New research explores how devolution can drive innovation, inclusivity, growth and stronger community through banner making in Rochdale.

New research published on Wednesday 14 October, by the AHRC Creative Communities programme provides fresh evidence of how greater devolution can drive innovation, inclusive growth and stronger communities across the UK.

Ruth Flanaghan was the Community Innovation Practitioner in 2025-26, based at The University of Manchester, leading the project Unity and Strength: Banner Making as a Tool to Enhance Belonging and Community Cohesion.

Delivered through this Community Innovation Practitioner (CIP) programme, this work brought together Cartwheel Arts, Creative Manchester at The University of Manchester and Heritage Crafts UK as partners to explore how heritage crafts, embedded within communities and supported by Greater Manchester's devolved policy context, can contribute to good growth. This ensures more people can contribute to, and benefit from, economic success by combining both asset and place-based approaches.

Ruth's recommendations from the project include calling on funders to recognise that long-term investment in devolved, collaborative, creative work can build cross-cultural connections, wellbeing, belonging, and civic participation.

The research, published at a pivotal moment for devolution under Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s new government, argues that transferring greater powers and resources to places must be accompanied by new ways of involving communities in the decisions, research and innovation that shape their futures.

Funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and led by Northumbria University, the findings come from the programme’s Community Innovation Practitioner (CIP) Awards.

The Community Innovation Practitioner Awards represent an investment of almost £500,000, catalysing place-based research and innovation across all four nations of the UK.

Six Community Innovation Practitioners have today published a new collection of case studies, devolved policy papers and Creative Communities podcast episodes.

Listen to Ruth's podcast episode and read her case study and policy paper.