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Economic Development and Public Policy

We help public bodies and public-private partnerships to develop, implement and evaluate policy and strategy, with a particular focus on the arts, culture and the creative industries – a diverse and dynamic sector that is growing at twice the rate of the wider economy and accounts for over £110 billion in annual GVA and 2 million jobs in the UK alone.

Our team brings extensive skills and experience of working with, and within, local, regional and national governments and development agencies across the UK and internationally.

This has given us first-hand, practical insights into a wide variety of contexts and approaches, including both good and bad practice, which we supplement through context-specific research, review, analysis and consultation.

Depending upon the requirement, we can work with our clients to:

Define and understand the specific market, industry, sector or other stakeholder group in which they are seeking to intervene and the context in which it operates;
Identify and articulate the ultimate changes or impacts they are seeking to deliver, how these can best be delivered, and the logic (or ‘theory of change’) behind this;
Develop robust plans, proposals, business cases and other communications to help secure stakeholder support and public and private investment;
Design and manage projects, from concept to completion;
Undertake assessment and evaluation to demonstrate economic and wider societal outcomes and impacts.

Through our network of partners, staff and associates we can assemble a bespoke, multidisciplinary team with relevant industry knowledge or technical skills (e.g. legal, financial, capital projects, strategy and planning).

Our projects range from comprehensive reviews of cultural or economic development strategy, through to targeted interventions in specific policy areas such as:

Infrastructure and workspace
Education and training
Arts, culture and heritage
Research and innovation
Enterprise and talent development
Funding and business support
Trade and investment
Regulation and legislation

“Counterculture spent a year working with the Borough to develop a cultural strategy which could also support and complement the developing Visitor Economy and Heritage strategies.  We were really impressed with the end result and in particular how the team worked with officers and key stakeholders to develop something practical and helpful.  We have already begun to put the recommendations into practice, and we look forward to working with Counterculture again.’”
Chris Saunders
Head of Leisure, Tourism, Heritage and Culture, Neath Port Talbot Council

“The groundwork done by Counterculture in 2020/2021 in undertaking a strategic review of Rochdale’s creative and cultural assets has played a key role in unlocking opportunities for the borough – among other things, helping to secure investment from the Cultural Development Fund leading to the establishment of a Creative Improvement District in the borough, and a transformative capital project at Touchstones Museum and Art Gallery. We continue to work with them on a number of strategic projects, from infrastructure and governance, to fundraising and business planning. We would recommend them to anyone seeking support in these areas.”
Estelle Rowe
CEO, Your Trust Rochdale

“I’d like to pass on our sincere thanks from the TLCCH Board for the excellent work Counterculture have done for us in getting our bid for the Todmorden Town Deal over the line and accepted. All have said it’s been a pleasure to work with the Counterculture team and the quality of work, professionalism and commitment has been exceptional.”
Dave Wardell
Chair, Todmorden Learning Centre & Community Hub

To find out more about this service, speak to Jo, our lead contact for Economic Development and Public Policy

Jo Wright

Senior Partner

+44 (0)20 3388 9901

jow@counterculturellp.com

Lead contact for Economic Development and Public Policy

Jo has a strong track record of developing, managing and evaluating creative people, places, businesses, organisations, programmes and policies, including: place-making infrastructure projects; finance, enterprise and talent development initiatives; and trade, investment, research and innovation partnerships. He specialises in producing reports, impact assessments, business cases, funding bids and strategic, operational and capital plans for charities, […]

Read Jo's profile