University of Leeds research helps secure major cultural policy shift in new devolution bill
Trevor MacFarlane, Director of Culture Commons, described the outcome as “one of the most significant shifts in cultural policy for a generation”.
Researchers from the University of Leeds have helped secure a significant policy change in the new English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, embedding culture within emerging Strategic Authorities’ decision making structures for the first time.
The shift marks a major development in how culture is positioned within English devolution, recognising it as a core component of growth, identity and community infrastructure rather than an optional add-on.
From research to legislation
The change follows a major research and policy programme, The Future of Cultural Devolution in the UK, led by Culture Commons – an independent, not-for-profit organisation committed to advancing the UK’s creative, cultural, and heritage ecosystem – in collaboration with the University of Leeds and 28 other national partners. The programme brought together academic research, sector expertise and policy design to generate an evidence base that directly informed Culture Commons’ legislative proposals and amendments to the Bill.
Trevor MacFarlane, Director of Culture Commons, described the outcome as “one of the most significant shifts in cultural policy for a generation”, adding that it recognises culture as “essential infrastructure for growth, identity and community”.
“Across these areas, the programme demonstrates a coherent model of research-informed policy development, in which academic research is systematically integrated into programme design, policy formulation and legislative engagement.
“Crucially, this work establishes a clear and traceable pathway from research to policy to legislation, culminating in the successful inclusion of culture within the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.”
Contributions
Researchers from the University’s School of Performance and Cultural Industries and from the Centre for Cultural Value played a vital and wide-ranging role, contributing across the programme’s research, leadership and delivery.
Dr John Wright, Lecturer in Cultural and Creative Industries, examined the role of local cultural strategies within evolving governance systems. It identified the need to move beyond aspirational, outputs-focused approaches and instead embed cultural strategies within wider policy frameworks, including economic development, health and regeneration. These findings informed recommendations on local culture plans, improved evaluation frameworks and stronger alignment across local, regional and national strategy.
Leila Jancovich, Professor in Cultural Policy and Participation, and colleagues explored how meaningful public participation can be embedded in cultural decision-making. Drawing on co-production and deliberative democracy, the research highlighted the importance of transparent, well-designed participation and warned against tokenistic engagement. Its findings informed proposals to strengthen community involvement, including the co-design of cultural plans and more robust participatory mechanisms within devolved governance.
The University also played a key leadership role in the programme. Professor Ben Walmsley, the University’s Dean of Cultural Engagement, co-chaired the Research Working Group, providing strategic oversight of the research phase and assurance of methodological robustness and ethical practice, coordinating critical challenge and peer review, and ensuring alignment across multiple research strands.
Meanwhile, Anna Kime, Policy Officer at the Centre for Cultural Value, supported the delivery of UK-wide engagement activity, including roundtables with freelancers across all four nations. This contributed to the evidentiary base of a research paper produced by the University of Warwick and ensured that practitioner perspectives were systematically integrated into the programme.
Taken together, these contributions have supported the programme’s work across four interconnected domains: cultural strategies as governance tools, participation and local voice as core design principles, evaluation and alignment across governance levels, research leadership and programme support.
