Cities of Culture Research Network: Turning Evaluation into Policy

The Cities of Culture Research Network: Turning Evaluation into Policy, brings together representatives of all Cities or Capitals of Culture research and evaluation programmes that have taken place in the UK.

Cultural mega-events like the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) and the UK City of Culture (UKCoC) can be effective as catalysts and accelerators for culture-led urban regeneration strategies, through a focused and intensive programme of cultural activities. There are many evaluation studies about the impacts of City of Culture programmes, but they do not explore their medium and long-term effects on a shared UK-wide basis. Furthermore, they are not systematically used for policy development, which is a central issue that this project aims to explore.

The proposed research network creates an interdisciplinary space where academics, postgraduate researchers and local, national and international policy makers can pursue a better collective understanding of the Cities of Culture initiative, whilst specifically exploring the conditions and procedures required to create productive links between evaluation and new policy development. The network includes all (European) Capitals, (UK) Cities and (London) Boroughs of Culture projects delivered by cities within the UK. The network will also connect UK researchers with their European counterparts in Aarhus (Denmark) and Galway (Ireland), allowing the network to benefit from insights into culture-led regeneration practices elsewhere in Europe.

Network membership will consist of a core group of researchers, evaluation professionals and national and international policy representatives, along with an associate group consisting of academics, local policy makers and other interested bodies. The project will also establish a forum for postgraduate scholars researching the Cities of Culture initiative within partner universities and beyond.

The network programme consists of three events. The first is a colloquium, bringing together all network groups to identify challenges, barriers and opportunities for turning collective Cities of Culture research evidence into policy. The second is a two-day specialist workshop where the core group will examine issues raised in greater depth. In the final colloquium, attended by all groups, the outcomes of all events will be examined, leading to the production of key recommendations for effective knowledge exchange between City of Culture researchers and policy makers in the future. The project will result in a website, three summary reports and one key recommendations document. Outcomes will be disseminated via the website and through the professional and academic networks of project members. The outcomes of the network will also be published in a professional magazine, such as Local Government Association First and as an academic paper in a leading cultural policy journal such as the International Journal of Cultural Policy or Cultural Trends.

Who will benefit from the research network?

The network will contribute to academic research on the Cities of Culture initiative and its social, economic, spatial and cultural impacts. It will influence the ongoing research of network members by offering new perspectives and longitudinal insights, gained via discussion and activities at network events. The postgraduate forum will ensure that early career researchers also benefit from the interactions and findings.

In parallel, the key objective of the project is to utilise collective research to influence the development of cultural policy, specifically that relating to future City of Culture projects. To this end, the network ensures participation of UK national organisations with an arts and cultural policy remit, along with representatives from local authorities who have delivered (or will deliver) a City of Culture programme and other interested bodies. These partners will all gain from the insights and recommendations resulting from the network. The participation of academic and policy partners from Aarhus (Denmark) and Galway (Ireland) will ensure that UK members also benefit from wider European perspectives and that our European partners will have the opportunity to learn from UK experience. Beyond the network, the dissemination of outcomes via the academic and professional networks of members will ensure the findings and recommendations can be utilised by the wider cultural policy and research community.


Network participants will benefit from:

Hearing presentations from a range of high profile academic researchers and other experts in the interdisciplinary field of City of Culture research and policy.
Interaction between established academics, early career researchers and policy professionals.
The production of new collective and longitudinal insights
The creation of conditions to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and insights between the producers (academics) and users (policy makers) of research.
Recommendations regarding effective procedures for turning City of Culture evaluation and research into future policy.
The opportunity to draw upon network contacts and findings to develop future research proposals and funding bids
The opportunity to build a strong relationship with the forthcoming AHRC Centre for Cultural Value and to establish the network as a specialist sub-group affiliated to the Centre.

The wider research and policy making community will benefit from access to the insights and recommendations produced by the network, disseminated via the project website and including summary reports and recommendation documents. The community will also benefit from the publication of the outcomes in a professional magazine, such as the Local Government Association First and in a leading academic cultural journal such as the International Journal of Cultural Policy or Cultural Trends.