Why creativity matters Policy DCMS Committee: Reimagining where we live In January 2022 the Select Committee for Digital, Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) put out an open inquiry into the role of culture in the Leveling up agenda, entitled: Reimagining where we live: cultural placemaking and the levelling up agenda The Inquiry explored the role that culture might play in delivering a Government commitment to level up the country. Creatives Lives submitted a response, which you can read here: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/106386/pdf/, and you can read the oral evidence here: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/9983/pdf/ To produce this document we consulted with the Creative Lives staff team and Board of Trustees based around the UK as well as our Creative Advisers: a panel made up of people across the UK and Ireland with a wide range of experience in the creative sector. We also included findings from our January 2022 report: Spaces for Creativity, which surveyed 200 creative groups and venues across the UK and Republic of Ireland. Significant evidence is also gleaned from our 2020 publication Common Ground: Rewilding the Garden, an investigation into how creative activity is sustained in areas of socio-economic deprivation across the UK and Republic of Ireland i.e. places that may be considered to have limited local arts infrastructure. You can find out more about the committee here: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/378/digital-culture-media-and-sport-committee/role/ At the end of the inquiry, the Committee will produce a report setting out its findings and making recommendations to the Government. When this happens we will update this webpage.