work responding to the key themes of our new research digest, The Social Role of the Artist
Bromley by Bow Fun Palaces. Photo by Roswitha Chester.
Collaborate fund – meet the new cohort
Five new cultural sector and academic partnerships will receive Collaborate fund research grants.
Adopting a creative, rigorous approach to researching LEEDS 2023
Learn more about our work exploring the cultural value and social impact of LEEDS 2023.
Photo by Olumide Osinoiki. Rising Arts Agency.
Podcasting the power in partnerships
As part of their Collaborate project Rising Arts Agency and Andreana Drencheva are producing a new podcast series Power in Partnerships.
Quarantine, 12 Last Songs at Transform Festival, October 2021
Photo: David Lindsay
“It helps your work make more sense” – academics talk about Collaborate fund
Hear more about the Centre for Cultural Value's Collaborate fund from academics currently working on supported research projects exploring key questions about the value of culture.
Watch online: Evaluation Principles in Practice recordings
Were you unable to join us for the recent Evaluation Principles in Practice workshops? Would you like to re-visit the sessions? All three workshops, exploring the co-created Evaluation Principles, are now available to watch online.
© The University of Leeds
Collaborate fund reopens to academics
Are you a UK-based academic keen to begin 2023 working on an exciting new research project? The Centre has reopened its Collaborate fund, which seeks to support collaborative research partnerships between academics and cultural practitioners.
Quarantine, 12 Last Songs at Transform Festival, October 2021
Photo: David Lindsay
How a theatre company, physicist and philosopher are exploring beauty
How do we evaluate, understand and articulate the value of beauty? One of our Collaborate research partnerships considers new methodologies to answer this intriguing question.
© University of Leeds
Collaborate project uses walking interviews to explore co-creation
What are "walking interviews"? And how can they be used to research co-creation in the cultural sector? The Collaborate research partnership between Compass Live Art and York St John University puts this research methodology through its paces.
Light Night at the University of Leeds. Photo: University of Leeds
Better data, better policy – making data work
In the report "Making Data Work", we share findings from a national, interdisciplinary research project aimed at tackling the crisis the cultural sector is currently facing in harnessing and evaluating its data.
National Museums Liverpool Image (c) Dave Jones
Picture by Gareth Jones
Collaborate: second round of funding announced
The Centre for Cultural Value is reopening its Collaborate fund to support the development of innovative new projects between UK-based cultural sector practitioners and academic researchers.
Pushing myself out of my comfort zone: reflections on my summer internship at a research centre
Recent summer intern Katie Warrior shares advice for anyone embarking on an internship and reflects on what she has learned from the various creative projects she has been involved in whilst working at the Centre for Cultural Value.
Image: Public House - The Yorkshire Square by Small Acts. Photo by Lizzie Coombes for Compass Festival 2021.
Collaborate fund – first cohort announced
We are delighted to announce that the Collaborate fund has now awarded research grants to five innovative new partnerships between cultural sector practitioners and academics.
Photo: Andrew Moore
Insight into action: policy recommendations launched at UK Parliament
Following on from our ground-breaking research into the impact of Covid-19 on the UK’s creative and cultural sectors, we are now pleased to publish a new report detailing 12 evidence-led recommendations for policymakers.
Photo: Adah Parris
Welcome new Advisory group and team members
We are pleased to share news of new appointments to our Advisory group and the Centre's core team, including Adah Parris as Advisory group Chair.
Photo: University of Leeds
Fully-funded PhD opportunity – Evaluating Cities of Culture
As part of our collaboration with LEEDS 2023 and The Audience Agency we’ll be hosting a fully-funded PhD starting in September 2022.
Quarantine, 12 Last Songs at Transform Festival, October 2021
Photo: David Lindsay
Collaborate – the matchmaking phase
Read about the ten projects and academics who are developing projects for our Collaborate fund for research collaborations.
The Lowry in lockdown. Photo: Nathan Chandler
Culture in crisis – new report from our major research project into the impacts of Covid-19
New research reveals profound impact of Covid-19 on cultural sector workforce, audiences and organisations
Photo: University of Leeds
Capturing the value and impacts of a year of culture
We are excited to announce that we are working with LEEDS 2023 as their research partner in collaboration with The Audience Agency.
‘4th ought sing raved ink loud’ – Fraz Ireland on the ideas and processes behind their creative commission
Manchester-based artist Fraz Ireland discusses the inspiration and process behind their 'interactive soundscape', an artwork commissioned as part of our Covid-19 research conference.
Three Tables, Tim Etchells, Tate Exchange. Photo courtesy of the Tate.
Collaborate fund now open for academic researchers
We are now accepting Expressions of Interest from academic researchers for our Collaborate fund. Find out more about how to apply and the projects you could be partnering with.
Angela Awuah, founder Mental Health The Arts
From research to reality: mental health and young people
Young practitioner and Mental Health The Arts founder Angela Awuah responds to our latest research digest on young people and mental health.