Derby Cathedral as a beacon: the role of the Church of England in tourism management.

Abstract

In this research the role of the Cathedral is as a beacon inspiring and guiding community development. Good practice case studies in community collaboration, like the Cathedral's, are perceived as central and critical to the success of regeneration and development. The philosophical approach used engages the paradigms of community development (Moscardo, 2014; Ness, 2014; Goodson and Phillimore, 2012; Gilchrist and Taylor, 2011). A bottom-up, endogenous approach to development is perceived to deliver unique selling points to the community. An exogenous and centralist approach is perceived to deliver standardised outcomes that may not encourage actors to develop distinctive and special features for future strategies. This report measured the strength of the Cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of Derby, in delivering community outcomes that reflect both the values, beliefs and aims of the Church of England and of the city. At the same time it identifies the structures required within the Cathedral to support these aims and objectives. A participatory action approach, rooted in social constructivism, is used to frame the investigation into delivery and operation (Mayo et al., 2013). With the active encouragement of participants at the Cathedral and within other specific organisations located in the City the future requirements of strategy and operations to deliver exceptional outcomes that encompass the good practices are explored. This approach incorporates analysis of community's beliefs, expectations and values. The model then creates a framework for supporting, advocating and co-creating a development agenda that has the Cathedral at its core. The model reflects on the achievements of the Cathedral, the structure needed to make those achievements, it sells the strategy for people to operate it, and it tells the stories of that strategy to reflect the output and outcomes and concludes with indicators for future development by the Cathedral. The paper concludes reflecting the increased social capital that is created in this approach.