Patricia O’Grady

My research will explore the entangled relationship between Scottish Culture Trusts and Local Authorities, and the impact the relationship has on the cultural activity Trusts manage.

More than half of Scotland’s Local Authorities employ Trusts to manage their cultural assets. Officially, the Trusts are separate companies to Local Authorities. However, Local Authorities own the venues and services Trusts manage, Trusts depend on Local Authorities for their budgets, Councillors sit on the Trusts’ boards, and they often share office and managerial systems. This creates an entanglement that complicates the ‘arm’s length’ principal under which the Trusts supposedly operate.

Fife’s Culture Trust, OnFife will be the primary focus of my research. By examining how the relationship between the OnFife and Fife Council is negotiated from different stakeholders’ perspectives, documents and observations, I will gain an understanding of the dynamic between the two organisations, how their values and priorities clash and complement, and what the practical implications are for how (and what) cultural activity is supported.

The aim of the research is to use the in-depth understanding of the how this complicated relationship operates to identify ways to influence more productive partnerships between Trusts and Local Authorities, explore best-practices and contribute to conversations and policies about how local institutes are managed.