Arts Council England’s Inclusion Review

Our primary duty is to deliver for the public. To make sure that everybody in England benefits from creativity and culture, our organisation needs to be welcoming to and representative of people from all backgrounds. 

When we published our strategy, Let’s Create, we recognised that the Arts Council would need to change.  We want to hold ourselves to account at the same level of scrutiny and challenge that we are asking of organisations we fund.  

In 2022 our National Council commissioned Nous Group to conduct an independent Inclusion Review so that we could understand the steps we need to take to become an organisation where everyone feels they truly belong. 

This report sets out the findings and recommendations of that review.

The review recognised the high bar we’re setting ourselves and that several of our practices are leading across comparable organisations within and beyond the sector.

It also highlights some areas in where we have work to do. Colleagues across a range of protected characteristics have not experienced the care and respect we all owe each other.

We welcome the report and accept its recommendations. The recommendations give us clear actions that we’re tackling immediately, and we’re committed to making significant progress over the next 18 months.

Our National Council will scrutinise our delivery and will commission the Nous Group to give an independent assessment of our progress at 12 and 18 months.

We are committed to building the Arts Council into a place where everyone can expect to be treated with fairness and respect, and can contribute as public servants to the mission of Let’s Create.