In 2018, spearheaded by Buckinghamshire Council, we collectively started work on a Cultural Strategy for the county, working with partners to develop joint aims and objectives and to begin to shape an Action Plan for delivery. The strategy explores how creativity and culture can add to, and enhance, quality of life for the people that live and work here, but also the core agendas and policy areas for Buckinghamshire, including skills, education, growth and regeneration, and health and wellbeing of the population.
Culture plays a vital role for Buckinghamshire: contributing to distinctive communities and places, enhancing our quality of life, health and wellbeing, enhancing our tourism offer and contributing in many significant ways to our economy. There is potential for far wider engagement with creativity and culture that would deliver a better future for all.
The Strategy has this mission:
Working together to shape, build and celebrate a bright cultural future for Buckinghamshire.
And aims to achieve these 4 outcomes by working in partnership:
- A thriving economy and transformed places
- Equality of access to cultural activities and opportunities
- Improved health and wellbeing of the population
- An energised creative and cultural sector
You can download the Buckinghamshire Cultural Strategy 2019-2029 below:
The Buckinghamshire Cultural Strategy Action Plan is available on request. Please get in contact if you would like a copy.
How we are delivering the Strategy
Buckinghamshire Culture and Buckinghamshire Council’s Culture Development Team work in partnership to deliver the strategy.
Buckinghamshire Culture is the main point of contact for the cultural sector (get in touch here). It is a starting point for advice, connection, support and information. We have two major strands to our work:
- Community-Facing – including Open Weekend our annual celebration of all things creative and cultural, and STORIES a new programme that aims to harness the power of stories to create new cultural opportunities. You can see the work we have delivered so far on our projects pages of the website.
- Sector-Facing – including training, networking, leadership activity, supporting development, advice (including around funding), connection, innovation and best practice.
Buckinghamshire Council’s Culture Development Team manage relationships with funded organisations and oversee projects which support the implementation of the cultural strategy. Priority locations for work are defined by Opportunity Buckinghamshire, the council’s flagship programme to improve outcomes for people in the county.
The two teams are collaborating across the four Cultural Strategy outcomes and are always keen to hear from partners interested in increasing opportunities for creative and cultural activity within Buckinghamshire.
Buckinghamshire Culture 
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