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A cross England, arts and culture are helping to drive economic growth, improve wellbeing, regenerate places and strengthen communities.Recently, Arts Council England launched its next National Portfolio funding round. It is our largest funding programme and successful applicants will receive five years of investment, providing a degree of certainty that is increasingly valuable in today's climate.As the national development agency for arts, museums and libraries, our responsibility is to invest in excellent work while ensuring public investment reaches communities across England and the organisations we support reflect the needs and aspirations of the people they serve.For this round, we have been improving how we work and have launched a new, more straightforward application process, with applicants' needs at its heart.But just as important as these simplifications are the steps we have taken to improve how we work in a devolved landscape. We know that understanding local communities is equally as important as supporting excellent arts and culture, if public investment is to have the greatest possible impact.This is an important moment for the cultural sector. By simplifying the process and drawing on a wider range of community voices and expertise, we aim to create a national portfolio that is ambitious, inclusive and rooted in the lives of the people it serves.That is why, for the first time, we will be drawing on a much wider range of perspectives across the process through one of the most extensive engagement programmes in our 80-year history. The insights we gather will directly inform our thinking as we make funding decisions.We will survey 20,000 people across England to better understand how they engage with culture, the barriers they face and the priorities they have for their local areas.Their insights will help us build a richer picture of what communities want and need from arts, museums and libraries.Alongside this, we will establish 32 regional boards, covering all of England, bringing together expertise from a wide range of civic and public policy sectors. Their knowledge of local opportunities and challenges will help us better understand how culture contributes to economic growth, health and wellbeing, skills development, place-making and community cohesion.We are also seeking input from mayoral strategic authorities, gaining local leaders' insight on place, growth and communities and deepening our knowledge of local and regional priorities.Taken together, these changes represent a significant shift in how we listen, learn and inform the decisions we make. These decisions will continue to be made independently by the Arts Council's five local area councils – made up from a range of voices, experience and expertise embedded in place, including five elected members each – along with our national council. They will be based on the artistic and cultural excellence demonstrated in applications, but they will now additionally be informed by an even deeper understanding of place and people with the changes we are now setting out.This is an important moment for the cultural sector. By simplifying the process and drawing on a wider range of community voices and expertise, we aim to create a national portfolio that is ambitious, inclusive and rooted in the lives of the people it serves.Ultimately, our goal is simple: to ensure that creativity and culture continue to enrich every corner of England for years to come.Darren Henley is chief executive of Arts Council England

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CULTURE

Arts and culture in a devolved landscape

By Darren Henley | 13 October 2026

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