This June, Culture Commons collaborated with partners our partners at the University of Dundee and Culture Counts on an inspiring two-day visit to Dundee as part of 'the future of local cultural decision making' - a major four-nations research and open policy development programme.
Image: V&A Dundee, taken
The two days itinerary involved a series of co-convened workshops, meetings and panels that included:
A sector leaders gathering at V&A Dundee With the support for colleagues at the beautiful V&A Dundee, we invited leaders from the creative, cultural and heritage sectors across the Tayside and the North Fife region together to take a deep-dive into the potential and appetite for pan-regional collaboration in East Scotland in the future. We're grateful to Professor Anita Taylor for chairing an exceptionally rich panel discussion with Chief Executives from arms-length executive organisations (ALEOs) in Fife, Perth & Kinross, and Dundee, along with V&A leadership.
Local government officer roundtables We welcomed teams from across Scotland - including Glasgow, Stirling, Renfrewshire, Perth & Kinross, Dundee, and the Scottish Cities Alliance to a discussion focused on perceptions of the ‘culture and heritage’ portfolio within local authorities and explore how the Scottish Government’s ‘Democracy Matters’ programme might enhance public engagement in local cultural decision-making. We were delighted to co-convene this session with COSLA - the body representing Scottish local authorities at the national level.
A series of meetings with Dundee's cultural governance bodies We heard from industry and cultural sector practitioners at the ‘Cultural Agencies Network’ at a session in Hapworks (Creative Dundee's dedicated creative co-working space) and with leaders of cultural institutions at the city's ‘Cultural Development Group’ at Design House (the UNESCO City of Design HQ on Union Street) to gather insights into the ways in which Dundee’s cultural stakeholders are aligning their efforts across the city. We took great pleasure in sharing best practice from within our open policy development programme partners.
Image: Panellists: from left to right, Lori Anderson, Culture Counts; Professor Anita Taylor, University of Dundee; Leonie Bell, V&A; Cllr Lyn Short, Dundee City Council (seated); Trevor MacFarlane, Culture Commons; Helen Smout, Culture Perth & Kinross; Heather Stuart, On Fife & Claire Dow, Dundee Leisure and Culture (seated).
Trevor MacFarlane, Director of Culture Commons, said:
“We're delighted to be spending some good quality time with our partners and colleagues here in Dundee - gathering perspectives from right across the Tayside region. As a truly historic city of discovery, design and innovation, Dundee feels like the perfect place to convene conversations with sector leaders and local and national decision makers about the future of local cultural decision making. We've discovered more about the pioneering work happening in the city and across Scotland and hope, with the help of our Scottish partners, to make sure we're bringing that the views of Scotland's industries and communities right into the heart of the policymaking procces.”
Lori Anderson, Director of Culture Counts, added:
“Culture Counts are pleased to be part of this programme to showcase and centre Scotland’s work as part of this important policy dialogue. Scotland has a world class culture sector and the groundbreaking work is taking place in all corners of our country – of which Dundee is a prime example. At Culture Counts, we’ve been working hard to make sure the voice of Scottish creatives and makers are heard and valued by national decision makers – and that the Scottish Government continues to stand by its promises to invest in the sector for the long term. This programme is helping us to continue to build that case even further.”
Anna Grey, Director of Research and Innovation at the University of Dundee, told us:
“The University of Dundee is proud to be involved in this multi-partner research programme led by Culture Commons. We were delighted to host this key research visit, recognising the creative and cultural strengths and opportunities we have here in Dundee. We welcome the opportunity to work with stakeholders from across the Tayside region as part of this initiative. We’re proud of the connections we have and continue to foster here in Dundee, and the part we’re playing in the creative, cultural and heritage ecosystem.”
The ‘future of local cultural decision making’ headed to Dundee after visits to Sheffield and Belfast, and further work to due to take place in Wales soon. This open policy development programme will conclude in October this year, with a suite of new policy principles aimed at national and local governments.
For more information about 'the future of local cultural decision making', please visit the programme hub here.
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