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Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) are intended to help create evidence-based priorities for public health commissioning at local government level in the UK. They are supposed to consider the needs of people with protected characteristics, and this study aims to look at how the JSNAs for London are serving the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) population.

JSNAs are documentary data and are in the public domain. Each of the 31 JSNAs for London was individually assessed against a series of questions designed to test their inclusion of the local LGBTQ+ population.

Fewer than one in five of London’s JSNAs: had a dedicated LGBTQ+ section; cited bespoke research into, or engagement with, the local LGBTQ+ population; made recommendations for specialist services for people from this community; or considered intersectionality in the context of this population.

This study demonstrates that many of London’s JSNAs contain little information on the city’s local LGBTQ+ population and only minimal assessment of its health, care and wellbeing needs. Recommendations include conducting further research on this population at the local level, using available guidance and engaging best practice.

Socioeconomic aims and impacts are an explicit part of the UK City of Culture (UKCoC) application, bidding, delivery and evaluation stages. This article engages with existing debates on evaluating cities of culture and introduces perspectives from critical data studies to examine the collection and analysis of different data for the purposes of the CoC application and evaluation processes.

The meta-methodological concept of accompanying researcher is used to analyse the experiences of researchers based within a city bidding for UKCoC 2025 in dialogue with the evaluation reports from past UKCoC host cities.

Findings are analysed under three themes: defining data morsels; local histories and infrastructures of data generation and sharing; and resources, capacities and expertise for data generation and evaluation. The discussion examines data still to be generated and/or brought into relation; tensions around data and measurement; and how constructing an evaluation baseline is generative—creating new organisations, relationships and practices.

The conceptual and methodological approach and empirical findings will be relevant for academic, policymakers and practitioners engaging with cultural evaluation.

In focussing on the bidding stage in real time through the accompanying researcher position, this article presents original empirical insights into the process of creating a baseline for cities of culture evaluation. The conceptual originality of this article is in using critical data studies to explain strategies of data generation and analyse data relations and frictions.

It is well known that culture is a catalyst for change, helping economies respond to societal problems and demands and that culture is where people turn to in moments of crisis. In this case study around designing and implementing evaluation methodologies/frameworks for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, it is suggested that in English public policy and within publicly invested arts there is a maturation of thinking around recognising/measuring the public value of culture including its social value. The purpose of this paper is to chart the recent policy of justifying cultural expenditure with social value claims and highlight challenges for evaluating activity within Coventry UK CoC 2021 as a change in wider policy is taking place.

This paper provides creative insights into the design and implementation of the evaluation methodologies/frameworks for Coventry UK City of Culture 2021. The authors of this paper as the collective team undertaking the evaluation of Coventry's year as UK City of Culture 2021 bring first-hand experiences of challenges faced and the need for a cultural mega-event to evidence its value.

The case study aims to address the concepts of measuring value within cultural events and argues that a paradigm shift is occurring in methods and concepts for evidencing the aforementioned value.

The case study within this paper focuses on the build-up period to the UK City of Culture 2021 year and the thinking and logic behind the creation of the evaluation/measurement framework and therefore does not include findings from the actual cultural year.

It is acknowledged that there are papers examining measuring and evidencing the “value” of cultural mega-events, the authors bring real-life first-hand experience of the concepts being utilised by them on the ground in the delivery and evaluation design of Coventry, UK City of Culture 2021.

To share a case study of a service improvement review of practice and ambition for Health and Wellbeing Boards in the English West Midlands in the changing context of Integrated Care Systems.

Mixed qualitative methods: 33 semi-structured interviews with senior care and health leaders; a computer-based self-assessment tool for Health and Wellbeing Boards; and desktop analysis of Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies.

“Place-based partnership” is a motivating concept, embracing the agency of leaders in pursuing local strategies and solutions. The need for strong leadership was recognised. The opportunity for Integrated Care Systems to contribute to narrowing health inequalities was welcomed by building on local place-based models, maximising council expertise in managing population health and wellbeing in their areas.

The case study is a snapshot of a developing area at a time when further government guidance for Integrated Care Systems was pending. More specific analysis of place-based partnerships in the West Midlands in the context of Health and Wellbeing Boards and Integrated Care Systems would seem beneficial. In addition, further research of subsequent changes such as the Hewitt Review is also considered important.

The review shows the assertion of “place” as a unifying concept for Health and Wellbeing Boards and Integrated Care Systems. It suggests closer involvement of leaders in children's services with local Health and Wellbeing Boards is needed.

Health and Wellbeing Boards and Integrated Care Partnerships share common aims of improving the health and wellbeing of local populations. Maximising integration especially on preventative approaches and fully engaging communities in health would have positive social impact.

The case study adds to the relatively less well-developed literature on Health and Wellbeing Boards and their link with Integrated Care Partnerships.