These two essays concern the placing of cultural policy at the centre of the development process. Christopher Gordon, chief executive of English Regional Arts Boards and a consultant to the Council of Europe, examines the method adopted by the Council for its national cultural policy reviews, illustrating its strengths and weaknesses, and identifying approaches and processes that could be replicated in other regions of the world. Simon Mundy, a writer and broadcaster and also a Council of Europe consultant, discusses the common conditions and circumstances of the cultural infrastructure of western Europe, northern America and Australasia. He explores a set of guiding principles designed to govern the pursuit of excellence in cultural policy.