The Culture Health and Wellbeing Alliance (CHWA), funded by Arts Council England, is working with arts, health and wellbeing consultant Jane Willis to develop a Quality Framework with the Creative Health sector.
Quality is a situated concept. It will mean different things to each of us depending on what’s important to us and the context in which we work, the communities with whom we work, the nature of our practice and what we aim to deliver. As Francois Matarasso states,
“an arts programme cannot be judged good (or bad), unless the concept of good is defined. Good for what? Good for whom? Good in comparison with what?”
Through this project, we will work with the sector to understand and articulate what constitutes “good” for those working within the context of Creative Health.
Quality is a shared responsibility. A shared concept of quality will help both individual practitioners and organisations across the Creative Health sector plan, deliver, assess and advocate for good practice.
Shaped through engagement with the Creative Health sector, the process of developing the Quality Framework will build on existing work articulating what good looks like in related sectors including socially engaged and participatory arts, the museums sector and social prescribing.
Policy makers, funders, commissioners, health partners, arts, cultural and heritage organisations and freelance creatives all have a role to play in ensuring quality. This co-produced Creative Health Quality Framework will not only create a clear basis on which to work moving forward, but will also support those across the sector to build partnerships with confidence.
This is not about defining or accrediting practice, but about creating greater clarity and consensus around a shared concept of good, so that quality can be planned and embedded within practice. It will enable those who work in the sector to better articulate and advocate for good practice principles to be upheld, resourced, and delivered. It will support practitioners to situate and benchmark their work; and to identify strengths and areas for development as well as training and support needs.
The aim is to develop an overarching quality framework which both individuals and organisations can use to guide them in deciding what quality looks like to them. The final phase of the project will support individuals and organisations to consider how they want to adopt and embody the framework by developing their own individual code of practice.
Starting in May 2022, the project will be completed by May 2023.