Creative pathways to wellbeing: A synthesis of Spirit of 2012 project case studies

We looked at a set of ten creative projects funded by Spirit of 2012 between 2015 and 2023, in England, Scotland and Wales. The activities included making music, creative writing, dance, film-making, singing, art-making and crafts.

The projects targeted people who were at risk of low wellbeing and loneliness, and set out to deliver improvements in wellbeing and other outcomes.

We wanted to know which contexts and mechanisms were associated with these outcomes in these creative projects, so we could identify the pathways which could lead to wellbeing.

Using evidence from project evaluation and monitoring reports, we built a rich picture of carefully designed interventions which used inclusive approaches to give creative opportunities to people to support their wellbeing.

Looking across the body of case studies suggests there were eight distinct pathways to wellbeing in play, and that some of the personal pathways to wellbeing may be particularly relevant to specific groups.

This reports details our findings and methodological approach.

Dr Helen MacIntyre is Head of Evidence at the Campaign to End Loneliness and an experienced social researcher. She has a strong interest in the value of social connection with previous research and reports focused on children’s peer relations and a range of issues related to social isolation and loneliness. She has also written a number of reports and articles which draw on practitioner knowledge and understanding.

Ingrid Abreu Scherer is Senior Civil Society Lead at the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, where she works with charities, social enterprises and those who support them to develop effective programmes and build the evidence on what really works. She has developed a number of guides and resources for charities, including the Online Guide to Measuring Wellbeing Impact, a Brief Guide to Measuring Loneliness, and a Guide to Effective Case Studies.

We are grateful for the help and support of Margherita Musella from Counterpart Research, who advised on methods and contributed to the coding, quality assessment, synthesis, and analysis of quantitative data.

MacIntyre, H. and Abreu Scherer, I. (2024) Creative pathways to wellbeing: A synthesis of project case studies. What Works Centre for Wellbeing and Campaign to End Loneliness.