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Webinar: Civic, Cultural and Business Partnerships

  • What impact did the UK City of Culture 2021 title have on civic, cultural and business partnerships within Coventry and beyond?
  • How did the title contribute to the development and sustainability of these partnerships?
  • What should organisers of future events consider in relation to partnership development and sustainability in this context?

Speakers

Recording

About

The webinar was held on Wednesday 25 January 2023.

To address specific Outcomes listed within the Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 (UK CoC 2021) Theory/Story of Change, the Coventry City of Culture Trust commissioned a series of focus studies.

This focus study worked with Coventry’s civic, cultural and business communities to understand the impact of the UK CoC 2021 title on their operations, networks and partnerships.

Research Question

What effect has the title of UK City of Culture had on civic, cultural and business partnership co-working and to what extent can these partnerships be sustainable?

A report is included on the Civic, Cultural and Business Partnerships focus study page that provides an overview of findings and conclusions.

Themes

The focus study had three strands:

  • One strand worked with the British Council, a civic body, and investigated the work of the organisation in developing its relationships, networks and activities in the city during the year of cultural activity.
  • Coventry Biennial, the city’s only contemporary visual arts festival, provided a second strand with details of the effect of the UK CoC 2021 title on the 2021 festival and how it impacted upon its networks and vision for the future.
  • A third strand involved working with two business entities within the city − Coventry BID and Fargo Village − to understand the impact on, and compare the experiences of, their business communities in relation to the UK CoC title in developing and sustaining partnerships.

Programme

  • Introduction from the UK CoC 2021 Monitoring & Evaluation team – Jonothan Neelands
  • Background, Approach and Methodology – Vishalakshi Roy
  • Civic section – Jonathan Vickery
  • Cultural section – David Wright
  • Business section – Heidi Ashton
  • Conclusions – Vishalakshi Roy
  • Questions and reflection from participants  – moderation Jonathan Vickery

Presentation

Useful Links

During the presentation, several reports were discussed and shared by the speakers, these included:

Target Audience

The event was designed for a range of stakeholders including academics, students, civic, cultural and business communities, local administrators, organisers of cultural (mega-)events and members of the public.

Acknowledgements

This webinar was organised by the University of Warwick’s Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies and the Warwick Institute of Engagement.

It was part of the monitoring and evaluation team’s programme of reflective Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 events.

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

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).

Coventry City of Culture 2021 logo Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) logo