Recommendation 6:
We recommend reflecting on changes and continuities in cultural strategy themes and priorities by engaging with a wide range of cultural strategies that can provide insight across a variety of years and places.
The research for the Cultural Strategies and Futures report involved a content analysis of the 147 cultural strategies archived in January 2023. Information on the process are available here and the archive is available here.
This resource introduces the six main themes and their sub-themes identified through the content analysis and shares some examples of the language and terminology.
The content for this resource is being update to: (1) extend from 147 to the 217 strategies now in the dataset (2) review and expand the themes.
As well as identifying how cultural strategies feature related themes and priorities, it is also significant to identify where culture features within other strategies. For example, the West of England Growth Strategy references culture and creativity throughout.
This suggestion links with recommendation/resource seven on policy and position.
Planned updates (October 2025)
Examples of where strategies and plans make explicit reference to cultural strategies.
Review/expand the above six themes
.