Vital Communities (2005 - 2010) was a pioneering longitudinal action research study, aiming to measure the social impacts of participating in the arts. The project was initiated and resourced through a Partnership of the seven local authorities of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, with Arts Council England East. Through an intensive intervention of high quality creative activities delivered to children, families and wider community members, the study set out to test whether the arts might have a positive impact on the aspirations, achievements and attitudes of nine identified locations across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Vital Communities has two essential strands. Firstly, a vibrant programme of creative activities aimed at primary-aged children, their families and wider communities in nine identified locations across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Secondly, the only longitudinal research study to measure the qualitative and quantitative impact of a creative programme upon individuals and communities. Vital Communities is therefore not just innovative, it is leading edge!
Vital Communities took place in nine diverse locations and engaged the commitment of ten individual communities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Ten ‘hub’ primary schools and 264 families were enrolled to participate in the study. A further 10 schools, 2,000 families and 384 community groups took part in the creative programme. The project tracked the cohort children, their families and communities through five years of research from October 2005 - March 2010.
Participant groups have been selected to represent the breadth of social conditions of the sub-region including for instance areas of rural isolation, small market towns, urban fringe and locations already identified for regeneration.
Themes of the research include the effect of arts activities on the creative economy, healthy communities and vital neighbourhoods. This has involved monitoring:
- impact of high quality arts provision on children, their carers and wider family groups
- local community participation and engagement with cultural activities
- community perceptions of the long term impact and value of the project
- impact upon the local economy, community development and regeneration
Vital Communities has been working closely with the primary schools in each of the locations, taking creative activities to the cohort children and then extending this out to their families and to the wider communities.
Vital Communities has been happening in the following locations:
Eastfield, Peterborough – St Thomas More Primary School
Fenland Villages, Fenland – Wisbech St Mary and Payne Primary Schools
Fulbourn, South Cambs. – Fulbourn Primary School
High Barns, East Cambs. – St Mary's Junior School Ramsey, Hunts - Ramsey Junior School
St Neots, Hunts – Winhills Primary Schools
Sawston, South Cambs. – The Bellbird Primary School
Sutton, South Cambs. – Sutton Primary School
Trumpington, Cambridge City – Fawcett Primary School
Vital Communities is resourced by the seven local authorities of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Arts Council England East.
If you would like further details, or to request a copy of the report and film, please contact
Joanne Gray
Arts Development Officer, Box CC1219 Castle Hall, Castle Hill, CAMBRIDGE CB3 0AP
01223 715476
joanne.gray@cambridgeshire.gov.uk