The role of place in health policy and practice has, until recently, been under-recognised. The National Health Service dominates provision, as a universal service free at the point of use. This equality of access is what makes the NHS so special, but it has tended to result in an approach which prizes the national, the
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The Cultural Citizens programme was a commitment in the Government’s 2016 Culture White Paper. The focus was on raising young people’s awareness and knowledge of arts and culture, as well as developing their confidence to continue to engage with arts and culture in the future. Funded by the Arts Council England, the Cultural Citizens programme
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Renaisi’s consultancy team helped Arts Council England to build the evidence base of the contribution that libraries can make to local and national priorities. As the national development agency for libraries, the Arts Council commissioned a series of reports looking at the impact of public libraries on communities as a whole and on people’s lives.
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Alice Thornton, Renaisi’s Head of Learning, was invited to speak at the launch of the latest edition of STIR magazine, ‘The Cult of Innovation’. The lead article of the same title was authored by Dan Gregory, who argues that the current fashion for social innovation has not only failed to address systematic inequalities in society,
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I recently attended the Big Local Spring Event in Birmingham. There, members of Big Local partnerships outlined some of the many solutions to local issues the programme has provided. For those who don’t know, Big Local is an innovative, Big Lottery-funded community development programme led by the Local Trust. 150 local areas across England have
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