The document summarizes public engagement workshops and interviews conducted to inform Arts Council England's draft strategy for 2020-2030. Key findings include: 1. Most participants saw creativity and culture as important to well-being but faced barriers to engagement like lack of time and money. 2. When prioritizing outcomes, most supported "creative people" to enable individual creativity. Ideas focused on children and youth were popular. 3. Participants valued accessible, local opportunities for everyday creativity over high-culture events and wanted Arts Council to better promote local offerings.

1. Draft strategy for 2020 – 2030
Public engagement report summary
07 June 2019

2. Contents
Introduction
Pathways to creativity and culture
Ideas for delivering the outcomes
What does culture and creativity mean to you?
Conclusion
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9
13
19
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3. Introduction

4. Introduction
• Public deliberative workshops ahead of the second consultation on Arts Council England’s
draft strategy for 2020 – 2030, to explore:
1. how ACE can deliver on the outcomes in their draft strategy, and
2. what the public would prioritise given defined and limited resources.
• Five research questions were used to design the workshops.
– What does creativity mean to people and their lives?
– How can ACE support pathways for children, young people, and under-represented
people to engage in creativity and culture?
– How can ACE add value to people’s lives through creativity and culture?
– What do people think of different ideas for achieving the outcomes in its emerging draft
strategy?
– How should ACE invest its resources to achieve them?
The brief
4

5. Introduction
Who participated?
5
Workshops
129 participants
Online forum
26 participants
Children and
young people
47 participants
Interviews
22 participants
Range of age, gender,
ethnicity, socio-economic
background, engagement
with cultural activities,
and urban / suburban /
rural-dwelling, to ensure
that different views were
heard.
Sample weighted towards
more diverse, younger,
C2DE socio-economic
groups

6. Introduction
What did they do?
6
Words and questions
were displayed on a
large wall.
Participants added
text or drawings on
post-it notes, or
chose a picture to
reflect their views and
feelings.
What is
creativity to
you?
Participants voted on
closed questions at
the beginning and
end of the workshops
about their views,
values, experiences,
and prioritisation of
creativity and culture
in England.
Voting
Participants
competed a quiz as
they moved through
three stations. This
provided information
about culture and
creativity in England,
Arts Council England,
and the draft
strategy.
Discovery
session
•Participants made
posters of creativity
and culture in their
lives, the things that
get in the way, and
how Arts Council
England could help
them reach their
goals.
Creativity
mapping
Groups discussed the
costs, reach and
beneficiaries of
various ideas for
achieving the
outcomes. They then
decided how they
would allocate a
budget across the
different ideas.
Achieving the
outcomes

7. Introduction
The draft strategy at the time
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Vision
Culture and creativity enhance the lives of every person in England
Investment principles
To be inclusive and fit for the future
Outcome: Creative people
Each and every person can
develop and express creativity
throughout their lives
Outcome: Creative
communities
Culture and creativity are at
the heart of thriving
communities
Outcome: Creative country
England’s cultural sector is at
the forefront of global
creative practice
• The workshops were designed using the draft outline of the strategy as it read at the time. The
outcomes below are as they were presented at the workshops.
• The vision, outcomes and investment principles have since been further developed into those
in the draft strategy and which are being consulted on in summer 2019.

8. Introduction
• Participants supported the vision, although
with some concern that it may be
challenging to achieve with limited
resources.
• The three outcomes were seen as
interdependent – the prioritisation of
creative people would result in creative
communities and a creative country, some
said, or conversely that a creative country
would be needed to create the environment
for creative communities at a local level,
which in turn would foster creative people.
Reflections on the strategy
8
Creative
People
Creative
Communities
Creative
Country

9. Pathways to creativity and culture

10. Pathways to creativity and culture
• Most participants wanted to be more culturally and creatively active.
• They often aspired to engage more with external culture and creativity, going to events,
shows, heritage sites, and exhibitions.
Creative and cultural aspirations
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11. Pathways to creativity and culture
• Time and money
– Most common barrier across all locations and all ages.
– Lack of hours in the day and prohibitive costs of tickets, transport or equipment.
• Space
– Lack of free/affordable, appropriate spaces.
• Accessibility
– Restrictions of public transport e.g. locations or accessibility for wheelchair users.
• Inclusivity
– Lack of, or poorly advertised, diverse creative and cultural available locally.
• Confidence
– Lack of confidence in creative abilities or opportunity to have a creative career.
• Prioritisation
– Other activities outside of creativity and culture are given priority.
Barriers identified by participants
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12. Pathways to creativity and culture
• Creative support for schools
– Work with education bodies to boost creativity, within and outside of the curriculum.
• Creative support for families
– Sponsorship for activities aimed at the family unit, such as discounted entry.
• Creativity for all
– Proactively designing, promoting, and supporting
programmes that appeal to under-represented groups.
• Sharing “what’s on”
– Arts Council England to develop a higher public profile, and support
the promotion of creative activities, events and courses.
• Creativity tailored to – and made with – local people
– Enable communities to influence what is available to them locally.
• Grants for creative careers
– Provide financial support to individuals working towards a creative career.
Participants’ suggestions for overcoming barriers
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13. Ideas for delivering the outcomes

14. Ideas for delivering the outcomes
• Groups were given top trumps cards outlining several ideas for ‘supporting creative people’ and
‘supporting creative communities’, along with blanks for creating their own.
• Groups discussed each idea in turn, considering the pros and cons, to explore participants’ values
and decision-making processes.
• Groups then prioritised different ideas for each outcome using blocks, representing how they
would allocate resources across the ideas.
The activity
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15. Ideas for delivering the outcomes
• Participants were very engaged in this activity.
• Groups found some ideas easier to agree on, while others
stimulated more debate which led to trade-offs and
compromises.
• Concerns were raised that the ideas were ambitious in the
face of:
– the challenge of attracting new audiences;
– the need for investment in creativity; and
– the need to support and facilitate creative
activities directly rather than acting as a promoter
and enabler
• Ideas suggested by participants included:
– activities for older people;
– discount schemes for families, young people, and disabled people;
– reimagining libraries as creative hubs; and
– providing free performance spaces.
Reflections
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16. Ideas for delivering the outcomes
• Over half of participants ranked ‘supporting creative people’ as the most important outcome.
• When asked to prioritise different ideas, the most popular options were in support of creativity
in children and young people – encouraging them to be creative and to equip them with
creative skills for life.
• Concerns were raised that a lack of time and resources available to teachers and youth
workers would limit what could be done to support children and young people.
• Adult groups felt it would be important to invest in professional creative individuals, as they
felt their presence would underpin other ideas being achieved. However, the children and
young people did not support this idea, and felt that resources could be more effectively
allocated to other ideas.
Supporting creative people
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17. Ideas for delivering the outcomes
• A third of participants ranked ‘supporting creative communities’ as the most important
outcome.
• It was felt that this would create the environment in which creative individuals could thrive
together.
• Participants were generally supportive of ideas that:
– are inclusive and relevant to everybody’s wellbeing;
– help to facilitate creative activities;
– help bring creative events to underserved
communities.
Supporting creative communities
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18. Ideas for delivering the outcomes
• The ‘supporting a creative country’ outcome was not covered in any detail at the workshops as
we wanted to focus participants on outcomes for individuals and communities.
• A fifth of participants ranked ‘supporting a creative country’ as the most important outcome.
• Where this was prioritised, it was because participants saw it as promoting inclusivity and
equal access to opportunities in creative and cultural sectors.
• Participants felt that supporting creative individuals and communities would result in a
creative country.
Supporting a creative country
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19. What does culture and creativity mean
to you?

20. What creativity and culture mean
• Participants valued creativity and culture and put forward a variety of activities they currently
engage in, from visiting museums, theatres or cinemas to cooking, singing and crafting.
• They felt that publicly funded opportunities to engage are important.
• Participants talked more about examples of ‘every-day creativity’ than about going out to or
travelling to cultural venues or events.
• Participating in creative activities, and discussing what culture and creativity might
encompass, can broaden participants’ perspective on how much of their life is ‘creative’.
What creative and cultural things do you do?
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21. What creativity and culture mean
• Participants described ‘culture’ as something you are (religion, country of origin), and
‘creativity’ as something you do.
• The way they described culture and creativity is consistent with previous research.
• Some spoke about activities they enjoyed such as karaoke and bingo, which they felt would be
considered social but not cultural, in the way that ballet or opera would. This reflected wider
conversations about ‘culture’ vs. ‘being cultured’.
How do people talk about creativity and culture?
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22. Conclusion
Participants wanted to see creative experiences which are accessible and
inclusive; more personal, more local and woven into daily life; and which
support people – especially young people – to be happier and healthier,
whatever their background or career choices.

23. Conclusion
1.Arts Council England could play a more public-facing role, promoting the creative and cultural
offer in England.
Both adults and the children and young people felt that working with schools and supporting
creativity in young people should be the highest priority.
Participants saw a link between creativity and wellbeing, believing that creative activities
make an important contribution to physical and mental health.
Participants prioritised enabling creativity for all (preferring the ‘creative people’
outcome), supporting Arts Council England’s role in enabling individual creativity.
Opportunities for enhancing the lives of individuals and communities through ‘everyday
creativity’ on their own terms were popular.
Most participants wanted to be more engaged with creativity and culture, but faced a variety
of barriers, most significantly time and money.
Participants supported the strategy, seeing the three outcomes as interdependent, but worry
about whether it is achievable.
23 #AnACEfuture http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/nexttenyears