Apply to become a pilot partner for the Charter for Equity

Culture Central is inviting West Midlands cultural organisations and freelancers to apply to become pilot partners for the Charter for Equity. 

The Charter has been developed through sector research, consultation, and collaboration, with the aim of improving working conditions, workplace culture and accountability across the region’s cultural ecology. It focuses on creating a shared framework that supports fairer practice while recognising the realities of how organisations and freelancers work.

The pilot will bring together a small group of organisations and practitioners to test the Charter through self-assessment, action learning and peer review. 

Participants will explore 3 key themes:

• Inequality and Oppression

• Material Working Conditions

• Agency and Power

Applications are open to West Midlands-based cultural organisations of different sizes, as well as a small number of freelance cultural workers.

Selected participants will receive a £1,000 contribution to support their involvement, alongside facilitated learning sessions and peer support throughout the process. 

We are particularly keen to hear from those committed to equity but not already specialising in EDI work, and those open to reflecting on current practice and testing new approaches. 

Applications are open now and close at 12pm on 23 February 2026, with pilot activity beginning 10th March. 

If your organisation wants to shape fairer working conditions in the region’s cultural sector, we encourage you to apply.

Download the slides from the Charter for Equity Pilot Information Session here.

Header image: 2022-24 Birmingham Poets Laureate at Birmingham Literature Festival 2022, credit Lee Allen