In December 2017 the city of Coventry was awarded the title of UK City of Culture 2021 (UK CoC 2021). Its year ran from May 2021 until May 2022.
Purpose
To support assessment of and learning from UK CoC 2021, an independent monitoring and evaluation team developed a Performance Measurement and Evaluation Strategy and supported a range of research and evaluation activities.
This website features the ongoing outputs and results of these activities, supporting insight and lessons learned that can be shared with future cultural mega-events, as well as more local Coventry place-based knowledge exchange and partnership development.
- About describes the UK CoC 2021 monitoring and team and the associated Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) projects
- Strategy & Progress outlines the performance measurement and evaluation strategy and includes subsequent reports, both written by the monitoring and evaluation team and by commissioned organisations
- Research & Evaluation provides a range of independent reports and papers examining a variety of UK CoC 2021 themes and trends
- Cultural Data highlights the data that are available for stakeholders to understand and use to benefit Coventry
- Events lists the (AHRC funded) activities undertaken to share results from monitoring and evaluation team findings
- Blog includes articles written by team members and partners, either published elsewhere and reproduced or original.
Latest News
Focus Studies
The Faith and Culture focus study webinar took place on Tuesday 28 March 2023. A recording of the event is now available to watch.
Videos have also been added to the Integrating the Environment (City of Culture) and Civic, Cultural and Business Partnerships webinar pages.
All of the focus study reports have now been released and are available on dedicated pages.
Blog Posts
The research team that carried out the Integrating the Environment focus study has written a blog post entitled Using Culture For Creating A Greener Future For Coventry.
Katy Raines, Indigo Cultural Consulting Limited and Jonothan Neelands, Warwick Business School wrote an article entitled Evaluating large-scale cultural events for Arts Professional magazine. It has been reproduced as a blog post.
Funder Reports
The UK CoC 2021 programme was built upon multiple funding streams. Two of the most significant were the Community Lottery Fund (linked to the Collaborative City/Love Coventry strand) and Spirit of 2012 (Caring City). Each funder received a report detailing the activities undertaken and providing a summary of findings:
- The Love Coventry Programme report reviews the strand that celebrated community and citizens’ stories from all neighbourhoods of the city.
- The Caring City Programme report details work with seldom-heard communities to improve wellbeing, self-esteem and social-connectedness.
A page has also been added to provide context on the Coventry City of Culture Trust’s approach to delivering the UK CoC 2021 programme. It describes delivery, through three producing teams, that involved hyper-local co-created events.
Acknowledgements
This website reflects a variety of UK CoC 2021 activities, funded by different funding bodies. It has been created as part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project − City Change Through Culture: Securing the Place Legacy of Coventry City of Culture 2021 (Grant Reference AH/W008769/1).
