Paul Collard

Paul Collard is the Chief Executive of CCE, the organization responsible for delivering the British government’s major creative educational programs for young people in England. He has 25 years’ experience of working in the arts and is an expert in delivering programs that use creativity and culture as drivers of social and economic change, most notably in the North East of England and New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
 
CCE has a particular focus on unlocking the creative potential of children and young people in order to prepare them for success in the creative economy of the 21^st century. Its major program, Creative Partnerships, worked with around 2,300 schools in England each year, while the pioneering Find Your Talent project focused on enabling young people in some of England’s most deprived areas to access world-class cultural opportunities.
 
Independent research has shown that CCE’s programs are successful in boosting children and young people’s academic success, raising their aspirations and improving their attendance at school while engaging disengaged parents in their children’s education. A report based on this research by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2010 estimated that the total economic benefit to the UK Treasury of the Creative Partnerships program was in excess of £4bn, a return of £15.30 for each £1 invested.
 
The scale and impact of CCE’s programs has generated considerable interest outside the UK. As a result, CCE now supports programs modeled on Creative Partnerships in Germany, Norway, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Pakistan, is advising the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the City of Amsterdam on their creative and cultural learning strategies, and has recently provided training for educationalists and creative practitioners in Sweden, Holland, Estonia, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Qatar and Australia.