Cultural Future: Priorities for North Northants

We would like to thank all those who attended the 'Cultural Future Priorities for North Northants' Open Space event which took place at the Kettering Conference Centre. The event was a great success thanks to your participation and we have already had some very encouraging feedback!
You can see some of the day's results in the scribed illustrations below.

Your input is a crucial component in developing a Cultural Investment Plan for North Northamptonshire.

We would also like to encourage all of you to keep participating with your suggestions, comments, questions on this blog.

Cultural Future: An Introduction

Telling the Story

Prioritisation: What do we want?

You are invited to:Cultural Future - Priorities for North Northants

‘Open Space’ event

We want to hear from you!

Are you involved in any aspect of cultural strategy, activity or service provision for Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough or East Northants?

This event is to give YOU the opportunity to have your say on what the priorities should be for culture-led change across North Northamptonshire.

Following this you the participants set the agenda in an ‘Open Space’ approach that means your experience and ideas lead the direction of the discussions.

Date: 3rd September 2009

Venue:The Lighthouse Theatre, Kettering Conference Centre

Time: 1pm – 5pm

If you would like to attend please RSVP no later than the 28th August to cristina@tfconsultancy.co.uk

Learning and Skills workshop illustrated by Joel Cooper

Learning and Skills workshop

This workshop, A Role for Learning and Skills, involved schools, HE/FE and non-formal learning institutions to ensure they play a key role in developing a cultural investment plan for North Northamptonshire.

North Northamptonshire's growth target is expected to be 80,000 new homes by 2031. If we acknowledge that culture will play a large part in attracting new residents similarly we must acknowledge issues that could also arise such as community displacement as a result of a social change. Culture, learning and skills would play a vital role in readdressing any imbalances.

The group were asked to identify areas of concern in regards to their institutions role in developing a cultural investment plan. This included:

- Libraries do not know what other organisations are doing as there is little communication between them
- Libraries need to improve and capture their visitors’ experiences
- There needs to be an up-to-date profile of the community
- A very strong participatory character exists amongst schools, colleges and libraries but there is little strategic planning amongst them.
- There is no University in North Northamptonshire
- Few links exist between creative development or partnerships and core skills in areas such as engineering and maths
- Cultural and social deprivation needs assessment
- Clear access to cultural facilities and opportunities are required. For example, where are the cultural places and spaces?
- Need to consider our national, local and international offer

A Provision Map
The group began to identify where culture, learning and skills meet:

- Libraries
- Schools/ FE - depends on the school and its ethos but includes: story-telling,funding, levels of collaboration, well-being/therapeutic programmes
- Supplementary schools
- Voluntary activities improve skill development and impact employment
- Non-formal, amateur learning e.g. Corby Radio Academy, and Corby Women's theater
- The Cube will offer learning and skills through its artistic programming

What is absent in North Northamptonshire?
- The community have aspirations but no where to go with it e.g. there is no University
- An open network for cultural dialogue
- There are local strategic partnerships e.g. Corby LSP but politics can often get in the way
- How do we build confidence with existing communities when partnerships are either good or fragile?
- Conflict management through schools and partnerships

Establish a considered system of partnership working:
- Learning without walls is a good example of transforming spaces with learning within LSP
- Need learning spaces that are not labeled as ‘learning places’. These are areas to contemplate and interact
- Library Plus- build a mixture of colleagues and partners without necessarily badging activities as learning
- Libraries offer freedom to choose and explore

How can we adopt the spirit of Library Plus?
- Full-service libraries are in development across North Northamptonshire. They could potentially also include health and well-being programmes
- The mobile service reaches many rural areas. Could part of its remit be reconsidered?
- Extend schools’ use as a creative hub
- Extended services provision: e.g. extend use of multimedia resources by increasing hours of use
- Involve young people in the design and creation of cultural services and offers- link to Young People's Forum

Going forward: What next steps need to be achieved to improve the role of the learning and skills sector in developing a cultural investment plan?
- Map the key players and identify strong leaders
- Create a local vision and ambition
- Make cultural spaces a part of the fabric of our society emphasising ‘learning without walls’
- Embed the cultural offer- what is North Northamptonshire's 'Cultural Footprint'
- Create a new delivery mechanism- capturing local identity and the people's experiences of culture
- Establish new partnerships
- Making sure information targets the right groups -using the language they understand
- The learning and skills offer needs to be more creative
- Establish best practice by capturing and sharing knowledge

If you feel you would like to have your input in the discussion please comment here.

We will be carrying out a wider consultation in the future. You can find out more information about this on this blog soon.

The Role of Cultural Infrastructure illustrated by Joel Cooper

The Role of Cultural Infrastructure

This workshop, The Role of Cultural Infrastructure, aimed to join together agendas on cultural planning, identify future opportunities and actions required for a coordinated approach to position culture at the heart of planning and place shaping. We explored how the cultural infrastructure in North Northamptonshire can adapt to the new opportunities and challenges of demographic and social change. It involved key cultural stakeholders in the area to ensure representative voices have been heard and the widest of concerns considered.

Opportunities identified include:
- Genuine desire to participate
- Emerging strategic arts network
- High levels of participation by local people
- Cross borough interest and dialogue

Weaknesses include:
- Sustaining interest and involvement in programmes
- Missing link with wider activities
- Investment and follow-through
- Heightened expectations without fulfilment leading to a negative legacy
- Lack of funding and exposure
- Marketing initiatives - we work in silos
- Multiple sub groups that don't join up and seem impenetrable
- Feeling of instability and difficulty to plan long-term
- Issues of match funding

What’s missing?
- Arts network with specific area groups
- Interpretation of historical heritage
- Explore heritage asset
- University outward looking
- Encourage undergraduates

Based on these issues we formed the following agenda:
1. Provision: what's missing and how can we develop the current offer?
2. Capacity and Expertise: we need to lift the provision and identify what can be achieved in the future
3. Development of Audience and Activities: is there a market for culture and how can we sustain their involvement beyond the 'big splash'?
4. Non-formal and Formal Cultural Partnerships: how can the amateur sector develop a role
5. Promotion: sharing the story
6. Sharing Knowledge Capture: advocacy achieved through creating an evidence base

1. Provision
- Connections can come through other organisations
- Carnival Arts Centre– pending ACE funding- could include costume making workshop, using industrial units, could link/ join up with towns
- Strategic Art Network- commission use of art in public spaces
- Outdoor strategy- county-wide participation in art event- part of Cultural Olympiad
- Creative Industry Space Portfolio- inward looking and looking beyond the county
- Spaces- v, short term contract at large cost
- Tourism Forum meets every 6-8 weeks


2. Capacity
- There is the capacity but funding does not extend to delivery
- Issues of management funding
- Data collection not used usefully

3. Audience and Activities
- Need to engage with communities- collective programming
- Need to explore how we feel about where we live
- There have been a number of county initiatives but nothing came from them
- Could link to rural communities e.g. Art Buses
- Could there be a role for arts and urban spaces?
- Issues within the County Council
- Organisations’ resources are limited- makes it difficult to attend forums/ meetings

4. Formal and Non-formal Cultural Partnerships
- Adrenaline Alley-Skating park
- There are currently ill-used venues that have no formal role but are and can be used for non-formal purposes and linked in to initiatives.
- Non-formal showcases need to be identified and could link into industry placements


5. Promotion- sharing the story
- There needs to be a demystification and increased visibility of the arts and cultural scene through a coherent communication approach.
- Need to take the activity to where the people are.
- Promotion of the sector could focus around potential future developments such as: Music Village; Wellingborough Cultural Quarter
- Information is difficult to find- there needs to be one channel to access what is going on rather than little bits of information from multiple sources

6. Sharing Knowledge Capture
- Need for joined up activities or information gathering to develop an advocacy role for the cultural sector
- There needs to be a shared platform or network
- An evidence base needs to be built to illustrate our role and our importance to the community

In conclusion to the discussion the following next steps were also identified:
- A visibility exercise
- Coherent communication approach
- Cross communication
- Joint promotion

If you feel you would like to have your input in the discussion please comment here.

We will be carrying out a wider consultation in the future. You can find out more information about this on this blog soon.

Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy undertake Cultural Investment Plan for North Northamptonshire

Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy has been commissioned by North Northamptonshire Development Cooperation (NNDC) to provide a Cultural Investment Plan for North Northamptonshire. This large-scale project builds on their role in delivering cultural planning toolkits across the UK and internationally, plus a recent cultural audience baseline for Corby Priority Place Partnership and cultural investment plan for West Northamptonshire. Tom Fleming Consultancy will join together agendas in cultural planning across Northamptonshire; and provide the evidence base, delivery platforms and required actions for a coordinated and committed approach to culture across the County.

This work has been commissioned through West Northamptonshire Development Corporation on behalf of a partnership including North Northamptonshire Development Company, the North Northamptonshire Joint Planning Unit, Arts Council East Midlands, Northamptonshire County Council and Corby Borough Council.

www.tfconsultancy.co.uk