Dr. Abi Gilmore is Senior Lecturer in Arts Management and Cultural Policy and part of the Institute for Cultural Practices at University of Manchester. Her research concerns the organisation of local cultural policy, management and participation and involves collaborative initiatives with cultural partners to inform teaching, knowledge exchange and public engagement. Current research projects include Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Connected Communities ‘Understanding Everyday Participation – Articulating Cultural Values’; AHRC Research Network Beyond the Campus: Higher Education and the Creative Economy, Mapping Music Histories (an AHRC Cultural Engagement project) and the N8 Research Partnership AHRC project, ‘New Thinking from the North’.