Cultural evaluation (strengthened during City of Culture 2021) and cultural change after Covid have seen the Centre draw on its collective expertise. Dr Vishalakshi Roy has developed a City of Culture 2021 Case Study on change with Dr Jonathan Vickery, Dr David Wright and Dr Heidi Ashton. Dr Roy has also led a Focus Study for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Coventry City of Culture 2021 (2021-2022) funded by Coventry City of Culture Trust, and investigated the impact of the pilot project Creative Leadership Programme in Coventry. All of which strengthens the Centre's approach to cultural evaluation in the region and beyond. Interrogation of cultural strategies and integrating monitoring and evaluation frameworks for future urban cultural policy development is at the heart of this research which has direct beneficiaries in local government as well as the academic community seeking to better understand the exceptional impact of COVID19 on culture and how arts and audiences in the post pandemic cultural sector. Our focus on gender, ethnicity and disability is a principle feature of this impact-focused research.

Dr Maria Barrett's research on National Partnerships for the National Theatre evaluates the impact of a nationwide strategic touring project that aims to grow and sustain audiences for live theatre in England. This research is with the Centre for Cultural Value at the University of Leeds.

George Fleming, our Senior Teaching Fellow is currently working on his part-time PhD research project entitled ‘Convivial Culture Democracy – a return to Cultural Pluralism’ which asks the question, why has cultural democracy remerged now, and what is the character, and the potentials and prospects for this, in the current moment? George Fleming's research highlights the benefits of cultural pluralism as a way forward to engage directly with communities. The study is practice-led, integrating research papers and writing with documentary films for and as part of a community arts-based project.