The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Creative Communities programme has announced the results of the 2026 Co-Lab Policy Network Awards: an ambitious intervention to reorientate place-based cultural policymaking in a new context of UK devolution and the UK Government Missions.
As the newly-appointed leads for the Creative Communities Co-Lab Policy Network in the West Midlands, the University of Warwick's Dr David Wright and a team of researchers from the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies, will co-create 'Strengthening the Cultural Foundations of the West Midlands', a new foundational economy framework to better understand and represent the value of culture for sustainable and inclusive growth.
Dr David Wright, Director of Research and Impact for the School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures, said: "Devolution has the potential to change the conversation about cultural provision in the UK. We're looking forward to thinking and working with our partners on how devolved cultural policy can enhance how culture is made, seen and experienced in the West Midlands, to the benefit of all its residents."
Re-positioning culture as part of the foundational economy of the most mature mayoral authority in England, the new network will reflect the mixed metropolitan, urban and rural contexts of devolution and co-create cross-sector policy that puts culture at the heart of strategies for economic growth.
Professor Rachel Moseley, Vice Provost and Chair of the Faculty of Arts, University of Warwick, said: "This investment from the AHRC is a powerful vote of confidence in the role universities play as anchor institutions in strengthening the cultural foundations of our region. This Creative Communities network grant will enable us to bring together our partners - including regional policymakers, institutions and practitioners - to help shape a cultural landscape that is more sustainable, inclusive and resilient, and better able to support the region's creative future."
Warwick will work in partnership with the West Midlands Combined Authority, Coventry City Council and theatre company Talking Birds to deliver the new policy framework.
Marcus Lynch, Development Manager for Culture & Creative Economy at Coventry City Council said: "As a proud partner in the Co-Lab Policy Network, we see this as a vital opportunity to shape cultural policy that truly reflects the needs and aspirations of our communities. For us, this collaboration is about more than economic growth—it's about ensuring that culture is embedded in the everyday life of the West Midlands as part of a fair, inclusive and fulfilled society. By working alongside universities, cultural institutions, and creative practitioners, we can co-design policies that strengthen local creative ecosystems, support talent, and tackle inequalities in access to culture. This partnership allows us to bring our local insights to the table while learning from others, ensuring that cultural investment benefits every corner of our region—not just the urban centres."
The Co-Lab Policy Network Awards mark a pivotal opportunity to deliver devolution and community-led innovation not just as buzzwords, but as practical tools for better place-based policymaking. Together, the awards mark a timely shift in how we understand innovation, community, and collaboration across the UK.
The awards will create new spaces for deliberation on complex cultural challenges and opportunities—from culture-led regeneration to creative health—building devolved policy infrastructure that will enable better outcomes. The networks will work across sectors to ensure that people in devolved settings become not just participants in policy but the co-creators of it.
Janet Vaughan, Co-Artistic Director of Talking Birds, said: "As artists, we are particularly interested in the dynamics of who gets to make policy decisions and how these play out in the lives of others, and much of our work seeks to narrow the gaps between 'ordinary people' and decision-makers. Building on interventions such as our Citizens' Assembly, which was the UK's first to examine how arts, culture and creativity could shape a better future, we look forward to applying Talking Birds' particular creative approach to this project: bringing people together to collectively imagine and build better futures - and creating opportunities for 'ordinary people' to influence policy-making and enact change through arts, creativity and cultural activities."
