Cultural strategies are important elements in how local authorities engage with and support the role of culture and make connections with social, economic, environmental and health and wellbeing outcomes. This report looks at how cultural strategy documents are created, updated and shared and suggests changes in the practice of commissioning and creating cultural strategies. A … Read more
In partnership with DCMS, the Centre for Cultural Value has produced a ‘How to’ guide for researchers seeking to shape public policy through their research. The guide provides useful insights into how policymakers use research and the ways in which both researchers and policymakers can work together to maximise research impact. The guide signposts researchers … Read more
The Cultural Commissioning Programme is a three-year programme running from July 2013 to June 2016, funded by Arts Council England.The programme works to help the arts and cultural sector engage in public sector commissioning and to enable public service commissioners to increase their awareness of the potential for arts and cultural organisations to deliver their … Read more
A number of challenges face arts and cultural organisations in showing their impact on public service outcomes. Jessica Harris examines the types of evidence that commissioners want and looks at how arts and cultural organisations are providing it. This article was originally published by Arts Professional.
The Greater Manchester Strategic Arts Fund was established in 2004 and aimed to broaden access to – and raise the quality of – the arts experience across ten local authorities. This article provides an overview of the eight different cross-authority projects, along with the key outcomes and impacts found during the project evaluation.
The summaries of breakout sessions at nalgao’s 2008 conference reveal the issues of concern to local authority arts officers, including 1. How do nalgao and ACE work together? 2. Arts Strategies 3. How can artists and art organisations and local authorities work better together? 4. DCMS open space – What can DCMS do for you? … Read more
In the face of an increasing trend towards commissioning services from bodies outside of local authorities, this ‘Outside In’ report gives advice to local authority arts officers on how to manage the process of ‘contracting out’ strategic commissioning of services. It includes an exploration of benefits and issues from interviews with arts officers working within … Read more
This article describes how Claire Bigley, Drama and Literature Officer, Halton Borough Council supported and worked with their drama facilitators Louise Nulty and Jacqueline Pilton of Halton Actors in Residence” (HAIR) to develop site-specific works for festivals and adapt other works including participatory works to draw in new audiences.