Pillar 5: Action Areas
Action 5.1
Establish working groups to better develop diversity, health & sustainability action plans
We recommend the creation of a series of working groups to focus on three vital areas: diversity and inclusion; health and wellbeing; and sustainability and the climate crisis.
For the diversity (ED&I) working group, the objective would be to see improvement at all levels of organisations and institutions, to support the Compact in sustaining a constant focus on accessibility, representation and equality.
This working group could support on gathering improved data sets on cultural diversity within the creative workforce in Birmingham to help inform funding and future investments.
The group could also support the development of a workforce plan to support people identifying as disabled to enter the sector, connecting to Pillar Two of this framework.
We also propose setting a goal for all medium to large cultural organisations across the city to ensure they have plans in place both for action on sustainability (e.g. a net zero target) and on health and wellbeing. There are excellent examples of good practice already in place across the city being set as the benchmark and continued collaboration through networks like Sustainable Arts West Midlands ensure a commitment to ongoing and continuous improvement.
Consideration should be given to assessing all of our action plans under this pillar against the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Action 5.2
Increase access to our creative practice and programmes for children and young people
To establish a long-standing relationship with culture it’s imperative children and young people access and participate in cultural activity from a young age. The Compact needs to consider how it can influence the city's education sector to enable access to more arts and culture activity in support of its educational aims.
One idea is to establish a Young Person’s Creative Network, piloted with the support of an organisations leadership such as Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA). This could become an essential part of an evolved creative ecosystem across Birmingham. This idea will be developed with a view to running a pilot network from 2026.
Credit: Simon Hadley
Action 5.3
Annual ‘State of Culture’ Monitor
To nurture genuine cultural democracy for Birmingham we propose a (brief) annual report on culture to be delivered by the Cultural Compact as part of its commitment to supporting both the success of the sector but also the ownership of the sector amongst the people and communities of the city.
This annual reporting should align with the structure of this framework to ensure consistency year-to-year and could take the outcomes and impact indices proposed below as a starting point for reporting metrics.
Credit: James Yarker
Discover the Outcomes and Action Areas for Birmingham 2025 - 2035
