Banner: Giant bug made by Year 1 and 2 children from Wisbech St Mary Primary School and Payne Primary School, Fenland with Vital Communities artist, Jane Thewlis.

Environmental sculpture trail at Peckover House, Wisbech created by Year 1 and 2 children from Wisbech St Mary Primary School and Payne Primary School, Fenland with Vital Communities artist, Jane Thewlis.

Vital Communities

Energising communities through art and creativity

a unique impact research project happening in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Aims and objectives

The benefits of Vital Communities have two essential strands. Firstly, a vibrant new programme of creative activities aimed at Year 1 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!

Project summary

Vital Communities is a unique research project, initially over three years and with the aim of conducting the study over a 15-year period. Through a vibrant, innovative and inclusive programme of high-quality creative activities (dance, drama, film, literature, music, visual art), the project aims to demonstrate the impact of the arts upon individual and community development and to investigate whether the arts have a positive impact on the aspirations, achievement and attitudes of specific communities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Start date: Friday 1 April 2005
End date: Monday 31 March 2008

Documents

Vital Communities ACE summit paper (PDF, 2.26Mb)
Local Government Arts Forum: Regional SummitrnUniversity of Hertfordshire, Hatfield. June 2006.
Vital Communities Spotlight report (draft) (890.40Kb)
In September 2006, with funding from NESTA (National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts) Dominique Chadwick and Camille Warrington were awarded the contract to undertake an in-depth film based qualitative research study of the Vital Communities Action Research Project to be known as Spotlight. The contract for this project runs from Oct 2006 – May 2008. Spotlight aims to complement the wider large scale quantitative research that was being undertaken by adding depth and richness to the wider research data.
Vital Communities UNESCO conference paper (PDF, 2.65Mb)
UNESCO World Conference on Arts Education: Building Creative Capacities for the 21st Century. Held in rnLisbon, March 2006.