This network bid builds on a series of meetings at which artists, members of publicly funded Arts institutions, and academics specialising in youth and community work, came together through a shared concern with the persistent inequality in arts participation in England and Wales. Many marginalised groups especially those who also live in poverty are at risk of social isolation, substance misuse, self-harm and civic disengagement. Evidence that involvement in the Arts and arts-based activities can play a positive role in ameliorating these risks has accrued over the past 15 years. Yet, research shows that it is marginalised groups who do not sustain their involvement or benefit from long-term experiences of Arts to enhance their lives. Our meetings led us to ask the question, 'Why, given that participation in Arts has come to be framed increasingly within inclusion agendas, do these often play out in practice, unintentionally, in exclusionary ways?' The network set out to explore what more arts organisations and artists can achieve by attuning to the needs and knowledge of marginalised groups through a multidisciplinary lens. Hitherto, debates about specific approaches to widening participation in the Arts have taken place within fields that have developed independently of each other. For example, the fields of youth and community work draw on arts-based practice to empower marginalised groups, and have developed skills for befriending and working with groups who find themselves on the periphery of society. However, while the Arts disciplines strive to democratise access to the Arts, yet consultations with participants who work in publicly funded Arts organisations, such as national theatres, museums, galleries and arts centres revealed considerable concern about the uneven social participation in the Arts. Lectures on creative media courses in Further Education colleges often teach marginalised young people. While the disciplines of the Arts and the fields of community and youth work have developed independently of each other, there is enormous potential to share different perspectives to understand this complex problem which requires both critical debate and the inclusion of multiple viewpoints. In response, we will create a network to facilitate boundary crossings between hitherto siloed fields that have different approaches and purposes in relation to the Arts. Through a series of regional multidisciplinary, multiagency BarCamp (N=5) style exchange spaces, stakeholders from Arts disciplines as well as those who work in publicly funded theatres, museums, galleries and art centres will come together with academics and practitioners from the fields of community and youth work to critically debate issues such as participation, democracy, enterprise, trust, street work and festivals. Two BarCamps will be hosted by a youth centre and a community centre enabling marginal groups to lead activities. Events will be designed to enable a multiplicity of perspectives through processes of making, attuning, listening and debating. Collectively, we aim to develop new ways to imagine and understand how marginalisation takes place in often-imperceptible ways, and to forge new ways of working that draw on the strengths and creative resources of marginalised groups. A website will enable insights to be gathered incrementally across the BarCamp events and shared publicly. The long terms objective is to create guidance for Arts organisations who are grappling with the Culture White Paper's (CM 9218) expectation for the first time that all museums, theatres, galleries, opera houses or arts groups that receive government money "should reach out to everyone, regardless of their background". The challenge here is to develop new models for effective partnerships that can be adapted in specific local communities based on the values implied, rather than through performative acts such as counting numbers through the door.

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.

This unique consortium draws on the research excellence of interdisciplinary and complementary design innovation labs at three universities - Lancaster University, Newcastle University and the Royal College of Art and connects it with public and private sectors, linking large and small-scale businesses, service providers and citizens. Together, our expertise in developing and applying creative techniques to navigate unexplored challenges includes that of designers, artists, curators, producers, broadcasters, engineers, managers, technologists and writers - and draws on wider expertise from across the partner universities and beyond. The Creative Exchange responds to profound changes in practice in the creative and media-based industries stimulated by the opening of the digital public space, the ability of everyone to access, explore and create in any aspect of the digital space, moving from 'content consumption' to 'content experience'. It explores new forms of engagement and exchange in the broadcast, performing and visual arts, digital media, design and gaming sectors, by focusing on citizen-led content, interactive narrative, radical personalization and new forms of value creation in the context of the 'experience economy'. The primary geographic focus is the Northwest of England centred around the opportunity presented by the growth of MediaCityUK and its surrounding economy. The three universities act as local test beds with field trials in London, Lancaster and Newcastle prior to larger public facing trials in the northwest. This will support the North West regional strategy for growth in digital and creative media industries, whilst generating comparative research and development locally, nationally and internationally. The Creative Exchange has been developed in response to a paradigm shift in content creation and modes of distribution in a digitally connected world, which has profound impact for the arts and humanities. This transformational-change is taking place within the landscape of a growing digital public space that includes archives, data, information and content. How we navigate and experience this space - and how we generate content for and within it - is central to how we create economic, social, cultural and personal value. The Hub draws on new and agile approaches to knowledge exchange for the creative economy that have been previously developed by the partner universities and new ones co-developed with specialist arts organizations, sector organizations and communities of users.

The 'MARCH' Network proposes that Assets for Resilient Communities lie at the heart of Mental Health (M-ARC-H) and is dedicated to advancing research into the impact of these assets in enhancing public mental health and wellbeing, preventing mental illness and supporting those living with mental health conditions. Specifically, it will advance our understanding of the impact of social, cultural and community assets including the arts, culture, heritage, libraries, parks, community gardens, allotments, leisure centres, volunteer associations, social clubs and community groups, of which there are an anticipated 1 million in the UK. The network will bring together a Disciplinary Expert Group of researchers with a Policy Group of major national policy bodies, a Patient Public Involvement Group of national mental health charities, and a Community Engagement Group of national organisations. Across three years, our network will unite research with policy and practice to tackle critical questions of research priorities, methods, and implementation in this field; understand and resolve barriers to mobilising community assets; and provide training and support to the next generation of researchers. Specifically, our network will address questions organised in two core work streams (WS): WS1. Cross-disciplinary research and challenges: (a) What evidence is there, from a cross-disciplinary perspective, for how and why community assets impact on public health and wellbeing and the lives of those living with mental health problems, and where are the gaps for future research? (b) How can we use a cross-disciplinary approach to provide meaningful data to different stakeholders and users? WS2. Equity of engagement and access innovation: (a) Who amongst the UK population, demographically and geographically, currently engages with these programmes and how does participation vary dependent on mental health? (b) What are the current barriers and enablers to engagement at an individual, organisational and policy level and how can we develop innovative approaches to enhance engagement, especially amongst the vulnerable? This research work will be complemented by a rich portfolio of impact, engagement and training activities (see 'Impact Summary'). This network aligns with strategic priorities of the AHRC and ESRC as well as having a secondary relevance to the priorities of the MRC (through its consideration of the role of community assets and social prescribing to support medical approaches to mental health), NERC (through its exploration of the impact of green spaces) and EPSRC (through its focus on the opportunities provided by technology for driving research forwards). It has also been designed in response to the Network Plus Research Agenda. In addition to the objectives already discussed in the prior Je-S section, it is responsive to many of the mental health challenges cited in the agenda. For example, the call specification noted that only 25% of people with mental health problems receive ongoing treatment. Whilst there are recognised economic and resource constraints with delivering sufficient mental health services, this Network proposes to focus on the role that existing community assets could play in providing support to a much wider range of people in the UK including those on waiting lists. As another example, the call specification raised that 70% of children and adolescents with mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at an earlier age. This Network will involve working with policy makers and community organisations to see how research could help overcome barriers to access with the aim of engaging more young people and those who are hard to reach. Overall, the network will seek to understand and support future research into how community assets could be mobilised to encourage more resilient individuals and communities with a greater understanding of and capacity for self-management of mental health.

Recent years have seen gradually developing digital expertise by many arts and culture organisations focused on physically-sited exhibitions, performances, and events. The closure of venues in the wake of COVID-19 has suddenly put these experiments to the test, and given urgency to arts and culture organisations' need to build capacity for digital programming. So far, video streaming has emerged as by far the most common route for the sustainable delivery of cultural content online. It has also often generated large audiences. Initial research suggests that recent moves to video streaming have widened access to arts and culture. However, it is important that organisations also reach more geographically, culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse audiences. Accordingly, this project will gather and analyse qualitative and quantitative data in order to helping arts and culture organisations achieve two symbiotic goals: to develop digital programming strategies that can reach new and more diverse audiences, and to develop long-term resilience to the economic and cultural impact of COVID-19. Research questions will include: - What forms of, and approaches to, video streaming have proven most effective during physical shutdown, and may best complement physically-sited post-lockdown programming? - Which digital distribution models developed in response to COVID-19 are most replicable across organisations and sectors? - How can successful digital initiatives of the last two months be incorporated into organisations' core work, without sacrificing their pre-existing activities? - What opportunities does video streaming provide for increasing equality of access to arts and culture - both during and beyond the current crisis? The project's findings will feed into the equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) policies of Arts Council England's forthcoming 10-year strategy, 'Let's Create', and provide practical knowledge for UK-based organisations struggling to adapt their business models and artistic programmes to a socially distanced world.