Cultural Policy Network
The Cultural Policy Network brings together academics with an interest in cultural policy across local, national, and international contexts. Cultural Policy is understood in its broadest sense. The Network aims to strengthen and amplify existing high-quality research while also creating new opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange
Dr Jonathan Vickery
Jonathan Vickery is Reader and a former Director of the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies at the University of Warwick, UK. His early research involved working with artists, public art projects and local arts organisations, also publishing research on culture in urban development; during this time, he was co-director of the Shanghai City Lab project (2012-15), and Chair of the independent Art of Management and Organization (2013-2016).
He maintains an interest in urbanism, most recently publishing reports on the Culture Commons project on local devolution. His main focus today, however, is global cultural policy, culture and human rights, and international cultural relations; as part of a network he recently published the edited book, Understanding Cultural Diplomacy, Elgar, 2025).
He is also co-Editor in Chief ofThe Journal of Law, Social Justice and Global Development and involved in the growing University involvement in journals publishing
Dr Heidi Ashton
Heidi is a scholar in cultural and creative ecologies. Her research interests span a range of issues from macro perspectives focusing on the ideologies driving policy and the impact that these have on culture and creative practice and participation to specific issues facing the freelance workforce as key workers in the sector.
Her research on access to arts and culture in education has been cited in national broadsheet press and the House of Lords as has her work on freelancer’s access to social security, she is also co-author of the 'State of the Arts' report with Campaign for the Arts.
She is a Global Research Fellow with the Creative Industries Policy Evidence Centre (PEC) where she has written a policy discussion paper comparing pay and conditions for freelance workers in the UK and USA, reviews PEC publications and sits on steering panels for policy relevant research projects. She leads the PEC Sustainability Network
Professor Jonothan Neelands
Professor Jonothan Neelands is a leading scholar of cultural policy and place-based cultural development. His research explores how cultural ecosystems function, how participation and co-creation can be widened, and how cultural investment generates social, civic and economic value. He has a particular interest in Coventry’s pioneering model of co-creation and in the role of anchor institutions in strengthening local cultural systems
Jonothan’s work on major events strategy examines the long-term impacts of programmes such as UK City of Culture and the Commonwealth Games, focusing on cultural legacy, partnership building and policy innovation. He was a key contributor to the national framework Creating the Golden Thread: An Ambition for Major Events in the UK and leads research on the Joint Cultural Needs Assessment (JCNA), supporting local authorities to use data and narrative to shape effective cultural strategy
His research is grounded in collaboration across government, cultural organisations and communities, with a commitment to culture’s power to transform people and places
Dr Haley Beer
My research examines how organizations pursue social impact and social change, with a focus on bridging theory and practice. I use ethnographic and qualitative approaches to study the emergence and application of innovative impact measurement methods—particularly those that capture non-financial dimensions of value such as culture, wellbeing, inclusion, and social cohesion.
I am interested in how these measurement practices support learning at individual, organizational, and ecosystem levels, and how they influence strategic decision-making. My work also explores the meaning of work and how individuals and organizations define and experience purpose.
Alongside research, I advise organizations and governments on designing strategies for creating and measuring social impact
Dr David Wright
David Wright works in the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies in the School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures at the University of Warwick. He trained as a sociologist, researching work in the creative economy, taste and cultural inequalities. His current research interests cut across all areas of cultural policy and the cultural/creative industries.
Recent work has focussed on how digital technologies are changing the problem of culture for policymakers, the idea of regional creative economies and cultural devolution and popular cultural heritage in English towns.
David has also been working on creative labour, examining how state and regional policies might support creative workers. The resulting collection, Creative and Cultural Work in Europe, edited with colleagues from Finland, Norway and Croatia, will be published by Routledge in 2026
Dr Vishalakshi Roy
Vishalakshi is fascinated by the tension between creativity and entrepreneurial behaviour that manifests itself in the running and management of creative and cultural enterprises.
Her research explores entrepreneurial activity, taking the form of the identification and exploitation of opportunities for economic, social and cultural value creation, at the level of the individual.
Her research interests also include leadership, strategic planning and management of creative businesses and cultural organisations, their markets and audiences
Dr Jane Woddis
Dr Jane Woddis is a cultural researcher who has worked professionally for many years in the arts and other community-based organisations. As an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies, she has combined teaching and academic research with work in the cultural sector, including research and evaluations for arts organisations.
She was involved in establishing Warwick Creative Exchange, a network of academics and cultural practitioners and, from 2013 to 2015, was its Project Manager.
Academic research has included AHRC- and Arts Council-funded projects with the British Theatre Consortium, and collaboration with Nordic colleagues, funded by the Norwegian Research Council.
She is author of Acting on Cultural Policy: Arts Practitioners, Policy-making and Civil Society (Palgrave 2022) and guest co-editor of Artists’ Narratives in Cultural Policy and Management Research, a Journal of Cultural Management and Cultural Policy special issue (2022)
Professor Chris Bilton
Professor Bilton is director of the BA in Media and Creative Industries and currently Warwick’s academic lead on CreaTech Frontiers
He has published extensively on cultural policy, creativity, and cultural management and his research interests include: management of creative and media businesses; alternative approaches to organisation, employment and strategy formation in the cultural sector; cultural democracy and community arts; creativity theory; human creativity and AI; and the negative consequences of 'creativity' for organisations and individuals
Current projects include co-authoring a book about myths of creativity on film and recently contributing to a co-authored book about creative work in Europe. He also regularly co-hosts the Media Whatever podcast. Before entering academia, Chris worked in the cultural sector for ten years, touring Britain and Europe as a writer, performer and manager and working as an arts development officer in London
Dr Charlotte Woodhead
Dr Charlotte Woodhead is an associate professor at Warwick Law School, and is a non-practising barrister
She has written articles and contributed to edited collections on repatriation and restitution of cultural heritage, including specifically the work of the UK’s Spoliation Advisory Panel which hears claims for cultural objects taken during the Nazi Era. Her recent research, Caring for Cultural Heritage: An Integrated Approach to Legal and Ethical Initiatives in the UK, used the framework of the ethics of care to analyse how the UK cares for heritage. This included considering the work of the Export Reviewing Committee and approaches to resolution of claims for restitution and repatriation
She has previously served on the Ethics Committee of the UK’s Museums Association. She is currently a member of the Heritage Network’s England Committee and a member of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee at Compton Verney, Warwickshire