Coalition forms to develop cultural devolution proposals

Culture Commons has announced a 12-month programme to examine the future of local cultural policy across the UK.

Dubbed the first of its kind, the year-long open policy development programme will see Culture Commons work alongside more than 20 partners including Art Fund, Arts Council England, Centre for Cultural Value, Historic England and a string of local authorities and universities.

Together they will explore how political promises to devolve more powers to local government level could impact the creative, cultural and heritage sectors across the UK. Their work will span four themes of local cultural decision making, culture-led place shaping, funding and local voice.

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The programme will include a series of public facing engagements, commissioned research with university and independent research partners and focused policy design sessions.

Trevor MacFarlane, Founding Director of Culture Commons, says while policymakers have been promising to empower local communities for some time, they haven’t yet explained how increased local decision making might impact the creative, cultural and heritage ecosystems.

He added: “By bringing stakeholders from across the UK’s creative, cultural and heritage ecosystem together, and consulting closely with those who are usually excluded from national policymaking processes, we’re trying to take a radically inclusive approach that we think will result in a more coherent and balanced set of recommendations for local and national policymakers at this critical period in the electoral calendar.”

The programme is expected to conclude in September 2024 with the launch of a series of evidence-led policy proposals.

Independent Chair of the programme’s Steering Panel, Bernard Donoghue, said “a collegiate cross-cutting approach is exactly what the sector needs to respond to the challenges facing its future”.

“With the combined expertise of the brilliant collection of partners Culture Commons have lined up, I know the outcomes of this programme will be bold and disruptive and I encourage decision makers to follow this work closely,” he added.

“I hope the conclusions and recommendations that come forward are far-reaching, inspiring and challenging – culture and its centrality to local economies, wellbeing, communities and individuals requires nothing less.”

An open call has been launched for individuals and organisations to summit evidence around the programme’s four key themes.

The call is accepting evidence in the form of ideas, published research or data from both individuals and organisations with a focus on how increased local decision making might affect the creative and cultural life of the UK.