Governance Review and Implementation
Culture East Sussex
In 2021, CAO was tasked by Culture East Sussex (CES) to develop a future vision, mission, governance structure and guiding principles for a future Cultural Investment Framework.
CES is a network of cultural organisations hosted by East Sussex County Council which brings together a range of cultural and heritage organisations in the area to promote culture and heritage, and advocate for the sector.
The network needed to formalise its vision and priority areas of activity so that it can grow as a group, ensure that its areas of focus reflect the needs of its members, and apply for funding for larger scale projects
The project included extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the sector, online workshops, engagement with key representatives in the Local Authority as well as local artists and freelance practitioners. Through this research we were able to work with CES to identify a new vision and mission based on member and non-member consultation, develop a new governance model and legal framework, create guiding principles for an investment framework, and design and embed a new communications plan.
The resulting strategy ensured that Culture East Sussex is now on a path to ensure it meets the needs of its members and is able to advocate on behalf of the sector locally while meeting the strategic objectives of the local authority.