In 2023, we published ‘By All, For All: The Power of Partnership’, a deep-dive report that provided the first mapping and review of community and co-creation investments by AHRC across the UK across the previous decade.
The programme team actioned further report recommendations working with devolved mayoral authorities and governments through our UK Policy Labs, Policy Sprints and suite of Culture and Devolution Policy Provocation Papers.
Actioning learning and recommendations from the report, we piloted the Community Innovation Practitioner (CIP) Awards. Open to applicants situated in the devolved nations and regions of the UK, the CIPs are engaged in place-based innovation, working to galvanise co-created cultural activity in their regions through cross-sector partnerships.
In 2025 we launched the Creative Communities toolkit to unlock programme learning for community users, empowering people in devolved places to approach new opportunities or tackle place-based challenges through new cultural R&D and to better engage with cross-sector stakeholders in co-creation.
The programme is investing in devolution and co-creation through our Community Innovation Practitioner Awards (2025-26) and Co-Lab Policy Network Awards. In 2027, the programme will publish a series of policy papers exploring the role of culture and R&D in devolved policy making. Learning will be shared through new interactive resources in the Creative Communities Toolkit to help connect cross-sector creative communities to the opportunities generated by the devolution of culture and R&D across our nations and regions.
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