The Culture in Rural Development Programme was a 3-year partnership between several cultural and development agencies in the East Midlands region. The program aimed to strengthen and raise awareness of culture's role in rural economic and community development. It conducted research, provided support to rural cultural organizations, and established a dedicated website and networking group called EMARAN. The program helped demonstrate the economic value of culture in rural areas and left a legacy of resources to continue supporting rural cultural development.

1. Culture in Rural Development Programme 1/4
Culture in Rural
Development Programme
2005-2008Headline Report/October 2008
Image: Hidden Tracks;
Kate Dyer, actor
Chris Dugrenier
Inside
Culture In Rural Development (CRD)
Case Studies
Culture East Midlands Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham NG2 4LA E info@culture-em.org.uk T 0115 983 8769
Hidden Tracks is a
project commissioned
by Fermynwoods
Contemporary Art in
Northamptonshire and
produced by Watch
This Space. Visit
www.fermynwoods.co.uk and
www.watch-this-space.org.uk

2. Image: Sites of Meaning (Site 13 near
Arbor Low), Time, you old gipsy man /
Will you not stay / Put up you caravan /
Just for one day? Text by Ralph Hodgson,
Carved by Celia Kilner.
Culture in Rural Development Programme 2/4
Culture East Midlands Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham NG2 4LA E info@culture-em.org.uk T 0115 983 8769
The CRD programme was a pioneering three year partnership
between Culture East Midlands, East Midlands Development Agency
(emda), Arts Council England East Midlands, Government Office for
the East Midlands, Museums Libraries & Archives Council East
Midlands, English Heritage and a number of other key local authority
and cultural partners across the region.
A fixed term programme which ran from 2005-2008, the partnership
had a clear remit to strengthen and raise awareness of the role that
culture plays in economic and community development in rural
communities across the East Midlands. Working with a number of
organisations and individuals, the programme focused on testing
support structures and highlighting issues that have an impact on
the rural and cultural sectors. The main areas of work can be
summarised as follows:
1. Development and piloting - a number of work areas including rural
creative economy, the impact of culture on market towns, capacity
building for rural cultural social enterprises, culture in farm
diversification, culture and migrant workers.
2. Networking - support for rurally based cultural organisations
and practitioners.
3. Policy, advice and advocacy - support for rural and cultural
agencies and raising awareness among stakeholders of key issues
faced by cultural practitioners in rural communities.
With the support and commitment of all the key partners, the
programme has been hugely successful. As well as delivering against
its key objectives, the partnership has helped to ensure that the value
of the cultural sector as a catalyst to change and growth in rural areas
is more widely acknowledged amongst key influencers and stake-
holders. Below are a number of case studies which demonstrate that
value and present the outcomes of the CRD programme. At the end
of the document, there is also a directory of contact details for those
organisations and individuals whose work will continue to develop
some of the activity that was started as part of the CRD programme.
Sukhy Johal MBE
Chief Executive Culture East Midlands
Chair CRD Partnership
October 2008
Culture In Rural
Development (CRD)
Sites of Meaning, a millennium project in
Middleton & Smerrill in the Derbyshire Peak,
marks the seventeen entrances to the parish
with inscriptions chosen by parishioners.
Project devised and led by Charles
Monkhouse. Visit www.sitesofmeaning.org.uk
and www.charlesmonkhouse.co.uk
Organisations that were
enabled to access innovation
and support initiatives....
Charnwood Arts (Leics),
Fermynwoods Gallery
(Northants), Firebird Trust
(Lincs),JunctionArts(Derbys)
Organisations assisted to improve their performance
through capacity building activities.... Alford Manor
House (Lincs), Ashby-de-la-Zouch Arts Festival (Leics),
Ayscoughfee Hall Museum (Lincs), Derbyshire Open Arts
(Derbys), Gamelea Countryside Training Trust (Derbys),
High Peak Community Arts (Derbys), Louth Museum
(Lincs), Louth Playgoers Society (Lincs), Market Bosworth
Festival (Leics), Melbourne Festival (Derbys), National
Stone Centre (Derbys), REAP Rural Education & Arts
Project (Derbys), Southwell Artspace (Notts), The Circle
Arts Company (Notts), Wash Arts CIC (Derbys), Wolds
Collective (Lincs)”
Organisations provided with support
andadvice... Arts in the Peak (Derbys), Beacon
(Lincs), Bend in the River (Lincs), Level Centre
(Derbys), New Perspectives Theatre Company
(regional)andSpaldingPumpkinParade(Lincs),
Loughborough Christmas event (Leics), Rutland
County Museum (Rutland), Buxton Festival
(Derbys) through the action research for the
Economic Impact toolkit”

3. Rural Research:
The impact of creative industries
on rural communities
In 2007, the partnership commissioned the region’s first accurate
report on the economic impact of the creative industries in rural
areas of the East Midlands. The research, which included 27 separate
Local Authority district reports, clearly demonstrated that the creative
industries are a vital, economically significant and growing sector in
rural parts of the East Midlands. Copies are available on the website,
www.ruralculture-em.org.
The information has been invaluable for policy-makers and key
partners with an interest in the creative economy. So much so that
a similar study focusing on urban areas has been commissioned
to ensure a region-wide picture of the economic impact of creative
industries across the East Midlands.
The work prompted partnership between the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) and the Regional Cultural Observatory to develop a
pilot model to improve the way data relating to the creative industries
is gathered. This has been followed by interest at national level from
the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Market Value:
The economic impact of culture
in market towns
Market towns are the backbone of rural communities, providing a
focus for service delivery, economic development and social life
across the East Midlands. Yet, while cultural services are a key part
of the service function of market towns, support for cultural activity
varies greatly. A major reason for this has been the limited means of
accurately measuring the economic impact of, for example, a festival
in a market town.
In response to this, the partnership commissioned the East Midlands
Cultural Observatory to undertake a research project testing ways of
effectively reporting on the impact of local cultural investment.
Working with cultural venues and events across the region, and in
conjunction with the University of Nottingham Business School, the
Cultural Observatory developed the region’s first toolkit enabling
market towns to measure the effect of culture on their local economy.
This toolkit will help organisers determine why people visit their
annual festival, how much money such visits will bring to the town
and how future results might be improved.
The full toolkit and guidance notes are now available from
www.ruralculture-em.org.
Connecting Communities:
A dedicated web resource:
www.ruralculture-em.org
A first for the East Midlands and a first for the country, a dedicated
rural culture website for the East Midlands was commissioned and
developed to provide a virtual networking and information resource
for dispersed rural practitioners. Averaging 1500 visits each month,
the site carries news items on current issues and opportunities,
case studies on rural culture initiatives and projects, a message
board, downloadable resources and over 280 rural culture contacts
for the region. Beyond the life of the partnership, the website will
continue to be maintained and further developed as a virtual
networking resource by EMARAN.
Information Exchange:
Testing news ways of working
and networking
In 2006, consultation with practitioners across the region revealed a
strong need for a forum that would support and allow practitioners
to share ideas and best practice. As a direct result, the East Midlands
Arts in Rural Areas Network (EMARAN) was formed.
EMARAN holds two conferences a year which address the issues and
challenges faced by rural practitioners and seek to develop new,
workable strategies and solutions that arise out of the participants’
shared experiences. The last three conferences have attracted nearly 300
delegates and participants have welcomed the opportunity to meet like-
minded practitioners and share information in a more structured way.
On the back of its success, EMARAN has also become a sub-group of
the East Midlands Rural Affairs Forum (EMRAF). As a sub-group,
EMARAN feeds news on issues affecting the cultural sector in rural
areas back to EMRAF, and advises on rural policy making. EMARAN have
also been awarded funding by Arts Council England East Midlands to
develop their work further in 2008-09. For information on EMARAN events
and its plans for the future, sign up at: www.ruralculture-em.org.
Culturing Connections:
Culture and migrant workers
in the East Midlands
The partnership also commissioned a consultation to look at the
cultural interests of growing numbers of migrant workers in the
region with a view to informing the work of key cultural and regional
partners. The research yielded new information on the cultural
preferences and needs of migrant workers in the county, and can now be
easily accessed on the rural culture website. www.ruralculture-em.org
As a direct result of this work, the partnership also went on to support
a project in Spalding, Lincolnshire, called ‘Just like my mother used
to make’. Based in Asycoughfee Hall Museum, the project bought
migrant workers and local people together to explore different
cultural identities through food and recipes and culminated in an
open event which attracted over 160 visitors. The project will continue
beyond the life of the partnership and details from the project, including
recipe cards, are available from www.ruralculture-em.org.
Case Studies
Culture in Rural Development Programme 3/4
Culture East Midlands Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham NG2 4LA E info@culture-em.org.uk T 0115 983 8769
709 people attending
advocacy, research,
training and
networking events
01
02
03
05
“EMARAN looks forward to providing support for
the ambitious rural culture sector in this region.
Culture East Midlands responded to what creative
businesses and arts organisations needed and the
organisations and practitioners we work with are
alreadygainingconfidenceintheirculturalenterprises”
Nicki Gardner, Chair, EMARAN
04

4. Culture in Rural Development Programme 4/4
Culture East Midlands Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham NG2 4LA E info@culture-em.org.uk T 0115 983 8769
Regional seminars, workshops and conferences...
Valuing Volunteers training, Museums development
day, Leicestershire Creative Industries launch,
Northamptonshire Creative Industries launch,
Derbyshire Creative Industries launch, Lincolnshire
Creative Industries launch, Nottingham Regional
Creative Industries launch, East Midlands Arts in
Rural Areas Consultation, EMARAN spring 2007
conference, EMARAN autumn 2007 conference,
EMARAN spring 2008 conference, Farm
Diversification and Cultural enterprise Conference,
Economic Impact of Culture in Market Towns
Seminar, Distant Voices migrant workers seminar.
Rural Culture/EMARAN Website
www.ruralculture-em.org
Action for Communities in Rural England
www.acre.org.uk
Arts Council England
www.artscouncil.org.uk
Commission for Rural Communities
www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk
Cultivate
www.cultivate-em.org.uk
Design Factory
www.designfactory.org.uk
East Midlands Arts in Rural
Areas Network
www.ruralculture-em.org/site/list/
culture/emaran
East Midlands Development Agency
www.emda.org.uk
East Midlands Participatory Arts Forum
www.empaf.com
East Midlands Rural Affairs Forum
www.ruralaffairs.org.uk/emraf.htm
English Heritage
www.english-heritage.org.uk
Museums, Libraries & Archives Council
www.mla.gov.uk
National Rural Touring Forum
www.nrtf.org.uk
Community Lincs
(Community Council Lincolnshire)
www.communitylincs.com
Lincolnshire County Council
www.lincolnshire.gov.uk
Leicestershire and Rutland Rural
Community Council
www.ruralcc.org.uk
Creative Leicestershire
www.creativeleicestershire.org.uk
Rural community action
Nottinghamshire
www.nottsrcc.org.uk
Nottinghamshire County Council
www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk
Derbyshire Rural Community Council
www.derbyshirercc.org.uk
Arts Derbyshire
www.artsderbyshire.org.uk
Northamptonshire:
Action for Communities in Rural England
www.northantsacre.org
Creative Northants
www.creative-northants.org.uk
County Based
Support for rural culture
in the East Midlands
For a comprehensive list of rural culture organisations and other contacts in the rural East Midlands, visit the www.ruralculture-em.org
The priniciple partners would like to thank: Cultivate; East Midlands Cultural Observatory; EM Media; all our local
authority partners; EMRAF; EMARAN; sub regional economic partnerships; all our regeneration and rural
development partners. With particular thanks to Rebecca Lee and Francois Matarasso.
Regional strategies supported
and influenced...
Rural Action Plan, Regional
Economic Strategy, Regional
Cultural Strategy, Rural Delivery
Framework, Rural Evidence Base,
Coastal RDPE, Derbyshire Arts
Partnership Creative Industries
Strategy