Utilising the proven benefits of arts and cultural engagement and, harnessing Renfrewshire’s unique and storied creative and cultural history has been at the heart of Renfrewshire Council’s strategy of cultural and creative investment over the past years.
The approach encapsulated as Future Paisley encompasses a multi-faceted stream of activities; investments in capital and branding projects such as the Paisley Museum refurbishment, or the recently opened Paisley Central Library alongside work with artists, communities plus schools, events and funding opportunities.
As part of this ongoing work, Renfrewshire has worked in partnership with colleagues at CCSE over a number of years. During this time, much of our collaboration has focused on seeking to understand the outputs, outcomes and impacts of the projects and programmes supported through Future Paisley. Indeed, a trio of doctoral students were based in CCSE while embedded in Local Authority and stakeholder teams to take deep dives into, and better understand, different facets of the work taking place in Paisley and Renfrewshire. Having successfully completed their in-depth studies, each researcher has also produced a shorter ‘insights’ document summarising their research, its findings and implications. Recently published, these policy insights are a valuable part of the legacy of the Future Paisley investments.
At CCSE, we have also been taking a closer look at the outputs and outcomes of some of the standout examples of Future Paisley supported success stories. With colleagues at Renfrewshire, we have identified a quintet of exemplars that richly illustrate the way in which investment in arts and culture has brought about beneficial effects. So far, we have completed three of the agreed case studies focusing on the Open Mind Summit, the Glen Cinema Memorial and the ArtBOSS creative learning programme. Two more studies – on Paisley’s Halloween Event and the Other Side of the River theatre project – are forthcoming.
Future Paisley launched with the aim of building on the momentum which gathered around Paisley’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2021. The first town to be shortlisted for the accolade, Paisley and Renfrewshire have sought to use the energy generated by the bid as a launchpad to transformation. In the intervening years, much work has been done and, much remains. The work that members of the CCSE team has done alongside Renfrewshire colleagues and stakeholders serves to highlight elements of this broad-ranging undertaking and, we hope, adds an insightful dimension to the legacy that Future Paisley is striving to create.
This blog was written by Sophie Mamattah, Research Associate at CCSE.
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