Written by Steph Brocken, Development and Programme Manager
At a time when many funders are looking for collaboration, not isolation, partnerships are more than a nice-to-have; they are a practical way for arts organisations to broaden their reach, strengthen connections for funding bids and build deeper community networks.
We hear a lot about working across sectors, but what does that really mean in practice and how can arts organisations actively use cross-sector connections to improve their chances of securing funding?
Why Cross-Sector Partnerships Matter Now
Increasingly, arts and cultural organisations are being encouraged to look outside of the arts sector for these collaborations. For example, Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme requires a consortium consisting of at least one arts and cultural organisation, and at least one non-arts/non-cultural, volunteer-led organisation.
These partners are often volunteer-led groups rooted in local life, part of what is commonly known as the VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) sector.
The VCSE is broad, encompassing registered charities, Community Interest Companies, Charitable Incorporated Organisations, Co-operatives and unconstituted groups – groups which might work with varying levels of paid and voluntary staff across areas as diverse as health, education and youth, food, poverty, advice services, environment, sport and more.
However, if you aren’t already aware of the existence of said groups, it can be difficult to know which connections will be most beneficial.
This is where a Local Infrastructure Organisation (LIO) can be of help.
Making the Right Connections
An LIO is an independent charity that operates via a Service Level Agreement with the Local Authority to support the local VCSE – through capacity building, leadership, and advocacy, helping to generate partnerships and connections and to act as a conduit for volunteering in the community.
LIOs often stage networking and training events, convene thematic or place-based partnership groups and actively help organisations with governance, as well as bid writing, impact measurement and planning. Connecting with an LIO, and working with VCSEs, can be the key to opening the door to a range of different opportunities.
Bury VCFA is the LIO for Bury in Greater Manchester and operates with a small team of 14 staff members. The organisation stages training to support the sector, convenes networks such as a Leadership Group and Age-Friendly network, provides one-to-one development support to new and existing charities, Community Interest Companies, and other groups to help with governance, fundraising and business planning, and promotes the sector by attending local and regional committees.
It also administers a range of funding streams on behalf of the Local Authority, including for culture grants, wellbeing and community safety.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Public Sector Tendering
This is an area that cultural organisations can find difficult to break into, but one that can yield benefits in terms of funding that comes directly from governmental bodies, such as local councils and the NHS.
Tendering can be a complex process but one that our VCSE colleagues often have excellent experience and knowledge of and are more than happy to help or partner, helping arts organisations to:
- Understand how local contracts are structured
- Connect with experienced partners
- Access local insight that can strengthen your application
This programme saw cultural organisations in York come together with local libraries and archives, Converge (part of York St. John University) and York CVS, the Local Infrastructure Organisation for the area. This partnership won a contract from City of York Council to develop and deliver a cultural social prescribing model for older adults aimed at improving public health outcomes in the City.
The role of York CVS in this programme has seen advisory support from the outset in providing the consortium with the ‘Ways to Wellbeing’ social prescribing model as a benchmarking standard, as well as giving the consortium access to both promote and consult on the programme through the Aging Well Forum. It also enables partner organisations to come together with other groups in the York VCSE who are working to deliver the City of York Council Ageing Well strategy to be part of wider strategic conversations.
This partnership was vital to the achievement of the commission from City of York as, while the cultural organisations brought together a strong programme of activity, the CVS acted as the ‘keyholder’ to enable service users to access those activities.
Changing Relationships with Local Authorities
Across the UK, local authorities (particularly combined authorities) are rethinking how they work with community and voluntary sectors, moving beyond traditional grant-making and into more meaningful strategic relationships.
Local Infrastructure Organisations often sit at the centre of these discussions, giving their members early insight into changes that could affect funding and commissioning priorities. One example of this in practice is the Greater Manchester Accord, which sets out a clear roadmap for developing these relationships.
The Greater Manchester VCSE Accord
The VCFSE Accord is an agreement between three bodies:
- Our Combined Authority (GMCA)
- GM NHS Integrated Care System
- The GM VCFSE Leadership Group
Its purpose is to improve working relationships between the three bodies which will, in turn, improve outcomes for Greater Manchester’s communities and citizens. It is based on a relationship of mutual trust, working together and sharing responsibility.
Since 2021, the Accord has been in place to enable early involvement of the VCSE sector in planning and policy, a fairer deal on funding, and commissioning and advocacy for embedded social value and emphasis on the role of the sector in supporting community involvement.
In Practice…
Leading music organisation Manchester Camerata have collaborated with dementia charities, care providers and, significantly in terms of the Accord, NHS partners across Manchester to deliver the Music in Mind project to support dementia sufferers to explore music-making. Originally funded through UK Research and Innovation, with further trust and foundation support, the programme benefits with support from NHS partners who have provided funding through service contracts and partnership agreements.
Salford-based charity START Inspiring Minds has been able to directly access social prescribing and community mental health funding to deliver creative interventions, making a substantial contribution to the charity’s annual turnover.
When launching its smallest grant programme ‘Inspire’, in partnership with 10GM, GMCA chose an LIO to be the administrator for the fund. Salford CVS are responsible for distributing £300,000 of funds to freelancers and small arts providers across the Combined Authority. It draws upon its experience in administering small grants and on reaching grassroots and under-represented groups in order to do so effectively.
Being plugged into these conversations means you’re not just responding to funding calls, but you are also part of shaping the context in which they are made.
Speaking the Same Language
One practical benefit of working with VCSE partners and LIOs is that it helps arts organisations to communicate work in ways funders understand.
Many organisations across the charity sector use shared frameworks – such as asset-based community development – to describe impact and outcomes. For example, at the Spring 2025 Arts Council England conference, Cormac Russell explained that our charity sector cousins are focusing not just on ‘need’ but on the assets that communities already have in place, building programmes that realise and develop their existing strengths.
Models such as these are being championed through the network of Local Infrastructure Organisations which see them as an ideal way to activate community action and demonstrate impact.
When arts organisations adopt some of these approaches and the language used, it can help us talk about our community impact in ways that resonate with wider audiences and funders.
Getting Better at Impact Measurement
At present, there is no one standard measurement tool for calculating social or economic value, which makes it difficult to navigate and understand how and why it is different to the well-worn evaluation approaches in the arts. However, learning about different methods of impact measurement can prove hugely valuable in tapping into statutory, place-based, economic, health and education funding streams.
Tools in Practice…
Turner Contemporary Margate commissioned Canterbury Christ Church University to conduct research into the Social Impact of the gallery. This generated a full report that covered areas of impact such as education, town centre improvement, and retail and used Social Return on Investment methodology to place proxy financial values against each area.
London Arts and Health worked with VCSE and NHS partners to develop a new framework for measuring impact in creative health interventions. The Creative Health Impact Framework is a series of tools to understand, evidence and communicate impact in relation to health inequalities and improvement. Act It Out, a drama project supporting people with mental health, used the framework to create a logic model to assess its impact.
LIOs will often offer training, as well as access to frameworks or platforms that provide an opportunity to learn how to apply these tools to work in the arts.
The Bottom Line
Connecting with your Local Infrastructure Organisation isn’t a shortcut, but rather an investment into your organisation’s future funding success; a single conversation, workshop or network introduction could open doors you never knew existed.
You can see a full list of LIO’s here, or use the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action to find new information or helpful contacts.
About the author...
Steph Brocken
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