Culture, Heritage, Communities and Local Economies

The Cultural Engine

Providing expert and friendly support for organisations making a difference in their communities and improving local economies.

We partner with Local Authorities, Government Agencies, Universities, Trusts, Charities and other Community or Social Organisations by providing capacity and knowledge to:

  • Identify & secure funding.
  • Develop, manage & deliver projects.
  • Write relevant & deliverable strategies.
  • Support business planning & operational development.
  • Nurturing excellent cross-sector partnerships.
  • Undertake research.
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Our Services

In order to complete a successful project there are a number of different skillsets that are important to make a successful proposal become a reality. We are well skilled in a number of fields and can help you in a number of ways to reach your goals with a wide range of skillsets.

Case Studies

Restoring The World’s First Operational Radar Station

The Cultural Engine led this project following a successful Stage 1 pass achieved by Bawdsey Radar Trust in 2013. This included the full development and application process for Stage 2 and ultimately…

Brentwood Theatre

The Cultural Engine worked with Brentwood Theatre to put together a plan of action that would secure funding from Essex CC to increase their capacity in the key areas of…

Shoeburyness Cart & Wagon Shed (Heritage Centre)

Cultural Engine have worked over the last few years to develop a comprehensive plan for the delivery of the Cart & Wagon Shed project in Shoeburyness. This includes working with…

Latest from the News/Blog

Video of CERG’s Tony Sampson Discussing the Imaginarium and Mezzolevel at i-PLACE Conference (26-27/11/2025)

In this i-PLACE talk, Dr Tony Sampson, Reader in Digital Communications at University of Essex, sets out a new way of thinking about how policy is designed, translated, and implemented. The presentation introduces the concept of the mezzo-level: an intermediate scale of governance operating between macro-level strategy and micro-level lived experience. Tony argues that many…

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A Reflection on the Imaginarium’s Beth Chatto’s Meanwhile Garden: The Urban Wild and Other Disturbances

A Reflection on Beth Chatto’s Meanwhile Garden: The Urban Wild and Other Disturbances A sold out evening with the Cultural Engine Research Group’s Imaginarium, on 12th February 2026 at the Commons Café, The Minories, Colchester, Essex. The evening opened with Stuart Bowditch’s performance of “Homage to the Waiting Room.” Given Colchester’s history of former “meanwhile”…

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Funding Success

Sharing the good news from the Essex Business School and School of Life Sciences at the University of Essex that CERG’s joint interdisciplinary application to the Innovation Fund has just been approved. The project, which is… “an outcome of Dr Tony Sampson’s (EBS and project lead) and Professor Tom Cameron’s (Life Sciences) collaboration with the…

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Whatever your requirement, you can be assured that we are here to help.