Research

Undertaking research, developing relationships with academic institutions, think tanks and other social, cultural and economic research organisations, and applying new ideas and thinking to projects and activities on the ground. We undertake consultation and research to underpin strategies and to build strong funding applications. We also collaborate with Universities on outreach programmes and on specific funded projects. We run the Cultural Engine Research Group (CERG) in partnership with University of Essex and Unversity of East London. Through CERG we have gained a deep knowledge of the needs of Universities regarding outreach, impact and research.

The Cultural Engine Reserach Group (CERG) is a partnership between the Cultural Engine CIC, the University of East London and the University of Essex. The key aims are to bring academic discourse and reserach into the public arena throug events, workshops and projects. Through this academics can engage directly with communities and affect change and have impact through their reserach.

The ‘sectors’ that the CERG engages in through an interdisciplinary approach include – Place, Pride and Identity (particularly in relation to Levelling-Up narratives and policy), Tourism and Heritage, Public Realm, Digital Cultures and Smart Cities, Creative Industries, Education, Public Health and Food Cultures. CERG engages directly with academics across-disciplines, local authorities, charities and not-for-profit organisations, government and directly with communities.

In summary, our aim is for CERG to act as a conduit whereby academic expertise is identified and applied to solve ‘real-world’ problems. CERG welcomes approaches from all academic institutions across the UK for collaborations and projects, and we are effective at sourcing funding.

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North Thames Fisheries Local Action Group

Cultural Engine was the lead local partner with the Thames Estuary Partnership in managing the North Thames Fisheries Local Action Group. The North Thames FLAG programme ran from 2017-2020 (ended in March 2020) and was awarded £600,000 by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to allocate to projects in the North Thames FLAG area…

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Essex County Council – Cultural Commissioning Programme

The Cultural Engine was commissioned by Essex CC to run a year-long Cultural Commissioning Programme which recogniSed the challenges faced by arts and cultural organisations with limited funding and capacity. Through this programme, we supported many of the counties arts and cultural organisations with bid writing, strategy and business planning, problem-solving and organisational development.

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Resorting to the Coast – Tendring Coastal Towns

Working with Essex County Council and many local partners we developed the ‘Resorting to the Coast’ stage 2 HLF application which included writing a comprehensive interpretation strategy about the undiscovered / under-interpreted heritage of the seaside towns in Tendring. The heritage of the seaside and resort growth needs to be better understood by strategic partners…

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