Culture Forum North: creating and sharing knowledge and practice.

Progressing the Forum’s key agendas at the Partners’ meeting 15 December 2016.

As an open network of partnerships between cultural and higher education organisations in the North of England, the Forum acts as a platform for the collation, creation and dissemination of knowledge and models of good practice in partnership working, that provide a useful resource for our sectors. The identification of the areas of need for relevant knowledge on current practice is led by Forum Partners as is the development and delivery of activities that respond to that need.

Workshops at the Forum Partner’s meeting in Rotherham on 15 December 2016 discussed the Forum’s three key agendas: Research; Cultural & Creative Careers; and Public Engagement, in the context of three related questions (appendix 1).

Informed by the discussions, three pieces of work will be undertaken, funded by an Arts Council England Project Initiation grant.

The work will provide data for the creation of a visual, interactive ‘heat map’ of activity across the North; a resource to provide reference material about and to stimulate new partnership activity; to improve and shape current practice; and to inform the development of Forum-led initiatives for the benefit of the cultural and HE sectors regionally and nationally.

Coordinated through the Forum project management team, each of the three strands will be led by an identified Partner and connect with each Partner organisation through a straight-forward, time-efficient data gathering process.

The objective is to complete the work identified within each strand by end May 2016, and to present it at the next Forum symposium in Hull in June 2017.

1. Attracting and developing a diverse cultural workforce

• Desk research to identify and collate existing material relevant to attracting and developing a diverse staff employed in the cultural sector
• An audit of Forum partners to identify staff and student recruitment and development programmes, delivered through HE/arts partnership, designed to increase workforce diversity (socio-economic, educational, gender, disability, BME, LGBT) across the spectrum of roles in the arts.

2. Enabling mutually beneficial collaboration between small arts organisations and Higher Education

• Discussion to understand and document the barriers inhibiting such partnerships across multiple artforms; and the potential benefits to each sector of collaboration
• The development of a framework with the potential to facilitate the initiation of such partnership

3. Building an accessible repository of research on the themes of career development, public engagement and HE/cultural partnership itself

• Desk research to identify and collate existing research relevant to the impact of HE/cultural collaboration
• An audit of Forum HE Partners to contribute one piece of research relevant to identified areas of common interest: skills development, public engagement and the value of partnership

Methodology

1. Attracting and developing a diverse cultural workforce

A project manager will be appointed to lead the strand.

1.1  Collating existing knowledge

Desk research will be undertaken to identify and assemble existing work documenting the value of and practice in developing workforce diversity through HE/cultural partnership.

1.2  Creating new knowledge

Stage one

• A representative sample of at least fifty arts organisations across the North will be identified, that have a relationship with a university. The sample, diverse in artform, scale and location, will be drawn from Forum Partners, Arts Council representatives in each ACE area, and identified networks across the North.

• As appropriate, ACE, network leaders and Forum Partners, informed by a brief from the project management team, will introduce CFN to those on the database and endorse the purpose of the research, advising that they will be contacted soon.

Stage two

• A simple, time efficient questionnaire will be produced by the project manager, designed to acquire the data required.
• A small team of ‘researchers’ will be appointed to contact each organisation on the database with the aim of completing the questionnaire in a max. half-hour conversation.
• The data will be collated into a ‘heatmap’ to be accessed through the CFN website

2. Enabling mutually beneficial collaboration between small arts organisations and universities

A project manager will be appointed, who is experienced in the small arts organisation community, to lead the strand.

2.1  Collating existing knowledge

• Desk research will be undertaken to identify existing documentation on the topic.

2.2   Creating new knowledge

Stage one   

• Through established networks, a representative sample of at least fifty small arts organisations across the North will be identified.

• Network leaders, informed by a brief from the project manager, will introduce CFN to those on the database and endorse the purpose of the research, advising that they will be contacted soon.

• A researcher will contact each artist/organisation to complete a short survey to capture relevant data, that will inform the creation of a heat map.

Stage two

• Through a programme of structured round-table discussions with identified small arts organisations, and separate discussions with universities, a clearer understanding of the barriers to building relationships will be gained and potential opportunities/priorities identified.
• Informed by the discussions, a proposed framework to progress key priorities will be developed with the aim of securing appropriate funding.

3. Building an accessible repository of research useful to the development of HE/cultural sector partnership

3.1  Collating existing knowledge

A researcher will be appointed to assess the research profile of each university Forum Partner.

3.2  Creating new knowledge

• The researcher will contact each university Forum Partner to identify a minimum of one piece of research on at least one of the three relevant topics skills development in the arts; public engagement; and HE/cultural partnership
• The data will be collated into a ‘heatmap’ to be accessed through the CFN website

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Appendix 1

Progressing the Forum’s three programme themes.

The CFN Partners’ meeting in Rotherham on 15 December included discussion groups on three topics relevant to the Forum’s focal themes of Cultural & Creative Careers, Public Engagement and Civic Impact and Research.

Cultural & Creative Careers: more doing

How can the cultural and HE sectors work together to help build a stronger, more skilled and more diverse cultural workforce, across the many roles making up a cultural organisation, that retains talent in the North; that represents the audiences we seek to attract; that influences the stakeholders whose support we want; that is better for business?

 Public engagement & place-making: the voice and value of smaller arts organisations

How can the potential and collective perspectives and expertise of the small-scale sector across multiple artforms be supported through HE partnership, as a vital and characteristic part of the northern arts ecology?

 Research: making a joined-up case for public investment

How can we generate the evidence and arguments for the ways in which partnerships, as a vehicle for applying, translating and mediating arts and humanities research, are transforming the arts and cultural sectors? Providing aggregated testimony and data beyond individual case studies would put us in a stronger position to make a joined-up case for public investment.

See below for a summary of the conversations and the recommended action that informs the three commissions summarised above.

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Organisations represented at the meeting: –

ADEPT; Beam,  Wakefield; The Bluecoat, Liverpool; Cast, Doncaster; Corridor8, North; East Street Arts, Leeds; Freedom Studios, Bradford; Leeds International Piano Competition; Jazz North, Doncaster; Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool; Opera North, Leeds; ROAR, Rotherham; Rotherham MBC; Set The Controls, Leeds; South Asian Arts UK, Leeds; The Tetley, Leeds; UNNA WAY / KIN, Huddersfield; Yorks. Sculpture Park, Wakefield; YVAN, Yorkshire.

University of Huddersfield; University of Leeds; Leeds Beckett University; University of Liverpool; Liverpool John Moores University; University of Newcastle

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Summary of the discussion: – Cultural & Creative Careers: more doing

How can the cultural and HE sectors work together to help build a stronger, more skilled and more diverse cultural workforce that retains talent in the North; represents the audiences we seek to attract; influences the stakeholders whose support we want; that is better for business?

Participants: – Rodolfo Barradas; Mary Cloake; Sarah Clough; Belinda Eldridge; Sarah Fisher; Andrew Fryer; Steve Manthorp; Alice Parsons; Lesley Patrick; Ann Rutherford; Mel Whewell;

The discussion, one of the Forum’s three workshops on the day, aimed to build on the perspectives emerging from the first conversation on the topic, held at BALTIC Gateshead on 23 November ’15, with the objective of: –

• creating a framework for a ‘heat map’ of relevant practice across the North
• enabling models of success to be shared

• identifying ideas and opportunities with the potential for benefit across both sectors

A quick summary

There is a timely synergy between the ambitions and commitments of the arts sector to increase resilience and productivity through diversity in programme, audience, governance and practitioners, and the aims of universities to widening participation in higher education, the expectations of the Teaching Excellence Framework and student and graduate need for employment.

The conversation highlighted a shared interest in ensuring that teaching programmes respond to the changing skills needs of the cultural sector and that arts organisations are equipped to maximise the potential of the students and graduates they host and employ.

The discussion identified three key areas in which partnership activity, supported by the Culture Forum North framework, could support the delivery of these ambitions.

1. Positive targeting of a diverse potential workforce pre-, during and post-graduation
2. Building on and strengthening the routes through which students and new graduates from diverse academic backgrounds acquire appropriate skills
3. Enabling a broad spectrum of arts organisations to engage in developing the skills of the next generation of arts practitioners
   

One: positive targeting of a diverse workforce

Influencing change in student and workforce diversity requires positive action and targeted initiatives. There are multiple programmes in arts organisations specifically designed to achieve this, focusing on increasing, for example, those from diverse socio-economic, cultural and educational backgrounds.

Examples from participants in the discussion group included: –

• The Bluecoat in Liverpool is undertaking a pilot with LJMU Business School whereby a candidate from an underrepresented background is selected pre-university and supported with a bespoke programme through secondary and higher education and into their first job at the Bluecoat.
• Open Eye in Liverpool is partnering with an FE college, validated by HE, to provide a ‘top-up’ year for students from areas of deprivation, which motivates and enables MA study.
• University of Newcastle is partnering with TICE (This Is Creative Enterprise) in Newcastle, to working with schools in the North East pre-university to create a route to careers in the creative sector.

These case studies would provide valuable insights and learning for practicing and teaching organisations; for funders and stakeholders; and for those seeking a career in the arts. They would provide a foundation from which to identify areas of common interest and for developing shared programmes with broader sector and geographical reach

We don’t have enough information about

what they are, where they are and what they achieve.

The Forum seeks to undertake an audit of its membership and wider sector to identify: –

• Which organisations have recruitment and development programmes designed to increase workforce/student diversity
• The partnership framework and associated benefits/challenges
• What the programmes are, who they target and why
• How programmes are funded
• Where the gaps are
• Existing data

Using the data to create a knowledge ‘heat map’, members of the Forum will consider the potential of expanding existing programmes beyond their current location and developing new collaborative initiatives to respond to identified opportunities

Two: broadening and strengthening the right kind of employability skills

Students need a breadth of skill and experience that enables them to secure work quickly after graduation.

Arts organisations are receiving job applications that suggest a significant number of new graduates, including emerging artists, don’t understand how arts organisations work; the diversity of roles and how they connect internally and externally; and how an organisation might fit with their artistic ambition.  For individual artists, there are few opportunities to acquire the skills needed when setting up independently.

To broaden workforce diversity, positive awareness of the arts as a career needs to be increased across the academic spectrum, not just amongst arts graduates. And to increase access, positions need to be paid. Some arts organisations are becoming increasingly reliant on trading, hence seek a broader skills base including commerce and entrepreneurship; and artists are expected to broaden engagement into areas such as public engagement and education.

Many universities offer industry-linked programmes as part of undergraduate study or immediately following graduation, and several arts organisations have bespoke training programmes designed to develop work-place skills for new graduates. For example: –

• Leeds Beckett University embeds work experience within the assessed curriculum.
• Sunderland University provides support for three years to new graduates on themes including career selection, interview preparation, introduction to prospective employers.
• Axisweb, in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University has been awarded £100k for research into platforms of validation for artists working outside the arts to support training artists to succeed in the cross/inter-disciplinary ‘real-world’.
• East Street Arts offers a six-week residency for recent graduates from Leeds creative institutions, including opportunity to develop and showcase new work publicly, receive mentoring and connect with other artists.

We need a better collective understanding about what programmes exist, who delivers them and what the impact is. Such information would enable shared learning and a collaborative approach to developing sector-wide, resource-efficient initiatives accessible to arts organisations diverse in scale and geography

The Forum seeks to undertake an audit of its membership and the wider sector to identify: –

• The barriers to undergraduates aspiring to and accessing careers in the arts
• Programmes between HE/arts organisations designed to enhance student employability/career development skills
• Funding programmes and agencies that support such initiatives
• Opportunities for the development of collaborative programmes that have the potential to reach across the north and beyond
• The diversity of the workforce in terms of academic background, career paths and socio-economic and cultural origin
• The concept of the ‘Fourth Year’, a practice-based framework of paid skills development within an arts organisation, supported by HE, is a model with the potential for sector-wide adoption.   The Forum will seek to collaborate with the Jerwood Foundation and Universities UK on the research and development of such an initiative.

Three: increasing access for arts organisations to engage with skills development

Smaller arts organisations may not have the resources to design, recruit, administer and manage student placement/internship programmes independently, yet the potential value of such opportunities to students and practitioners is significant.

It is important that work experience, placements and internships provide students and graduates with meaningful experience that increases employability and delivers benefit to the host arts organisation.

For the arts organisation, developing an appropriate framework and recruiting and monitoring results is time consuming.

We need a better collective understanding about the range and structure of such programmes in arts organisations, the profile of host organisations and the benefits derived.

Such information would enable organisations to refine and develop what they do; to connect with colleagues for advice; and would inform the development of collaborative activity to fill the gaps.

The Forum seeks to undertake and audit of its membership and the wider sector to identify: –

• Existing models for placements and internships and associated relationships with HE partners
• The areas of skills shortage in arts organisations
• The level of student demand and areas of career ambition
• Relevant funding models

To increase the diversity of arts organisations able to host under- and post-graduate students, particularly small organisations, the Forum will explore the potential for developing a ‘tool-kit’ comprising for example placement/internship structures, review frameworks, recruitment channels. This may also include a centralised repository for the promotion and administration of placement/internship opportunities.

Proposed action plan

Short-term: by end March 2017

With the aim of gathering data to inform the creation of a Cultural & Creative Careers ‘heat map’ of the North, it is proposed that two pieces of work are commissioned: –

• An audit and consolidation of existing research, case studies and information on the three areas of interest: positively targeting a diverse workforce; broadening and strengthening appropriate skills; increasing access for arts organisations to engage with skills development.
• A telephone and in-person audit of Forum members’ plus other cultural and HE organisations’ response to a bespoke questionnaire tailored to the three areas of interest, to ensure a sample representing diversity in geography, artform and scale.
• The creation and dissemination of the visual and written ‘heat map’ with supporting material

Medium term:

With the aim of enabling a more diverse workforce in the arts: –

• Evaluate the heat map to identify models of good practice with the potential to be ‘rolled out’ across the North and beyond
• Identify and respond to identified gaps in provision with new proposed models; seek funding to pilot and evaluate the initiatives across the North

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Summary of the discussion: –

How can smaller-scale and/or artist-led organizations across the North work in partnership with Higher Education providers, and what’s in it for everyone?

Participants: Tavienne Bridgwater; Charlotte Cullen; Adrian Friedli; Polly Hamilton; Kerry Harker; Lesley Jackson; Steve Rogers; Zoe Sawyer; Steve Swindells; Lauren Velvick; Keranjeet Kaur Kaur Virdee; David Ward; Kate Watson.

The discussion, one of the Forum’s three workshops on the day, was the first group conversation prompted by a response written by Kerry Harker to CFN’s launch event in Leeds in March 2016. A provocation on the general absence of smaller organisations, and those which are artist-led, from such high-level strategic conversations, was circulated to the group in advance to inform the day’s discussion.

A quick summary

The discussion revealed that attempting to draw together a group of ‘small’ organisations immediately highlighted variations in the scale and capacities of participants, and differing levels of previous engagement with the HE sector. Some organisations have been working on ‘live’ projects in partnership with HE for some time, whilst the experiences of others ranged from never having engaged, to having engaged periodically (for example, Beam have had representatives from HE as Board members in the past, but have no engagement at present). But participants in this conversation had widely differing levels of experience, and some were in Rotherham to engage with the idea of HE partnership for the first time.

Invitees to this discussion were originally drawn from the visual arts sector, but the conversation on the day was strengthened by input from those active in the performing arts, and in the role of arts and culture within the work of local authorities.

It was interesting to note that of the participants, only one was officially wearing the HE ‘hat’ so to speak, partly because that individual is already closely involved with several small-scale arts organisations/initiatives and has been responsible for initiating these in the past – does this indicate more interest in engagement and partnership with small-scale organisations from within such organisations themselves? Are current HE partnerships focused more heavily on institutional-level understanding between large-scale organisations, and at senior management level? Further research may be needed on how HE view the potential of partnership with smaller organisations, and what the barriers to this might be from their perspective.

This is interesting in light of some of the findings of the AHRC Cultural Value Project (2012-15) which highlighted the importance of smaller organisations to place making and people-led regeneration, in its final report published in 2016. Could the place making debate offer a more immediate focus to ongoing discussion between HE and small-scale arts/culture sector?

Some key issues highlighted during the discussion:

• The capacity of smaller organisations is a major factor impacting more meaningful engagement with HE, as existing capacity is oriented towards delivery of core objectives such as programme (Lesley said of Jazz North, whose remit is pan-northern, ‘we have three and a half people and the North is quite big’)
• Working with new graduates, talent development and retention in the North, and access to space emerged as three key cross cutting themes linking diverse art forms and scales of organisation. Some projects are already addressing this, for example Zoe mentioned discussions between The Tetley and Leeds Beckett University regarding an ‘Artist Associate Scheme’ they may develop together. Steve R lamented the ‘artistic drain out of Rotherham’ and Tavienne and Charlotte, both involved in artist studio provision, commented on the difficulty of being able to access affordable space. Steve S mentioned several projects he is involved with that have place making at their core (e.g. the Creative People and Places ‘Creative Scene’ project in Kirklees) suggesting that culture-led regeneration is an obvious focus for future conversation and research
• Several comments on existing HE relationships identified the ‘transactional’ nature of these, for example Keranjeet highlighted how she and staff at SAA-UK spend a lot of time being the ‘subject’ of research but that this feels one-directional and leads to questioning the tangible benefits of taking part, and relevance of outcomes
• Current relationships with HE often arise from and depend heavily on the agency of individuals, as opposed to any organisational-level decision making or policy which supports joint research, as Steve S outlined in relation to the multiplicity of projects across the region that he is involved with
• Accordingly, there is a danger that research data and outcomes of projects which rely on individuals are not being captured as part of a Northern ‘heat map’ of such partnerships, i.e. some research is siloed and lacks wider visibility. As Polly put it, ‘Individual relationships exist, but it’s not clear what the learning is, and where it goes’
• For those who are not already engaged with HE, the problem often persists of ‘finding the front door’ in order to begin a conversation. Some attempts at contact go unanswered because the right way in, or the right individual, can’t be found i.e. you don’t know what you don’t know about working with HE before attempting to start a conversation. Lauren floated the idea of a template for this, and Steve S simply advised emailing the VC, but also commented that much depends on the institutional approach of any given University, what kind of cultural leadership it advocates, and how it embraces its civic role
• HE providers could do more to engage their students with arts and culture organisations – there is the perception of a disconnect and some such as Tavienne identified a current difficulty in drawing students off-campus to engage with their offer. How could joint programming with HE attempt to address this and better bridge the gap between study and professional practice?
• Some participants commented on the fact that relationships with HE providers need not only be with Universities in their locale – finding the right partner, which could mean any University in the North or even further afield, is key
• The term ‘research’ in itself presents a language barrier and there is a lack of shared understanding about what it is
• Timescale emerged as another element stifling some attempts at partnership. Whilst most smaller arts organisations are quite fleet of foot and can make changes and adapt quickly, some found the pace of things within the University setting frustratingly slow. As Keranjeet said, by the time you’ve reached agreement, secured permissions and jumped through the administrative hoops, things may have moved on and the proposed partnership is no longer relevant
• The role of existing networks emerged as a key area for further research – Adrian outlined how YVAN provides a framework and platform for artists and arts organisations as a way in to bigger conversations. Some organisations around the table, as Kate said in relation to Beam, are already scoping out these networks and starting to find a place at the table for strategic-level conversations – but this may put Beam in a minority among most small organisations, due not only to capacity but also to a general lack of connectivity between different strata of the cultural ecology
• Some examples of existing consortia of smaller organisations were given, for example Zoe mentioned the ‘About Time’ project in Leeds which drew together a number of small visual arts organisations and groups in joint programming, in response to the presence of British Art Show 8 in Leeds in 2015-16. Charlotte also mentioned how this partnership project achieved visibility among wider networks of similar organisations, and had the positive effect of empowering them to generate their own projects. For the CFN conversation, we could consider what effect the presence of a HE partner might have had within the ‘About Time’ project.
• Networks and consortia come with pitfalls – Tavienne commented that one of the pitfalls of collective action is about who is included and who gets left out, i.e. they highlight existing allegiances rather than coming from a place of wanting to address specific issues which may affect the wider sector, or a specific art form or geographic area etc

Action plan

1. The absence of a ‘heat map’ of current/previous examples of engagement between HE and small-scale arts/culture organisations, and concurrent mapping of any research material generated, needs to be addressed. Can we think about CFN commissioning this research?
2. Evaluation of this may lead to an approach for funding to undertake joint programming as research, but crucially in order to garner support from small-scale organisations this will need to specifically address identified issues of acute relevance, and not be seen to originate only from the HE side of the table.
3. Whilst the ‘heat map’ research is ongoing, can we undertake more detailed research with participants than was possible through this initial round-table, to identify priority issues of high relevance in order to better formulate a shared ‘voice’ of the small-scale sector and its current challenges?
4. Reconnecting with existing networks (e.g. YVAN) to identify existing research/conversations in this area, mapping the research terrain and avoiding duplication

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Summary of the discussion: making a joined-up case for public investment

How can we generate the evidence and arguments for the ways in which partnerships, as a vehicle for applying, translating and mediating arts and humanities research, are transforming the arts and cultural sectors? Providing aggregated testimony and data beyond individual case studies would put us in a stronger position to make a joined-up case for public investment.

At the launch of Culture Forum North in May 2016, Prof. Andrew Thompson (interim chief executive, AHRC) laid down a challenge – that CFN was well-placed to examine the impact of University/Arts partnerships on the resilience of the sector.

A quick summary

The discussions evolved around two main areas: –

• The generation of research
• Dissemination and access to research

1. Generation of research

A request to AHRC for further information about the challenge laid down by Prof Thompson did not receive a response, suggesting that there is unlikely to be a specific fund or call that the Forum can apply to. Consideration is therefore to be given to whether a bid is submitted to the AHRC in response mode (i.e. to their open programme) led by a University member with CFN as a partner.

The question is, who does that serve?

• Is that the right question to ask, does its exploration help us to build and grow our partnerships and our collective aims? Strategically it would seem to do so, particularly in the light of the new AHRC Creative Economy call planned for announcement in the next 3 to 6 months. This call follows on from the Knowledge Exchange Hubs funded through the AHRC which finished in 2015/16 and which were based on strong local or regional partnerships between HEIs and cultural/creative sector organisations.

2. Accessing and disseminating research: responding to current challenges

• The challenges we may face when collating existing research was discussed. Each University faces the challenge of not having a central, searchable repository for research which may be of interest to the sector.
• An audit therefore would be partial, likely to take an inordinate amount of time and therefore an information gathering exercise is unlikely to produce the results we desire (much like the earlier survey where it was a challenge to get people to respond).
• In addition only research in the public realm will be available, so research which is now live will not be accessible until approximately two years’ time. However we do know that Kings College do have a research repository which they have been building over the last 3 to 4 years, Culture Case http://www.culturecase.org/ which we can publicise to the CFN membership.
• The AHRC funded network Beyond the Campus has a useful publication that can be made available too. The network aimed to create a platform for discussion between academics, practitioners, artists, cultural organisations, business development managers and other university directors, about knowledge connections and collaboration between universities and the creative and cultural sector.
• Comunian R. and A. Gilmore (2015) Beyond the Creative Campus:  Reflections on the evolving relationship between higher education and the creative economy, published by King’s College London, London (UK) available at www.creative-campus.org.uk

Action Plan

Stage one: –

1. Commission a realistic and manageable audit, in the context of the challenges summarised above, of relevant research currently available in the public domain.
2. Request one piece of research relevant/helpful to the sector from each University Forum member.
3. Draft an abstract of each piece, in language accessible to the non-academic audience and cultural practitioners
4. Make available and promote the abstract and full piece through the Forum website (if possible).

Stage two: –

1. Identify a small cohort of researchers, representing the Forum HE membership, who would lead a bid to the AHRC on the impact of University/Arts partnerships.
2. Consider the position of CFN in relation to the new AHRC Creative Economy call when it becomes available.

Proposed research audit brief:

Aim:

• To build a repository of research accessible to the arts and cultural sector through the CFN website.

Tasks: stage one

• Discuss and agree with identified CFN partners the categories of research of most interest and relevance.
• Undertake desk research to assess the research profile of each University member (UM) and any access issues (e.g. copyright, appropriate referencing)
• Contact each UM to request one piece of research within the realms of the identified categories, above. Ensure no duplication with Culture Case
• Draft an abstract of each piece for dissemination on the Forum website in the form of a ‘heat map’
• Ensure all permissions are in place.
• Build in metrics to montor downloads