The Cultural Vitality Labs move cultural vitality research from theory into practice, working directly with local partners to explore how cultural indicators can meaningfully inform policy, planning and community decision-making.

In the UK, we will be working with local authority, cultural sector and community partners in three local areas:

• Norwich
• London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
• West Yorkshire

Together, we will test our initial research findings and pilot the use of the Cultural Indicator Suite in different local contexts.

With funding from the ESRC Impact Accelerator Account, we are also working with partners in Canada, Australia and Fiji to explore how the Cultural Indicator Suite can be adapted for use beyond the UK.

Insights from the Labs will contribute to the ongoing development of a more inclusive and locally grounded approach to cultural data, helping shape future national strategy, including the development of the National Cultural Data Observatory.

Nottingham Queer Arts Collective. Nottingham Playhouse

What is a Cultural Vitality Lab?

A Cultural Vitality Lab is a model that enables cultural practitioners, policymakers, researchers and community partners to work together to explore what cultural vitality looks like in their area and how it can be meaningfully evidenced.

The Labs are grounded in participatory research and co-production. Rather than imposing predefined measures, they begin with local knowledge and lived experience and respond to the need for more inclusive, place-based approaches to fully understand cultural vitality.

Each Lab is shaped by local priorities, and includes a structured series of workshops designed to build shared understanding and practical outcomes, including:

• Mapping the local cultural ecosystem – spanning formal institutions and informal, grassroots activity and identifying gaps in existing data and evidence
• Trialling participatory and creative research methods that embed local voices and lived experience into cultural measurement
• Co-designing locally meaningful cultural indicators, drawing on the Cultural Indicator Suite’s seven dimensions
• Exploring how better cultural indicators can strengthen place-based policy, support cross-sector collaboration and connect culture to wider outcomes such as wellbeing, belonging and resilience

We will share insights, practical tools and reflections from the Cultural Vitality Labs as the programme progresses.

Les Vernisseurs Joyous Urban Mess at Slough. Global Streets. Photo by David Blood.

Understanding Cultural Vitality draws together research and practice exploring how cultural vitality can be understood, supported and strengthened at a place level.  Understanding place from the perspective of cultural vitality helps foreground how culture connects across many aspects of community life. It recognises that culture does not operate in isolation, but interacts with policy, infrastructure, community networks and lived experience, reinforcing the importance of:

• Cultural participation and everyday creativity
• Diversity, accessibility and inclusion
• Cultural infrastructure and investment
• Social capital and civic engagement
• Wellbeing and quality of life
• Creative employment and local economies

The research digest provides an overview of current literature, research and practice. It acknowledges that cultural vitality remains an emerging field while providing a practical framework to bridge theory and practice. For cultural practitioners, organisations and policymakers, the research digest supports stronger approaches to cultural measurement and place-based planning, helping to build more resilient, connected and vibrant communities.

Nightfall Middlesbrough. Photo by Simon McCabe

With support from Research England, the Centre for Cultural Value led a national research project to develop the Cultural Indicator Suite, a practical framework for measuring and communicating the everyday cultural vitality of the places we live.

This research responds to growing demand across the UK cultural sector for stronger evidence of cultural value and impact beyond economic growth.

The project included a review of recent UK and international research on cultural vitality and interviews with representatives from Local Authorities across urban, rural and coastal regions. The resulting interim report lays out a practice-relevant vision for how the UK cultural sector can more effectively understand, measure and support cultural vitality.

Junction Arts, Bolsover Children’s Festival

What are the key insights?

The interim report highlights several important findings for cultural policy, research and practice:

• Traditional cultural indicators have overemphasised ‘high culture’ and formal participation, underrepresenting informal, local and community-driven cultural life.
• Cultural vitality should be understood ecologically, not in siloes – recognising the interactions between cultural institutions, community spaces, policy contexts, infrastructure and everyday creativity.
• ‘Resilience’ is an outcome of culturally vital communities. The seven dimensions of cultural vitality outlined in the Cultural Indicator Suite provide a structured way to explore and evidence this relationship.
• There is an urgent need to develop rural cultural vitality measures, address diversity and access gaps and understand the cultural sector’s contributions beyond economic growth, including wellbeing and belonging.

These insights strengthen the case for more inclusive and place-centred approaches to measuring cultural value in the UK.

Junction Arts. Banter and Banner

What are the seven indicators of cultural vitality?

The Cultural Indicator Suite captures the interconnected dimensions of cultural vitality at place level. Together, these indicators provide a framework for measuring and communicating  the holistic, everyday cultural vitality of places, emphasising the impact of culture across  social, civic, economic and wellbeing outcomes.

The seven indicators are:

1. Cultural participation and engagement
2. Cultural infrastructure and accessibility
3. Cultural diversity and inclusivity
4. Creative economy and employment
5. Social and civic engagement
6. Cultural policy and investment
7. Wellbeing and quality of life

Stephen Dobson explains more about the seven indicators in this video from Policy Leeds.

Mafwa Theatre. Family Flourish Day. Photo by Tom Arber