Research Fellow

London, United Kingdom

Demos is the United Kingdom’s leading cross-partisan think tank, known for shaping national debates on culture, democracy, and institutional reform. Its work bridges rigorous research and public deliberation, combining quantitative analysis with ethnography, citizens’ juries, and participatory inquiry.

In 2009, while completing a Master’s degree in Cultural Policy and Management, Kiley Arroyo served as a Research Fellow at Demos, contributing to projects exploring organizational change, cultural value, placemaking, and progressive cultural policy.

Her work included:

All Together: A Creative Approach to Organizational Change

In collaboration with cultural policy scholar John Holden, Kiley contributed to a study of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s institutional transformation. The research examined how ensemble principles — traditionally applied to performance — could inform organizational design, leadership structures, financial planning, and stakeholder engagement.

Using mixed methodologies, including network analysis, financial review, interviews, and workshops, the project explored alternative metrics for assessing creative and collaborative institutional change.

Expressive Lives

Kiley supported research and convening efforts around the concept of “expressive life,” articulated by former NEA Chairman Bill Ivey. The work advanced the idea that cultural policy should enable citizens to actively shape their social and civic worlds — positioning creativity as central to democratic participation.

Resilient Places: Character and Community in Everyday Heritage

Contributing research on adaptive reuse and heritage infrastructure, Kiley supported analysis of how creative reinterpretation of place can strengthen community resilience. The work explored how cultural memory and everyday heritage assets can be mobilized to address contemporary social and economic challenges.

The Demos fellowship deepened CSC’s commitment to participatory governance, adaptive institutional design, and the preservation of diverse cultural logics within public policy.

This formative experience reinforced a core insight that continues to guide CSC’s work: cultural vitality, organizational adaptability, and democratic participation are interdependent — and must be cultivated together if communities are to thrive.