lincolnshire creative solutions initiative: celebrating sucess

Impact studyLincolnshire Creative Solutions Initiative05––08

LCSI:

Celebrating Success

Impact studyLincolnshire Creative Solutions Initiative05––08

LCSI:

Celebrating Success

LCSI:Celebrating Success

Research: Adroit Economics Ltd

Published by: Lincolnshire Creative Solutions Initiative

ISBN: 0-95 45300-3-9

Image below: The Collection, Lincoln – FESTIVAL. Photography by Alan Fletcher

Section Page

Executive summary

1. Creative and cultural landscape: pre-LCSI 1

2. Lincolnshire Creative Solutions Initiative 5

3. The process of change 7

4. Creative investment 9

5. Economic impact 11

6. Small companies, big opportunities 13

7. Better networked, better connected 15

8. Encouraging entrepreneurship and business development 17

9. New confidence 23

10. Connecting with tourism 25

11. Leaner and greener 31

12. Achieving transformation 33

13. The new creative ecology 39

14. Sustaining change: post-LCSI 41

Appendices Page

A. ERDF output summary 43

B. Method for estimating festival impact 44

C. List of beneficiaries 45

D. LCSI steering group members 47

E. LCSI project team 47

F. Impact study consultees 47

G. Glossary 48

Contents


The LCSI programme emerged from the recognition that many creative SMEs (small to medium sized enterprises), self-employed arts practitioners and cultural organisations take an organic approach to business growth. Their tendency is to assume that the quality of their creative work will attract sales rather than to set out to positively identify the uniqueness of their offer, and how best to build a client base. LCSI offered financial and technical support to enable them to identify market opportunities, develop a business-like approach and grow – both economically and creatively. Most importantly, the programme has stimulated a process of change. As a result, the creative and cultural landscape of Lincolnshire has changed significantly over the three years of the programme. The sector now has a raised profile and a coherent identity. Its members have the sense of belonging to a thriving, dynamic sector. Significantly, this was achieved by LCSI through its collaboration with many agencies and organisations across the county. A noticeable feature of the developing programme was that local authority partners

increasingly fielded teams of arts development, tourism and economic regeneration officers at LCSI events.LCSI was funded by Lincolnshire County Council and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for a three year period: January 2005 to March 2008. Additional funding to support research into the creative industries sector in Lincolnshire was provided by the Arts Council England, East Midlands along with support in kind from the University of Lincoln for the business incubation programme. Overall, more than £900,000 has been directly invested into the creative and cultural industries in Lincolnshire while the programme’s beneficiaries have used their grants and subsidies to lever in substantial additional financial investment in their businesses and festivals.LCSI has successfully delivered, and indeed, in many cases over delivered against all of its finalised ERDF targets. It is, however, important to note that once the programme was fully underway it was necessary to renegotiate with Lincolnshire Development, the programme’s accountable body,

the targets concerning the number of additional jobs generated in the economy. The USP of the type of small – indeed essentially micro creative industry businesses –that the LCSI programme was designed to support is the creative skills of their owners. It is rarely appropriate for such businesses to employ PAYE staff – and thus unrealistic to anticipate that investment in the sector will generate additional jobs. However, when operating successfully such micro businesses are able to support the growth of an effective creative industry supply chain because they procure services and goods from other companies. LCSI invested in creative businesses and festivals through the five strands of the programme – GROW, SEED, FLOURISH, FESTIVAL and ENHANCE. This has generated positive economic benefits in the form of increased incomes and earnings. Consequently there has been an increase overall in the economic contribution of the creative industries to Lincolnshire’s economy and the recognition of potential to support future growth.

Executive summary

This report highlights the success of Lincolnshire Creative Solutions Initiative (LCSI) and examines its impact. It quantifies the measurable economic impacts of co-ordinated investment of finance and human resources across the creative and cultural sectors and explores the wider regenerative and transformational benefits for one of the UK’s largest and most rural counties.


Image: Lincoln, Creative City. Photography by Alan Fletcher

From a combined annual business turnover of just over £1 million at the outset, the creative enterprises supported by LCSI now generate more than £1.5 million – an increase in annual turn over of some 52% over the three years of the programme. The greater part of this increase can be directly attributed to the impact of LCSI in improving business performance.Over 75% of creative enterprises report that their turnover has increased by more than 10% since they became LCSI beneficiaries. Conservatively estimating that £3 out of every £4 of increased turnover is attributable to the impact of LCSI support, the programme has directly led to an increase in turnover of some £400,000 for these businesses as a whole.Of the almost £525,000 provided in the form of direct grants to businesses and organisations, 30% was spent on the procurement of goods and services from other Lincolnshire businesses. In addition, of the expenditure beneficiaries have made using LCSI grants and subsidies, more than 50% has been retained within Lincolnshire, supporting other creative businesses and suppliers.LCSI has significantly increased networking between practitioner and practitioner and between practitioners and funders. Crucially there is a growing business-like feel to the creative industries in Lincolnshire and measurable economic impacts. At least 14% of LCSI funds supported the business growth of other members of the LCSI network.Besides building a creative industry supply chain comprising over 100 companies, a comprehensive database of 1,000 key players locally, regionally and nationally has been built.Beneficiaries have taken part in ‘Go See’ field visits: clusters of festivals and creative enterprises have made research trips which have taken them, to date, the length and breadth of the UK and to France, Germany, Southern Ireland, Iceland and Canada. This has resulted in new insights, raised ambition, shared practice and has enabled Lincolnshire

enterprises to have a real sense of being part of a bigger national and international picture.Support for stronger marketing and PR materials and, above all, effective use of digital tools has been central to achieving connectivity. A major thrust of the programme has been the provision of bespoke advice and financial support to commission ‘fit for purpose’ business and festival websites. Of the 95 beneficiaries of the five LCSI programmes, 91 now have web-sites. In addition, Art on the Map has been assisted to address the challenge of running an open studio festival across a county that has the same landmass as Northern Ireland by creating a ‘virtual headquarters’.Organisational and business development was the underpinning motivation of the support provided to the 12 festival organisations benefiting from the FESTIVAL strand of the programme. Five brand new festivals were helped to start up and seven maturing organisations have been supported to identify new development opportunities.The pilot Festival Forum enabled festival organisations to come together to address common challenges. In many cases this led on to groups of festivals clustering together. In 2007 the Gainsborough Riverside, West Lindsey Churches and Credo Festivals collaborated to increase the scope and ambition of their arts programming and together commissioned an evaluation report. In 2008 these festivals plan to take forward recommendations jointly.The numbers of festivals supported and their attendees rose year on year. In 2007 alone, the 12 editions of festivals LCSI supported attracted more than 53,000 attendees. Overall, 85,000 people attended the 23 editions of festivals LCSI funded, generating an estimated local expenditure in excess of £1.1 million. Taken together, the festivals’ direct, indirect and induced contribution generated economic benefits amounting to in excess of £1.4 million.


Embedded in the LCSI model was the understanding that traditional business support services do not always provide in-depth understanding of creative businesses and the markets for creative products. As well as helping creative practitioners and enterprises to develop their commercial skills and awareness of wider markets, the LCSI team of specialist Business Advisors and Festival Consultants provided bespoke advice, guidance and support that has served to increase their confidence in themselves both as creatives and as business organisations.The importance of this bespoke technical support cannot be underestimated. Through LCSI, creative people and organisations have been invited onto a journey they did not, when they bid to join the scheme, envisage. They have been mentored and encouraged to make decisions and take risks that few would have previously even contemplated.Raising awareness of green issues and reducing environmental impact on the surroundings formed central themes of the programme. All the beneficiaries were encouraged to respond to the environmental agenda, and many rose to the challenge.Creative industry practitioners often find themselves working in small workshops and studios, isolated from like-minded others. Those working in large rural counties like Lincolnshire find their isolation exacerbated by the large rural landmass of the county. LCSI engineered a programme which encouraged networking and clustering, ensuring that all the beneficiaries were provided with regular opportunities to meet and share both with each other and with the wider supply chain.

The combined effects of LCSI investment and the engagement and commitment of other organisations generated a number of qualitative outcomes for Lincolnshire and its residents. For instance: investment in community arts organisations, physical enhancement of the public realm and festivals contributed to the regeneration of deprived communities. This in turn led to further investment in the cultural infrastructure of the county and improved community cohesion by bringing communities together through artist-led consultation and activity.LCSI has also helped generate and sustain important benefits for local communities through cultural re-branding and raising the profile of arts and culture. This has attracted new business and boosted tourism. A number of festivals have ‘piggy-backed’ on the Tastes of Lincolnshire initiative – helping their audiences to increase the feel-good factor of a day out by eating well, while supporting local food producers and eateries.LCSI support has contributed to the range and quality of cultural opportunities across the county. It has supported an offer which has included world-class chamber music and extreme sports teams, street performance, live and conceptual art and input from leading international architectural practices.The LCSI experience demonstrates that developing cultural tourism and the creative industries can deliver real economic benefits – and by increasing the sense of distinctiveness contribute to making the county a good place to live, work and visit.


Image top: Festival of Bathing Beauties – FESTIVAL

Image below: Sleaford Arts Festival – FESTIVAL

Looking ForwardFrom the outset of the programme, LCSI stakeholders and the project team recognised that having laid the groundwork for the success of the creative industries and raised expectations amongst those active in the sector, there would be a danger that come the end of the programme momentum would be lost. Work has been on-going throughout to position the next stage of work, including commissioning Burns Owens Partnership to undertake a socio-economic study into the creative industries in Lincolnshire. Their exemplary research report ‘Lincolnshire and the Creative Industries, 2006’ provided the hard data needed to enable key players to recognise the potential of the sector to contribute to the ambitions of the county.Whilst there are challenges to future development, there is now recognition of the on-going need for continued financial investment in and technical support for the creative industries across Lincolnshire.

To capitalise on the building blocks put in place by LCSI, the following priorities need to be recognised and addressed in concert by key players:

• The appointment of a creative and cultural industry champion is needed to provide leadership at a senior level to drive the sector forward.

• Co-ordination of business support services and supply chain development through a central gateway

• Support for closer integration of business-related and arts-related services

• Stronger linkages between festivals and tourism

• Improved graduate retention in the county

• More affordable incubator workspace

• Promoting Lincolnshire as the home of a successful and dynamic creative industries sector

• Joined-up working across local authorities, agencies and organisations

2Public art projects

68Number of SMEs assisted overall

12Number of SMEs assisted to start up

87.5%Of SMEs whose turnover has increased by 10%

£395,000Net additional increase in SME turnover generated

58Net jobs (employment) safeguarded

100% new starts surviving in business for 12 months

12Number of festival organisations supported

5Number of festival organisations which became formally constituted

23Festival editions supported

65.5%Increase in visitors to festivals

£1.4MNet additional expenditure generated by festivals

10New clusters created and supported

8New creative networks created

1New supply chain generated

90Beneficiaries in total

150Members of LCSI network

1,000Key players on database

LCSI achievements 2005-2008: the highlights



The creative and cultural industries are amongst the fastest growing sectors of the UK economy – accounting for 8% of national GDP in 20041. Experience from around the UK has shown that a successful creative and cultural sector can stimulate investment in skills, infrastructure and job creation. This can differentiate a location from its competitors – forming a creative identity and reputation that attracts businesses, people and visitors and significantly enhances economic competitiveness.However, the economic contribution of the creative and cultural industries themselves does not tell the whole story. A dynamic, successful creative and cultural sector can make a significant contribution to the regeneration of deprived areas, strengthening and revitalising communities, and enhancing the physical landscape.This report examines the impact of the Lincolnshire Creative Solutions Initiative (LCSI) – quantifying the measurable economic impacts of this innovative three-year programme of investment. It also explores the wider regenerative and transformational effects of co-ordinated investment in one of the UK’s biggest and most rural counties.

Creative and cultural landscape: pre-LCSI1

1 Creative Industries UK, UK Trade and Investment, July 2007

‘ We believe that there are many more hidden creative businesses in the county and a more diverse sector than available statistics suggest.’

Adroit Economics

1

In 2006 the Arts Council England invested £36,000 to enable LCSI to commission research to quantify the position of the creative industries in Lincolnshire. Burns Owens Partnership (BOP) was appointed to undertake this research2. Headline findings from the BOP report are summarised below.The BOP research surmised that, from the data available in 2000-2004, the creative industries are a relatively small though fast growing sector in Lincolnshire. They employ a little over 7,600 people (many of whom are self-employed), which accounts for 2.5% of the county’s workforce. There are almost 2,000 creative businesses, 4.3% of all VAT registered businesses in the county. The sector encompasses a diverse range of activities:

• Literature, printing and publishing is the largest sub-sector in terms of employment, accounting for 55% of jobs in the sector. However, employment in this sub-sector is in decline with the closure of some major printing facilities in the county.

• Audio visual (including TV, film, photography, music, interactive digital media) accounts for 21% of jobs in the sector, with another 17% in visual arts (fine arts, crafts, design, arts and antiques). Together, these sectors account for 60% of all creative businesses in the county. Historically these have been the fastest growing sub-sectors, driven by high levels of self-employment.

• Performing arts (including theatre, dance and festivals) make up the remainder of jobs in the sector – 8% of employment.

The sector is growing fast. The number of businesses increased by 10% between 2000 and 2004, driven by growth in the number of audio visual and visual arts businesses. The growth of the sector contrasts with the static growth experienced in other key sectors, including agriculture. The sector also makes a significant contribution to the economic well-being of Lincolnshire. It generated £192 million in GVA and £398 million in turnover for the county in 2003.

Adroit Economics believe that the creative industries sector in Lincolnshire is even larger. A large proportion of the creative industry practitioners work or own very small businesses (often lifestyle businesses). Many are sole traders operating ‘below the radar’ of traditional data sources (i.e. the VAT threshold) on which earlier analysis is based. We believe that there are many more ‘hidden’ creative businesses in the county, and a much more diverse sector than the available statistics suggest.

The challenge for creative industries in LincolnshireWhilst the BOP research showed the creative industries to be an important and growing sector in Lincolnshire over the past decade, the sector faced a number of challenges at the outset of the LCSI programme. This was in part due to the comparatively rural and isolated nature of the county and in part due to the fragmented approach of the various funders and support organisations that existed in the county before LCSI monies were secured.Other areas of comparable size and characteristics, such as North Yorkshire, have more than double the number of professional arts organisations found in Lincolnshire. The absence of such intermediaries was a further limiting factor for those creatives seeking to get their work to market and, more broadly, to access existing support programmes and collaborative initiatives with other creatives.The support infrastructure in the county consisted of a large number of small organisations offering similar services. The complexity of the offer made it difficult for creatives to

understand what support was available to them, and was compounded by the fact that many of these agencies did not work together in a co-ordinated fashion. Resources were stretched thinly across the county and lacked strategic co-ordination. Whilst there were arts development officers based in each of the seven districts that make up Lincolnshire, plus numerous small arts groups, artists and organisations working across different art forms, the county lacked any major arts organisation to co-ordinate sector support activities. A range of organisations and agencies were (and continue to be) active in supporting and promoting parts of the sector, but none provided a cohesive voice for the sector as a whole. Few were able to offer the full range of technical, business and financial support that the sector needed in order to grow and thrive in the future. Critically, the sector lacked any central point of contact for creative practitioners to access advice and networking opportunities. As a consequence, the problems caused by the isolation of many businesses was not reduced. At the same time, a focal point to raise the aspirations of individuals and the sector as a whole was not provided.

2 Lincolnshire and the Creative Industries, Burns Owens Partnership Ltd, 2006

Image: Janet Waring’s Studio

– SEED

LCSI:Celebrating Success 2


Isolation and under-developed networks were inhibiting growth Creative industries are found all across Lincolnshire. While there are concentrations of activity in the larger urban areas such as Lincoln, Boston and Grantham, creative businesses are located in all the rural and coastal communities of Lincolnshire – among them many lifestyle businesses and home-workers.Businesses in the sector tend to be small and inward looking, predominantly serving markets within the county. Many lacked knowledge of wider markets for their work, or how to access them. The sheer size of the county posed unique barriers for businesses. With large distances between towns and 90 minutes needed to travel from one end of the county to the other, a lack of connectivity was inhibiting the growth potential of many businesses. Improving connectivity and access to markets, networks and other creative enterprises across the county had the potential to significantly enhance the economic performance of the sector – and the livelihoods of those working within it.However, improved connectivity would not be sufficient in itself. Creativity and innovation thrive on personal networking, and the sharing of information and best practice. Enabling convergence of creatives would allow the sector to flourish and grow beyond its limitations, enabling access to new market opportunities, exploitation of collaborative working and access to new supply networks. The county lacked many coherent networks of practitioners, in part due to the challenge of networking across a large and predominantly rural county. Pre-existing networks tended to reach those who were already engaged and were not widely visible to the broader community of creatives. As a consequence, the majority of artists and creative businesses tended to work in isolated groups. They failed to benefit from being part of lively and active networks of like-minded creative people. This equally applied to cultural organisations across the county. While there was a multitude of innovative and interesting festivals

Creative Industries in Lincolnshire

Source: Burns Owens Partnership

Lincoln

Louth

Skegness

Boston

Spalding

Sleaford

Grantham

= 1 creative industry business

3


and events taking place, many of their organisers were operating in isolation, lacked the business skills and/or the ambition needed to grow and develop, and suffered from a lack of recognition and support from the public sector.Absence of clustering, incubation and affordable premises For those businesses requiring premises, the county lacked a supply of suitable workspaces and shared equipment/services/resources that would facilitate clustering in the creative industries. Previous studies3 have shown that the need to cluster (and to cluster affordably) has played a part in the transformation of the cultural landscape in towns and cities across the UK. Creative individuals and businesses often lead the way, developing clusters of activity in unusual locations, attracted by the affordability, flexibility and ambiance these offer. In Lincolnshire, some of the most dynamic creative small businesses were prevented from developing by a lack of suitable ‘first stage’ premises. This suggested a need for the development of appropriate incubator and start up workspace. Since 2000 the need for managed workspace has been recognised and a number of incubator and workspace schemes have emerged alongside LCSI in response to this need:

• Sparkhouse Studios, in central Lincoln, opened in 2003 offering 18 business incubation units primarily aimed at the creative industries (particularly technology businesses). Sparkhouse was established by University of Lincoln building on its existing strengths in the creative industries, particularly in new media and design.

• In North Kesteven, the District Council and partners developed a range of new office and workshop accommodation at Navigation Yard in Sleaford – which is also home to the Hub, the National Centre for Craft and Design (one of the largest public-funded crafts and design galleries outside London).

• In mid 2007, Lincoln City Council opened The Terrace – a Creative Industries Managed Workspace in the centre of Lincoln. The facility provides more than 2,700m2 of floorspace including studios, workshops and media offices for businesses in the creative industries sector, alongside facilities such as a café/bar, exhibition space, conference and meeting rooms.

• Lincoln City Council also operates managed workspace for creative industries at Greetwell Place. The units are let on easy-in/easy-out monthly tenancies, which include access to shared reception and other facilities.Lack of workforce skills and under-developed business skills A lack of market development and entrepreneurial skills amongst Lincolnshire’s creatives was hindering growth. Many practitioners were focussed on the creative aspect of their work and failed to take advantage of opportunities to showcase and sell their work. These practitioners could be characterised more as hobbyists rather than having real commercial ambition.In addition, the dominance of micro-businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the sector meant that many lacked the human resources to provide a wide range of high-level business skills. For many, the biggest barriers to skills development were lack of time and money. There was also a real lack of understanding of potential markets for work and a need for specific assistance in promotion, branding and marketing to enable business growth and expansion.Untapped potential One of the key problems facing the sector was the fact that it was not given a high profile and its economic contribution to the county was not fully understood. Despite the strengths of the sector, it was not visible outside Lincolnshire – and nor, to some extent, even within the county. The sector lacked co-ordinated leadership to raise its profile, and to enable creative businesses to become more outward looking in terms of their markets, their visibility and in working with other creatives across the county.

2 Creative Industries Mapping, Economic and Social Impact Study for Bournemouth & Poole, Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy, 2007

Image top: Green Bean Dance – FLOURISH Photography by Francois Mendis

Image right: Tim Rinaldi – GROW

4


The LCSI programme emerged from an understanding that many creative industry SMEs and self-employed creatives take an organic approach to business growth, slowly building a customer base through the uniqueness of their creative work. In some cases, businesses focused almost exclusively on the creative aspect of their work, and failed to understand or respond to the challenges of operating as a commercial proposition. There was recognition that creative businesses needed greater awareness of business and financial planning.LCSI was designed as a catalyst for the creative and cultural industries in Lincolnshire, a predominantly rural area containing some of the remotest and most deprived communities in the East Midlands region. The programme was funded by Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), for a three year period from January 2005 to March 2008. Lincolnshire County Council invested £444,000 matched by ERDF funds totalling £363,000. Lincolnshire County Council contributed £59,000 of additional money and the Arts Council England invested £36,000. LCSI funding has been used by its beneficiaries to lever additional funding from a range

of sources, including Grants for the Arts, Awards for All and local authority grants. The ERDF funding was secured under three different priorities:

• Measure 1.2: Financial Support for SMEs and the Social Economy – to facilitate company start-up, growth and expansion through the provision of appropriate financial support.

• Measure 1.3: Business Development for SMEs and Community Enterprises – to safeguard and increase employment and sales in SMEs and to develop the employment potential of the social economy sector through the provision of high quality and comprehensive business support.

• Measure 3b.1: Sustainable Rural Communities – to enhance the appearance and perception of local settlements and to ensure local access to key services, through the development of the economic potential of rural heritage.The rules governing European funding impacted on who has been able to benefit directly from the LCSI programme. In terms of geography, only those in the most deprived areas of the full ERDF area (see map) were eligible to take advantage of the additional funding. However with the funding and commitment of Lincolnshire

County Council, LCSI has been able to use additional funding to support some creative enterprises outside the ERDF eligible areas. Over the past three years, LCSI has invested over £900,000 into the creative and cultural industries in Lincolnshire, assisting 76 creative businesses, 12 festival organisations and two new public art installations.This investment has contributed towards the creation of a robust creative and cultural industries landscape in Lincolnshire. LCSI has operated as a catalyst for creative and cultural activity across the county. It has provided technical support through group workshops, one-to-one mentoring (face to face, by phone and email) and financial grants and subsidies to individuals, businesses and not-for-profit organisations. The aim was to encourage networking and clustering and to embed business and entrepreneurial skills in the creative community – and in doing so, to ensure the sustainability of creative enterprises and cultural organisations across the county.

Louth

Horncastle

Gainsborough

Holbeach

SkegnessLincoln

Sleaford Boston

Lincolnshire Creative Solutions Initiative2

Eligible area

Transitional and non-eligible areas

Lincolnshire’s ERDF areas

5


LCSI’s funding and support has been distributed through five strands of activity:SEED – offering business incubation support to start-ups. This strand was delivered in partnership with the University of Lincoln. The University provided low cost or no cost accommodation for four start-up media businesses in the Sparkhouse incubator in central Lincoln along with access to the Sparkhouse business support package.GROW – providing a mix of technical support, financial subsidies and financial grants to contemporary creative businesses.FLOURISH – a fast track project to members of two clusters: Lincolnshire Dance and Art on the Map, providing technical support and financial subsidy to enable cluster members to improve communication and connectivity to the market through web-site development.FESTIVAL – providing financial grants and technical assistance to support the organisational development of cultural festival organisations and facilitating growth in festival activity in rural Lincolnshire.

ENHANCE – supporting innovative and high profile public art projects to enhance the public realm and develop community cohesion in North Kesteven, West and East Lindsey.The exit strategy for the programme and the sustainability of LCSI outcomes has been a key consideration from the outset. Following completion of the initial mapping work, BOP was contracted to work further with LCSI and Lincolnshire County Council. Their research findings were used to underpin advocacy to county and regional agencies to further the impact on the whole county after the conclusion of the LCSI programme.

Louth

Horncastle

Gainsborough

Holbeach

SkegnessLincoln

Sleaford Boston

‘ There’s a growing market for creative businesses who strive to innovate and combine creative excellence with commercial success.’

NESTA4

4 Creating Growth, NESTA Research Report, April 2006

LCSI

Financial subsidy of up to £2,000

Subsidy of up to £500 for cluster development

Business support advice

Grants of up to £25,000

Technical assistance

Financial grants of up to £2,800

GROW Supporting creative industry SMEs and start-ups

SEED Incubator scheme to support new business start-ups

FLOURISH Upgrading connectivity through web site development

ENHANCE Supporting innovative and high profile public art practices

FESTIVAL Supporting the development of new and existing festivals

ERDF Measure 3b.1 Sustainable Rural Communities

ERDF Measure 1.2Financial Support for SMEs and the Social Economy

ERDF Measure 1.3Business Development for SMEs and Community Enterprises

6


LCSI has been more than a programme offering financial and business support to the creative and cultural industries in Lincolnshire. The evolution of the programme stimulated a process of change. It raised the profile of the sector across the public and private sectors and acted as a catalyst to bring together the range of agencies, businesses, local authorities and individual creatives operating in the county. The programme demonstrated how a more strategic and streamlined approach can generate benefits for all.This has not been achieved in isolation. The success of the initiative has relied on the active engagement and involvement of agencies and organisations committed to the development of the sector, including Lincolnshire Enterprise (the sub-regional strategic partnership), Lincolnshire Tourism (the Destination Management Partnership) and the local authorities in the ERDF eligible postcodes.The journey has not been without its challenges. The process of winning over hearts and minds did not happen overnight. However, working with stakeholders and partners across Lincolnshire has created understanding of the clear strategic linkages between their work and the creative and cultural industries. LCSI has helped crystallise a set of shared objectives and

complementary ways of working across the county, further stimulating and encouraging partners to engage with the creative industries proactively.Whilst Lincolnshire was home to many creative artists and businesses, prior to the LCSI programme there was a lack of cohesion, presence and profile. The sector suffered by falling between the economic development and arts development remits of the county’s eight local authorities. Colleagues and counterparts did not often work together in a co-ordinated fashion either within their authority or across authorities. The lack of a county-wide ‘creative industries umbrella’ was a major weakness in seeking to generate a step change in the fortunes of the sector.This is emphatically not to say that there was no support for the sector. The creative industries have been actively championed by local authority arts development officers, receiving a higher profile in some parts of the county than others.

• For example, in the City of Lincoln the creative industries have long been viewed as an economic driver, playing a central role in the local authority’s regeneration strategy. This reflects the concentration of creative activity in the City which has been enhanced by the significant specialism of the University of Lincoln – with some 40% of its courses

related to creative industries. • Similarly, North Kesteven District

Council has developed its arts team, recognising the social, cultural and economic impact of the arts. In 2004, the large team was transferred over to artsNK (to become part of Leisure Connection, who also manage the Council’s leisure services) to preserve publicly funded arts activities in the district for at least ten years under the artsNK banner. However as the national and local political agenda shifted to place greater focus on communities and economic development, the role of the creative industries has, to some extent diminished, particularly in the more rural parts of the county. Indeed, the creative industries did not feature at all in the economic development strategies of many of the local authorities in the county at the outset of the LCSI programme.From the outset LCSI sought to bring economic, tourism and arts development officers together. Two inclusive Steering Groups were established – one for Creative Industries and one for Cultural Festivals – to provide strategic direction. Members comprised representatives of all of Lincolnshire’s local authorities, economic and arts development agencies and creative practitioners.Representatives of all the Local Authorities, including those from the non-eligible ERDF areas were invited to take part. Generally

The process of change3

7

speaking at the beginning of the programme, the local authority representatives were the arts development officers. However, they were encouraged from the outset to bring in their economic regeneration and tourism counterparts. One of the successes of LCSI has been that by the conclusion of the programme, officers from all three areas of activity were active participants in LCSI conventions and conferences. This development can be traced back to the positive reception to the BOP work that was launched at the LCSI summit held in November 2006. LCSI has played a part in increasing the engagement of the county’s local authorities – who are now more pro-active in recognising and supporting local festivals and the creative industries. The injection of funding concentrated minds at a strategic level and provided new impetus. Thus LCSI has played a significant role in changing the landscape for creative industries – acting as a catalyst for change, and enabling and facilitating networking, collaboration and the sharing of best practice amongst creatives across the county.There are a number of powerful examples of how LCSI has successfully engaged with partner organisations:

• The University of Lincoln offered support to SEED beneficiaries – providing incubator space and business support.

• The University’s new Lincoln Performing Arts Centre (LPAC) hosted the 2008 celebratory summit.

• Lincolnshire Tourism is taking forward proposals for the county-wide Festival Forum.

• The Prince’s Trust was an energetic and supportive member of the Creative industry steering Group.

• artsNK and North Kesteven officers worked tirelessly to support the establishment of the Sleaford Town Festival with Sleaford Town Council. LCSI invested in 11 creative enterprises in the district.

• LCSI supported 23 creative enterprises in West Lindsey and worked closely with West Lindsey District Council to bring new life to the West Lindsey Churches Festival and to enable the expansion of the Gainsborough Riverside Festival.

• LCSI led to an increased profile for the arts and creative industries within East Lindsey with the staunch support of District Council officers. The injection of LCSI funding to the sector significantly raised the profile of festivals in the eyes of the Council – and led to their inclusion in the Council’s 2007-2010 Corporate Strategy.

• Business Link proactively supported the development and implementation of the programme.

• LCSI forged partnership working with Arts Council England, East Midlands. Their officers took seats on the steering groups and selection panels, invested match funding for ENHANCE public art works and funded the creative industries research undertaken by BOP.

‘ LCSI has been hugely important to East Lindsey. In terms of the District Council it has jump-started important relationships between the Economic Development and Arts teams; enabled us to identify and form relationships with local creative practitioners; required us to work more closely with organisations to deliver their festival and public realm enhancement ambitions. It has directly led to cultural tourism/arts development activity being cited in our new Corporate Strategy. Although there are still challenges ahead, LCSI has strongly raised the profile of opportunities offered by the Creative Industries agenda in East Lindsey.’ Nicki Gardner, East Lindsey District Council

Image right: Green Bean Dance

– FLOURISH Photography by

Daniel Clarke


Over the last three years, LCSI’s investment has changed the cultural landscape of the county – providing a high-profile focal point for creative practitioners, businesses and festivals; assisting the development of new businesses and festival organisations; enabling existing enterprises to grow and expand; and creating new public art works.

• LCSI has awarded funding and support to a diverse range of creative enterprises – from individual creative entrepreneurs who have been assisted to establish new businesses, to existing businesses that have been helped to grow and expand.

• 12 new creative industries entrepreneurs, ranging from digital animators and video game developers to painters, photographers and sculptors, successfully established their businesses with LCSI support.

• 68 existing businesses were assisted. All the owners reported that LCSI enabled their business to survive and 49 that LCSI had enabled them to grow their businesses.

• LCSI enabled 74 creative businesses to develop new websites to improve connectivity and access to markets. The FLOURISH programme was

specifically designed to enable visual and performing artists to develop websites.

• LCSI helped the development of five new festival organisations and supported another seven existing festivals to ensure their continued growth and sustainability.

• Editions of new festivals have taken place in rural communities and existing festivals have grown in scope and scale – ensuring their survival into the future.

• Capital investment has contributed to the transformation of the public realm with new public art works in Louth and Gainsborough.

Creative investment4

2Public art projects

68Number of SMEs assisted overall

12Number of SMEs assisted to start up

87.5%Of SMEs whose turnover has increased by 10%

£395,000Net additional increase in SME turnover generated

58Net jobs (employment) safeguarded

100% new starts surviving in business for 12 months

12Number of festival organisations supported

5Number of festival organisations which became formally constituted

23Festival editions supported

65.5%Increase in visitors to festivals

£1.4MNet additional expenditure generated by festivals

10New clusters created and supported

8New creative networks created

1New supply chain generated

90Beneficiaries in total

150Members of LCSI network

1,000Key players on database

LCSI achievements 2005-2008: the highlights

9

Raising the profile of the creative and cultural industriesOver and above the support provided to individual artists, businesses and festivals, LSCI has raised the profile of creative and cultural industries in Lincolnshire. The sector is now more visible. LCSI has helped to put creative industries on the map in terms of wider agency engagement with them.The success of LCSI in raising the profile of the sector, in tandem with broader improvements in the creative and cultural infrastructure of the county, has helped to make Lincolnshire an attractive destination for individuals and investors – creating a profile and a presence that could bring significant economic benefits in the future.Quantifiable impacts of the initiative are apparent in terms of increased turnover in businesses, the number of jobs safeguarded, and the volume of visitors (and their expenditure) attracted to the county,

In addition, LCSI has generated impacts that cannot be meaningfully quantified. These include enhancing the creative and cultural infrastructure of the county, increasing the business acumen of creatives and impacting upon broader community cohesion and regeneration issues. In the pages that follow, each of these impacts are explored and illustrated with case studies of individual businesses and organisations that have been supported by LCSI.

‘ LCSI has directly aided the professional development of many creative and cultural industry practitioners in Lincolnshire. These businesses and organisations have benefited from gaining insight into best practice. And, perhaps most importantly of all, for the first time there is a real sense of the sectors being networked together.’

Susie O’Reilly and Brigid Howarth, LCSI project managers

10LCSI:Celebrating Success

Image: Peter Moss – FLOURISH. Photography by Alan Fletcher


LCSI investment in creative businesses through the GROW, SEED and FLOURISH strands of the programme generating positive economic benefits. These benefits come in the form of increased incomes and earnings for the sector and consequently an increase in the overall economic contribution of the creative industries to Lincolnshire’s economy.What is most striking is that the investment in developing the business skills, marketing and networking ability and provision of mentoring support to new and existing businesses has enabled the survival of more than 50 businesses that might otherwise have ceased trading. Many of these were self employed artists, struggling to make a living out of their work. Through the intensive package of support and investment in skills and equipment, these businesses have been able not only to survive but to grow and expand. In fact, more than 75% of the creative businesses report that their turnover has increased by more than 10% since they became involved with the LCSI programme. Conservatively estimating that £3 out of every £4 of increased turnover is attributable to the impact of LCSI support, the programme has directly led to an increase in turnover of almost £400,000 in these businesses over the three year duration of the programme.

From a combined turnover of a little over £1 million at the outset of the programme, LCSI beneficiaries now generate more than £1.5 million in annual turnover – an increase of some 52% over the three years. In many cases, all or most of the increase in business turnover can be attributed to the impact of LCSI in improving business performance. Besides helping to improve the performance and prospects of local creative businesses through the investment and business support programmes, the funds invested in these companies have also generated benefits for other local businesses. Materials and services have been purchased from local suppliers and creatives. Of the expenditure that beneficiaries have made with LCSI grants and subsidies, more than half has been retained within Lincolnshire, supporting other creative businesses and suppliers.

Economic impact5

11


Image above: The Collection, Lincoln – FESTIVAL. Photography by Alan Fletcher

Image left: The Collection, Lincoln – FESTIVAL. Photography by Alan Fletcher

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One of the barriers to the organic development of the creative industries in Lincolnshire was a weakness in local supply chains and a lack of local inter-business networks. Many of the county’s businesses were inward looking, working in isolation and often only serving very local markets. The lack of awareness of the wider market for creative industries and connectivity to networks of complementary businesses and potential new customers was a major inhibitor to the growth of many small businesses.The LCSI procurement regime has enabled beneficiaries to invest in the development of local and regional supply chains. This has been achieved by the creation of cluster groups.LCSI has also worked with creative businesses and cultural organisations to develop marketing activity to promote specialisms and communicate the diverse and quality offer of the county’s creatives.The investment LCSI has made in its beneficiaries has had knock-on effects on the local economy through supply chain development. Of the almost £525,000 that was provided in the form of direct grants to businesses and organisations, 30% was spent on the procurement of goods and services from other Lincolnshire businesses. A further 3% was spent in the East Midlands region.

Prior to LCSI, creative businesses across the county had been slow to respond to the challenges and opportunities of the internet. Fewer than 20 had websites, and LCSI was challenged on its insistence that communication, including information about its support schemes, would be exclusively through digital means: email and internet. The project team identified the urgent need to develop a model of virtual and on-line supply chains – reflecting the fact that the sector consists of a diverse variety of creatives that could only benefit from direct interaction with each other and sharing in the creation of value. The LCSI funding has supported creative businesses and cultural organisations in a range of different activities that included:

• Web design and development• High quality, specialist printing

and design services• Professional photography• Purchase of high specification,

professional equipment from specialist equipment suppliers

Small companies, big opportunities6 ‘ Since being on

the LCSI scheme I have created my own website. This has enabled prospective clients to see examples of my work quickly and easily. My sales have gone up as a consequence’ Wayne Thornton, Little Big Designs

Image below: Alexis Rago’s studio – GROW

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Alexis Rago – GROWAlexis is a sole trader. Art is central to his work, which combines his passion for sculpture with modern video technology. A multi-talented artist, ceramicist, painter and photographer with a technological aptitude, he had spotted the potential to develop a design studio. However, he was resistant to the notion of creative entrepreneurship: as a result his annual turnover was modest.With the help of Kevin Jebson, a LCSI business adviser, Alexis has been able to gain commercial insights and skills, apply them to the artistic world and retain his creative integrity. He has learnt a variety of core business skills, including how to manage business finance and focus on more profitable areas of work. This has given him freedom to apply his creative skills in different areas. He was successful in pitching his business plan to LCSI and used the support to gain a deeper insight into becoming more commercial and how he might create new sales

and marketing opportunities for his work. He used the grant to publish a book on photography and to learn how to use new software packages: thereby fusing traditional arts disciplines with modern technology in the design and production of the finished product. The end result is an art work in itself while serving as a useful marketing tool for Alexis’ business, demonstrating his skills and creativity in an accessible way.Involvement in LCSI secured new contracts to work with other beneficiaries, creating websites to showcase their businesses. This aspect of work has expanded and his business turnover has doubled subsequently.The understanding of how he can achieve both financial and creative success brought freedom from economic anxiety, which has in turn increased the volume and quality of his output.

Lyn Lovitt – GROWLyn is a ceramicist, selling through galleries and exhibitions as well as producing commissioned work. Her aim on joining the LCSI programme was to improve her selling and marketing strategies and develop a focussed business development plan.Whilst LCSI provided financial support to help her create new marketing materials for her business, perhaps the greatest benefits have come through the clients and other creative individuals that LCSI has introduced her to. Lyn’s involvement in the programme has enabled her to collaborate with new clients (including fellow beneficiaries such as Anwick Forge) and she has received a number of recommendations through the LCSI supplier list.

‘ LCSI has been invaluable in enabling me to look more objectively at my work and significantly enhanced my confidence for the future. The workshops and networking sessions helped me to focus on my business practice; they also opened up new clients to me via collaborators I met on the programme.’

Lyn Lovitt

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When LCSI began, connectivity to business support and commercial networks both inside and beyond Lincolnshire was weak. The lack of networking and connectivity between businesses, business support and other agencies in the county posed a significant barrier to the growth of existing businesses. The networking opportunities that LCSI has provided have been crucial in broadening the horizons of those working in the sector, and in facilitating the linkages between creative individuals, businesses and festivals. LCSI has successfully brought people together and enabled connections to be made. It has significantly increased networking between practitioners and funders and, crucially, there is a growing business-like feel to the creative industries in Lincolnshire –signifying the improving health and development of the sector. Thanks to LCSI investment, Lincolnshire’s creative and cultural industries are better networked and better equipped to showcase their work in the county and beyond. While all of the funding programmes have created new infrastructure and connections to the market, encouraging spend on both conventionally published and on-line materials, FLOURISH has focused particularly on web-site development. This has strengthened existing clusters and enabled beneficiaries to build their client base.

LCSI also built a creative and cultural network comprising 150 beneficiaries and close associates. The network includes the creative industry start-ups and enterprises; festival and other cultural organisations and independent consultancies based in the county and further afield that are benefiting either directly or indirectly from LCSI. In addition, a creative industry supply chain list of almost 100 companies was created, alongside a comprehensive database of 1,000 key players locally, regionally and nationally. The database comprises creative and cultural industry leaders and practitioners, intermediary organisations and agencies, policy makers, politicians and civil servants, local authority officers (including arts development, tourism and economic representatives) and elected members, plus the LCSI network and supply chain members. The database has proved a powerful tool. It has enabled people to be brought together combating the sense of isolation that formerly beset creative and cultural practitioners in this rural county. At least 50% of the enterprises benefiting from SEED, GROW and FLOURISH have cultivated new clusters or have developed existing clusters further. For example, members of the Art on the Map cluster are now linked together.

The same applies to the dance companies benefiting from FLOURISH and Lincolnshire Dance. The benefits of networking apply as much to the county’s festival organisations. Having met each other at the LCSI networking events, members of the festival organisations recognised their common interests and formed themselves into clusters. For example, Gainsborough Riverside Festival has established an effective working partnership with West Lindsey Churches Festival and Skegness Kite and Xfest. Dreamcatcher (GROW), Paul Sutherland (SEED) and Wolds Words (FESTIVAL) clustered together, while Alexis Rago (GROW), Janet Waring (SEED) and Lincoln and Lincolnshire Chamber Music Festival are ‘in discussion’ about joint activity in 2008. The Small World Festival has systematically attended all networking events and created working partnerships with a number of beneficiaries of GROW and SEED. At least 14% of the funds that LCSI invested in creative industries in Lincolnshire have supported the business growth of other members of the LCSI network.

This is a direct result of the time and energy that the programme team devoted to building the network list and organising networking events to enable beneficiaries to come together and identify themselves as members of a common framework. It also reflects the emphasis LCSI placed on developing the skills of procurement – i.e. the writing of detailed briefs specifying goods and services required, tendering out the briefs in a systematic fashion across the network and using the criteria of best value rather than cheapest price to decide which supplier to award the contract to. As a result of the attention paid to creating the vital business skill of procurement, alongside the funding that LCSI was able to inject into the system, many local businesses and organisations are now able to better specify their requirements and to commission the services of other enterprises. This has benefited individual enterprises and organisations and the sector as a whole.

Better networked, better connected7

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Mick Paine – GROWMick Paine is a lettering artist producing text-based art works for exhibition and to commission. When he joined LCSI he had recently become self-employed. The programme offered him the opportunity to develop his commercial skills and to devise a marketing strategy for his fledgling business.LCSI provided opportunity to address these concerns. It enabled Mick to develop business skills whilst at the same time making important contacts, both directly through the LCSI network and indirectly by using the various strands of financial support to promote his work effectively. He was enabled to invest in a high quality website (www.mickpaine.com) to promote his work to gallery owners, arts professionals, funding bodies, commissioners and potential private sector customers.He developed an exhibition of his work, which helped him to reach a broader audience, generating increased sales revenue, and unlocking a range of further exhibition and fee-earning opportunities. He also entered into a cluster project with fellow beneficiary, the poet Paul Sutherland. The two worked together to produce an artists’ book, an exciting opportunity to broaden their respective practices and to promote their joint work to a broader market.Over the time that Mick has been on the LCSI scheme his practice has met with increasing recognition nationally. In November 2006 he was one of the newly established enterprises selected for Origin – the Crafts Council fair hosted by Somerset House, London. In November 2007, he was invited by the Crafts Council to take part in Cook Book Café, a selling showcase at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane, London – a prestigious new initiative to encourage the purchase of high-end contemporary work.

Art on the Map – FESTIVALArt on the Map (AOTM) has been running for seven years, with an artists’ steering group managing the festival for the last three years. The festival has benefited from support from the Arts Council, local authorities and from subscriptions and advertising. LCSI has supported AOTM’s organisational development through FESTIVAL by funding a virtual office that aims to enhance communication and the exchange of ideas and bring together the creative community in Lincolnshire. LCSI has also worked with AOTM to support a cluster of members to develop their own web sites through the FLOURISH strand of the programme. LCSI enabled AOTM to develop a networking website to promote and develop AOTM activities – specifically to address identified problems of rurality and lack of networking and information sharing opportunities amongst artists. The aim was to provide more networking facilities – to build virtual bridges across the county.With a number of artists developing new websites with the help of LCSI funding, AOTM provided its members an opportunity to link to the AOTM site (www.artonthemap.org.uk). There are now 18 artists linked to the AOTM site. AOTM is a unique organisation with real growth potential. It provides visibility for the many creative SMEs in the county. It generates considerable business for its 100+ members and ensures Lincolnshire’s creative and cultural sectors engage with the county’s economic and tourism sectors.

‘ At this stage of my career I am acutely conscious of the need to learn and understand more about the creative environment I practice in.Calligraphy and lettering suffers from an extremely low profile so it is very important to me that I assess how my work fits in to the visual arts sector as a whole.’

Mick Paine

‘ Beneficiaries have learnt procurement skills, how to use the criteria of best value rather than cheapest price and understood their role in Lincolnshire’s creative industry supply chain’

Susie O’Reilly, LCSI Project Manager

Image below: Web development was a major focus of LCSI investment. Photography by Scene

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Embedded within the LCSI model was an understanding that traditional business support services did not always provide the in-depth understanding of creative businesses and the markets for creative products. For this reason the LCSI programme employed two specialist business advisors to work with creative businesses to develop core skills such as business strategy, financial planning and marketing. The advisers, each with a background in the creative industries, were able to tap into the motivations of creative entrepreneurs and present business skills in a language and in a form that creatives could respond to.Through the provision of group workshops, one-to-one business support and mentoring, LCSI has enabled creative individuals and businesses to become more entrepreneurial. This has directly led to the creation of 12 new businesses in the county, including Ping Creative and Amie Slavin.

Many more businesses have been able to grow and expand by applying commercial skills to the creative arts. In addition to providing dedicated business advisors, LCSI has worked with the University of Lincoln. This partnership has provided incubator space and access to the Sparkhouse package of support. This has led to some remarkable successes – such as the flyaway commercial success story of the innovative digital animators, Electric Egg.LCSI has also worked with businesses which had established themselves economically to aid their creative development. The work undertaken with Anwick Forge exemplifies the benefits of working with businesses to maximise commercial success whilst retaining a creative focus and direction that can differentiate a cutting edge and successful creative business from a traditional craft operation.

Entrepreneurship and business development8

Image: Wayne Lockwood, Ping Creative – GROW

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Ping Creative – GROWPing Creative is a small family business of commercial illustrators, providing services in illustration and graphic design for a range of clients. Corporate customers include greetings card manufacturers, design companies and children’s book publishers.At the time they approached LCSI, the owners were new graduates. They needed support to set-up their business and get it off the ground. They particularly wanted help to strengthen their marketing strategy and connect to the marketplace. The help their LCSI business advisor gave them led to an introduction to a design consultancy and following that the business took off.

‘ The main impact of the programme has been commercial stability. We’d been struggling to generate a healthy cash flow and pay ourselves a regular wage. LCSI enabled us to see what was needed for Ping to develop in the long term, to take a chance in the market and from that chance, we took the vital steps needed for growth.’ Wayne Lockwood, Ping Creative


Image: Becky Sands, Ping Creative – GROW. Photography by Alan Fletcher


Electric Egg – SEED Neil Baker and Steve Hatton, co-owners of the start-up enterprise Electric Egg, were signposted to the SEED programme by artsNK. Having graduated from the University of Lincoln, they were working as freelance animators with an increasingly large workload and were looking to find a way to set themselves up in business. Their primary goal was to secure premises and attract investment in equipment. However, the mix of financial and business support that SEED provided enabled them to raise their game much earlier than they had anticipated. From LCSI they received a £2,800 grant, a marketing subsidy of £1,500 to attend animation and documentary festivals in the UK and Canada and the support of a business adviser in preparing a business plan. Meanwhile, Sparkhouse gave them access to a cluster of like-minded new media businesses, a mentor from the university, expert tutors in media production and animation and workshop events tuned to their needs (including accounting, bookkeeping and copyright).The company has been fast-tracked to success as a digital video animation production company, with contracts from the public and private sector. It made a profit in its first year, exceeding turnover projections by more than 50%. In itself this is testament to the skill and commitment of the ‘Eggs’ and the support they have received.

‘ Support from SEED and Sparkhouse has been invaluable through our early business development, offering us the quality and depth of support needed to nurture our fledgling business. The help to purchase equipment made us more efficient, the marketing support made us more visible and better connected but most of all the business advice and mentoring has allowed us to get to grips with the organisation of the business. We have been able to tender for a number of the contracts that other LCSI beneficiaries have offered: so we have both been part of, and benefited from, the growth of the creative industries supply chain in the county.’ Neil Baker, Electric Egg

Image below: Neil Baker, Electric Egg – SEED

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Amie Slavin – GROW Amie Slavin is a creative entrepreneur who is pushing the boundaries of sonic art.

‘I aim to combine my skills as an audio producer with the ambition to take sound art to another level by delivering sound art in the form of installation pieces in private spaces and gallery settings, in public spaces and via radio plays.’She originally applied to LCSI as a sole trader in order to secure some funds to develop a portfolio of new pieces of work. However, she discovered that the LCSI programme offered her far more than finance. She received a package of technical support that included over 23 hours of mentoring tailored to her needs. The support was offered face-to-face and via email and internet by her LCSI business advisor, Pete Mosley. This bespoke advice and networking opportunity enabled her to progress her business to the next level while developing her art form.Following the successful pitch of her business plan to the LCSI panel (which included both

‘ I have gained confidence in my abilities as an artist through the support I have received from my mentors. They have helped me to validate my work and my business. I am more embedded in the world of sound art as a result of becoming part of the LCSI network.’ Amie Slavin

creative industry and generic business specialists), Amie won one of LCSI’s 30 business support grants. She used the £2,000 grant to purchase further specialist business mentoring from Ray Lee, a sound art specialist based at Oxford Brooks University.

‘ The specialist support that Ray provided has been absolutely invaluable to me. My LCSI business advisor secured it for me through his own network.’ The grant also enabled Amie to buy development time that she used to prepare and market ‘Wave Power’ and ‘Sophie’s Web’, two original soundworks. She was offered exhibition time and fees for these pieces at The Collection. This museum and art gallery in the heart of Lincoln’s growing cultural quarter was short-listed for the Gulbenkian Prize and is recognised nationally as a significant venue: securing an exhibition at The Collection placed Amie in a new league professionally.

Image below: Sparkhouse, University of Lincoln – SEED. Photography by Alan Fletcher


Anwick Forge –GROW Anwick Forge is a family-owned company which designs and produces bespoke hot-forged ironwork for commercial, public and private clients in and around Lincolnshire. It has rapidly grown into a thriving business employing three full-time blacksmiths and a full-time manager. Since Anwick was in the process of having their website re-developed and upgraded as LCSI got underway, investing the £1,000 marketing subsidy in the promotion of the new site seemed the best plan. This marketing campaign took the form of a multi-tiered direct mailing exercise. All existing clients and associates were sent a specially designed and professionally produced postcard, announcing the new website www.anwickforge.co.uk. When it was selected to take part in GROW, Anwick Forge had just completed its second full financial year. During this year, its turnover had increased by over 40%, it had taken on a third blacksmith and its general manager had gone from part-time to full-time employment. However, despite this commercial success Anwick Forge found itself at something of a crossroads.

‘We realised that we were running the risk of pursuing financially attractive yet creatively ‘safe’ commissions. We were in danger of being a profitable, high quality fabrication business at the cost of losing the artist-led blacksmithing commissions that were our ambition in setting up the company.’ Thus the key issue that Anwick Forge wanted to address with their LCSI advisor was how to find a route back to their original vision. Their advisor helped them to develop their business plan to address this – and it secured one of the LCSI financial grants. Anwick used the £2,000 for creative development. This comprised three inter-related activities: in-house workshops emphasising ‘creative play’ – exploring the potential of metal as a material without the constraint of commercial considerations; workshops, master classes and ‘forge-ins’ – arranged by the Artists Blacksmiths Association (their professional body); and ‘out of craft’ activities – visiting

artists/makers in other media, visiting exhibitions and informal networking with other members of the creative sector. They also attended a practical blacksmithing conference in Germany.

‘ It was a Eureka moment for Tim: he realised the creative – and commercial potential of the power hammers. LCSI paid for our field research – and we invested company money to purchase power hammers on our return.’ Anwick Forge has recently successfully tendered for a number of new creative contracts including the design and production of a major piece of public art for Lincolnshire County Council.

Images right and far right: Anwick Forge – GROW

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‘ This campaign was the most successful piece of marketing we have undertaken to date. It enabled us to raise our profile via our website and brought Anwick Forge to the forefront of the minds of hundreds of people within our target market.’ Tim and Fran Mackereth, Anwick Forge


Blow by Blow Productions – GROW Blow by Blow Productions is a mature business, formed in 1989. It creates video and multi-media productions for a range of clients including commercial businesses, the education sector and public agencies. Its founder, Andy Blow, also has an interest in producing nostalgic DVDs, concerned particularly with the heritage and history of Lincolnshire.One of the problems the business faced was in being able to keep pace with technological advances in audio-visual production. GROW support enabled the business to purchase a state-of-the-art high-definition video camera and to source the training needed to get the best out of the equipment. Beyond the obvious practical and commercial benefits of accessing the latest equipment, Andy’s work with his LCSI business advisor helped him run his business more commercially. As a sole trader he needed a sounding board for his ideas and help to analyse his business and develop the more profitable aspects. GROW assisted him to develop a marketing strategy

and materials to better promote his business. He has used the new material successfully at exhibitions, functions and training events across the county. In the 2007 ‘Oscars’ run by the Institute of Videographers, Blow By Blow Productions was highly commended for the documentary ‘Lincoln and Typhoid’ produced as part of the Bygone Lincoln DVD.

As well as helping creative individuals and businesses develop their commercial skills and awareness of wider markets for their work, LCSI has provided a source of advice, guidance and support that has served to increase their confidence in themselves both as creative individuals and as business people.The importance of the programme in providing this support cannot be underestimated. Ultimately the success of the sector and the businesses LCSI has been able to support relies on the commitment and confidence of the individuals to drive their businesses forward, both commercially and creatively. Through the programme, businesses have been taken on a journey that they could not have envisaged at the outset – and supported to make decisions and take risks that they would never have considered without the mentoring and guidance that LCSI has provided.

‘ GROW helped me to reassess my business and the market place and to re-position Blow by Blow with new clients and re-developed products. With a better understanding of customer requirements, new kit, fresh skills and new marketing materials, my company is now so much better placed to connect to the market.’ Andy Blow

New confidence9

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Ashi Marwaha – GROW Ashi Marwaha designs and manufactures contemporary jewellery selling largely through galleries and craft shops. She graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1999 and started running her business on a part-time basis a year later, launching her first range of jewellery. The success of this led to more exhibitions at trade fairs and a three month residency in Australia, working alongside some of the biggest names in the jewellery world.It was during this residency that she realised that she needed to commit to her business full-time if it was going to reach its full potential and enable her to achieve her personal goal of becoming a successful creative entrepreneur. She returned from Australia, continued to exhibit her work and started to build up her business. However, whilst confident in the creative aspects of the business and in showcasing and selling her work, she felt she was lacking in some core business skills particularly around branding and marketing.Through GROW, with the advice and guidance of a LCSI business advisor and a small financial grant, Ashi has taken her business to the next stage. She has been helped to specify, procure and develop a new website (www.ashimarwaha.com) which has raised awareness of her work and provides a showcase to new and existing clients. With some assistance to develop a brand for her work, she created a professional logo for the company and this creates a stronger impact when attending trade shows.Ashi’s involvement in the LCSI programme has broadened her horizons and given her more confidence. This has had a knock-on effect in helping generate new business and access new markets for her work.

‘ This scheme came at a time when my business was on the verge of change and expansion, and I had no idea how to deal with the paperwork and business organisation. With the help and support of LCSI,

I was able to move my business forward with confidence quicker than I had anticipated.’ Ashi Marwaha

Image: Ashi Marwaha – GROW

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generated local expenditure in excess of £1.1 million.The scale of impact ranges widely. The largest contributor is the Gainsborough Riverside Festival, which provides 31% of the total – putting around £300,000 into the local economy. At the other end of the scale is Music in the Marshes, which achieved in the region of £4,000.Overall, it is clear that the programme of festivals is a significant contributor to the local economy of Lincolnshire. The festivals’ direct, indirect and induced contribution taken together generates economic benefits amounting to almost £1.5 million. This equates to the sustenance of around 11 jobs in the economy, over and above those employees and volunteers directly involved in organising the festivals themselves. What is also apparent is that the host communities of the various festivals benefit from the positive image created by the events, from the range of different audiences which are attracted and the lively, cosmopolitan atmosphere that is generated.

Festivals can contribute significantly to the cultural and economic regeneration of a region. LCSI-supported festivals have had an impact on the development of cultural tourism and knock-on effects for local creative and other businesses. The development and increased profile of creative and cultural industries has also stimulated cultural tourism.Economic impacts arise from visitor expenditure on travel, accommodation, restaurants and shopping – as well as generating business for the creative enterprises and individuals that are at the heart of many of the events that LCSI has supported.Festivals play a major part in revitalising local communities – helping develop local pride and identity, establishing new tourist destinations and attracting expenditure from visitors.Through the FESTIVAL development fund, LCSI has provided financial support to 12 cultural festivals across the county, generating economic and social benefits for otherwise disadvantaged rural communities. Two of the beneficiary festival organisations were relatively mature organisations looking to refresh and develop their approach. Five were brand new festivals, needing start-up support. The remaining five were established festivals looking

for organisational development support to enable them to underpin innovative artistic and cultural interventions. Key to LCSI’s strategy was to underpin the organisational development of festivals by providing them with the technical and financial support needed to grow their business skills. Festival organisers are now better able to develop annual events to attract visitors and create a cultural image in rural communities across Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire Tourism, the Destination Management Partnership for the county, has been impressed by the potential demonstrated by FESTIVAL and is working with LCSI to develop a Festival Forum 2008–2011 as part of the programme’s exit strategy.Across the three years of FESTIVAL, the 12 festival organisations that LCSI has supported have held 23 editions of festivals, attracting more than 85,000 attendees. In 2007 alone, the 12 festivals attracted more than 53,000 attendees.A key objective was to encourage the organisations to become formally constituted: of the 12 organisations supported, the five that were not formally constituted have now become so.Taken together, it is estimated that attendees of the 23 festival editions LCSI has supported

Connecting with tourism10 1,291Small World Festival 2006, 2007

10,698West Lindsey Churches Festival 2006, 2007

10,000Festival of Bathing Beauties 2006, 2007

7,739Lincoln and Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival 2005, 2006, 2007

4,216Wolds Words 2006, 2007

3,249CREDO – The Collection 2007

2,000Sleaford Arts Festival 2007

325Music in the Marshes 2006, 2007

8,800Skegness Kite and X-Fest 2006, 2007

2,816Beacon Artproject 2005, 2006, 2007

27,000Gainsborough Riverside Festival 2006, 2007

7,046Art on the Map 2006, 2007

85,180Total

LCSI Supported Festivals; Total attendees

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Gainsborough Riverside Festival – FESTIVALMay 2007 saw the 6th edition of the Gainsborough Riverside Festival. It kicked off late morning, as tradition demanded, with a community parade weaving its way through the crowds of people clustered along the River Trent, past market stalls representing seemingly every community and voluntary group in the town. The parade complete, entertainment provided by local artists, musicians, community groups, street performers took over, culminating in a fireworks display as darkness fell around 10.00 pm. Nursed carefully into being by Neil Rogers, West Lindsey’s Arts Development Officer, the Festival has outgrown its early ambitions, expanding rapidly from a small, one-day event to a two day fiesta. A team of Arts and Tourism Officers from West Lindsey District Council turn out in force to support the Festival steering committee and to manage crowds of up to 15,000 over the two days. In 2007 the local authority handed the day-to-day organising of the festival to an independent organisation. LCSI’s two year funding support (£19,000 in total) has been focussed on developing the Festival organisation. It secured the employment of a dedicated co-ordinator who has led the drive to re-invigorate the Festival. A host of new organising members have been recruited to the management group, new marketing materials have been commissioned, and, in partnership with the West Lindsey Churches Festival and The Credo Festival (The Collection), an independent evaluation commissioned.

Going forward, a key ambition is to increase the role of young people in planning and running the Festival. A partnership with a local school has been established and two young people now sit on the management group to ensure a youth voice in the development of the festival. Plans are in hand to encourage enterprise awareness by developing skills in creativity, planning, problem solving and decision making. The opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of entrepreneurship and business in the main festival and a range of pre-festival events and fundraisers has been pin-pointed.The Festival’s recently completed three-year business plan, funded by LCSI, provides the solid foundation necessary for the future development of this important community festival.

‘ Personally I would like to thank the LCSI team not only for the much appreciated and considerable funding, but for creating a scheme that assisted the Festival management to look at its sustainability, development and up-skilling of the management group, strategic planning and purchase of external expertise in evaluation and marketing – all designed to create a forward thinking, self reliant and buoyant vehicle for community expression, creativity and collective fun. Put simply the Festival is all about having a good time, doing some good, learning something new, enjoying the shared spaces we call ‘home’, and doing it together!’ Angela Porter, Gainsborough Riverside Festival Co-ordinator

Image right: Hi-Views Sustrans, Lincoln. Photography by Andy Tryner © Lincolnshire County Council


West Lindsey Churches Festival – FESTIVALWest Lindsey Churches Festival (WLCF) is a mature festival, supported by West Lindsey District Council. Each May for the past decade, some 100 churches of all denominations have opened their doors to the public over two consecutive weekends. At the height of the Festival’s success, response from the public, from both within and outside the county was strong. However, by 2006, focus had been lost, energies had flagged, and the churches were in agreement that a fresh injection of life and energy – and funding – was needed. Enter LCSI! The FESTIVAL funding supported an external evaluation of the 2006 festival – undertaken by Beacon Arts – and agreement that developing a Creative Churches initiative (a strand of participatory artist-led events) was one of the ways in which WLCF could start to re-invent itself. Meanwhile, the LCSI team was supporting Mirella Clark, the Tourism Officer of West Lindsey District Council, to encourage the Festival organisation to start to revitalise itself. A new Churches Festival steering group was established with a focus on communication, learning, sharing and strong leadership. LCSI funding provided on-going technical support from Richard Hadley & Associates, LCSI’s specialist festival advisors, and drawing on their professional networks, enabled ‘Go See’ visits to other festivals, including the

Churches Festival in Wrexham, the Association of Irish Festival Organisations and Events (AOIFE) in Galway and the 2008 international Festival and Events Association (IFEA) conference in Reykjavik. These vital partnerships have enabled WLCF to develop in more diverse ways. Alternative sources of funding to support its sustainability have been sought and encouraged. The Festival now has a vision for the future and a development plan to support the process of growth. Plans are in hand to gain funding for a dedicated co-ordinator to develop themed trails to build on the injection of creativity through the Creative Churches initiative. Festival organisers have been delighted with LCSI’s intervention which has resulted in an increase of over 2,300 visitors to its 2007 festival edition; an increase of 36% on 2006 figures. CREDO – the festival organised by The Collection in partnership with both WLCF and Gainsborough Riverside Festival – enabled the Churches Festival to work with Alec Finley, one of the UK’s most innovative contemporary artists. This partnership is being developed. The Collection is supporting the Churches Festival to commission an ambitious intervention by John Newling as an integral part of the 2008 programme. Newling, Professor of Installation Art at Nottingham Trent University, has national recognition for his own creative practice.

‘ Whilst the West Lindsey Churches Festival has brought many people to work together... more importantly it has brought together the rather far flung rural communities for an offering that most of them would never have dreamed of in villages of their size. The value of this cannot be stressed too highly as we are seeing the gradual death of many of the villages in rural Lincolnshire, with shop closures, collapse of group activities etc. We look forward to starting work on the 2008 Festival with a view of making it even more memorable and to include items for all the family.’

Mike Gough, WLCF Committee Member

Image right: West Lindsey Churches Festival, Aisthorpe Church – FESTIVAL

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Skegness Kite and Xfest – FESTIVALThis new Festival is helping to put Skegness on the map as a venue for international extreme sports – contributing to the drive to regenerate the Coastal Action Zone. The opportunity to launch the Festival came out of the decision by East Lindsey District Council to zone the beaches along the coast from Mablethorpe to Skegness for surfing, powerkiting, buggying and kitesurfing. Along with East Lindsey District Council, LCSI supported the establishment of the Festival in 2006 and provided funds for marketing and promotion for the 2007 edition. Kite surfing is spectacular. The Festival attracts people to the resort as both spectators and participants. It creates a busy weekend for Skegness, with local hotels and campsites filled, and buzzing bars and restaurants. The festival has very quickly established credibility with the British Kite Surfing Association (BKSA), and been accepted on the BKSA annual professional competition circuit. This ensures that world-champion kite surfers have placed Skegness into their annual diaries of places to visit and compete. Financial sponsorship from Centrica, the wind-energy providers, has been established with ambitious future plans currently being discussed.

Alongside all this the Festival has raised the profile of the work of its organisers, the Skegness Surf and Kite Academy, a charitable organisation promoting the educational and health benefits of powerkiting in the local community. The Academy now plans to make the Kite and Xfest an annual event. The LCSI experience has enabled the Academy to make further successful funding bids. It has accessed funding from Europe and is currently negotiating with the county’s strategic Coastal Action Zone to create a watersports school for the east coast – which in turn will continue to enhance the reputation of Skegness and its attractiveness as a destination. The Festival was pleased with the 3,000 visitors it attracted to Lincolnshire in its 2006 inaugural year. As a new extreme sports festival it had to work hard to be recognised by the UK’s Xfest teams. The 2007 Festival attracted nearly 6,000 visitors, confirming to the organisers that there was a niche market for this emerging sector. Projections from the Festival’s business plan anticipate that The Fest will attract 10,000 visitors in 2008.

‘ The LCSI programme has enabled Skegness Surf and Kite Academy to bring a Pro-Tour international kitesurfing competition to the east coast, attracting new visitors with disposable income and providing new sporting opportunities for the area. With the support and training opportunities available through LCSI, the extreme sports event has broken boundaries to form partnerships with other counties, attracting world class riders to a resort normally known for donkeys and fish and chips.’

Christina Redford, Skegness Surf and Kite Academy Co-ordinator

Image left: Skegness Kite and Xfest – FESTIVAL

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Festival of Bathing Beauties, Mablethorpe – FESTIVALThe Festival of Bathing Beauties (FOBB) is an exciting extension of an imaginative project conceived by artist Michael Trainor. With funding from the Coastal Action Zone programme, he created a gallery of dramatic new seaside architecture along a ten mile stretch of the Lincolnshire coast, between Mablethorpe and Chapel St. Leonards (www.bathingbeauties.org.uk).Trainor seized on the opportunity offered by LCSI funding to take the Bathing Beauties programme a step further, and to work with the Mablethorpe Tourism Forum to build a new annual festival for the resort. In September 2006, the Forum was amazed by the international reaction to the pilot edition of FOBB which saw the exhibition of scaled model entries for the major international competition ‘Re-imagine the Beach Hut for the 21st Century’. 240 models from artists in 15 countries were displayed. The four winners were offered a commission to build their huts – launched at FOBB 2007 alongside the ‘Gin and Tonic’, Trainor’s own beach hut.

• ‘Halcyon-Hut’ draws inspiration from traditional beach huts. At night however, it transforms into an abstract art object, creating a glowing beacon.

• ‘Eyes Wide sHut’ is a glamorous ‘picture frame’ hut featuring two ornate hand-crafted timber frames, carrying floor to ceiling dark tinted mirrored panels.

• ‘Jabba’ re-interprets the idea of the beach hut by drawing on its more ancient predecessor – the cave!

• ‘Gazing and Canoodling’ has an indulgent interior with its Canoodling Bench inviting hours spent in the company of an intimate companion. The first full edition of FOBB took place in September 2007. The Mablethorpe Tourism Forum took on the organisation, supported by Mantle Arts, a professional arts company which the LCSI grant enabled them to engage.

FOBB 2007 succeeded in its aim to generate economic benefits for the town. The event was deliberately timed for the late summer, to extend the visitor season and encourage businesses to stay open longer. Architectural aficionados descended upon Mablethorpe from across the UK – alerted by the word of mouth publicity stimulated by the successful exhibition at The Hub, National Centre for Craft and Design during the summer. Mablethorpe saw 10,000 additional visitors to the resort over the weekend of the festival, generating an estimated secondary spend of £60,000 for the local economy.By supporting the Festival of Bathing Beauties, LCSI has been able to assist the town to take the investment of the Coastal Action Zone programme further. The Mablethorpe cultural and tourism offer has been further extended, and the drive to bring the highest quality contemporary arts to the east coast in a dramatic and positive fashion has been fully realised. Uniquely, FOBB engages all age groups and has had a major economic impact in extending the tourist season. Without LCSI funding the festival wouldn’t have been possible – and Mablethorpe would have lost out on a major new feature for the local community and visitors alike.

‘ I haven’t seen so many people in Mablethorpe for 30 years!’

Nicki Gardner, East Lindsey District Council

‘ LCSI has been instrumental in bringing arts to the east coast, boosting the tourism industry and extending the tourist season, especially in Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea.’

Helen Matthews, Mablethorpe Tourism Forum

Image below: Festival of Bathing Beauties – FESTIVAL

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Lincoln and Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival – FESTIVALLincoln and Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival (LLICMF) became a LCSI Pathfinder Festival in 2005. The Festival had enjoyed two earlier editions and was an ideal Festival for LCSI to enter into a relationship with. Its ambition was to become one of the foremost UK chamber festivals and it seized on the offer to become a pathfinder.Lincolnshire has a substantial number of regular concert-goers across the county, a proportion in rural areas where there is little quality artistic provision. There is a sector of keen concert-goers that supports musical events in larger towns and the concerts organised by district councils in smaller communities; many of these enthusiasts volunteer to help LLICMF. The Festival values these key volunteers and recognises the importance of their local connections in ensuring that village concerts are well publicised and well attended.

The Festival’s core audience is predominantly middle aged and elderly, as is the general case for classical music events. Lincolnshire has a growing population in this group, augmented by a large influx of retirees from the south east of England with money, leisure time and an expectation of a broad range of cultural activities. The Festival organisers believe that this audience will continue to grow steadily over the next few years.The Festival commitee is however aware of the need to introduce the festival to a younger audience. The musical programme for 2008 will have a broader appeal than previous years offering an opening for people less conversant with chamber music without compromising quality. Reaching out to the younger age groups with educational projects will become an increasingly important element.

Drawn by well thought-out programmes and world-class chamber groups and soloists the festival attracts, there has been a growing concert audience from outside Lincolnshire. Attendance at the 2006 Festival showed a significant increase in people travelling from adjoining counties and from further afield. The Festival organisers will be seeking to further develop cultural tourism opportunities with Lincolnshire Tourism to encourage visitors from outside the county in 2008 and beyond.The Festival has always explored ways of generating additional income and introduced in 2007 a Patrons and Friends scheme; there are currently 18 Patrons and 38 Friends. This is encouraging for the future and begins to build a more solid financial base for the Festival.

Plans are already under way for the 2008 Festival. The Festival has retained the services of an inspiring Artistic Director, the internationally renowned pianist Ashley Wass, who proved such a success in 2007.In 2004, prior to LCSI’s intervention, the Festival generated respectable audience figures of 1,100. In 2005 this figure increased to 2,300, with continued growth in audience figures of 25% in 2006 and 2007. Festival organisers are optimistic that future attendance figures will continue to grow as they have recently made contact with a short breaks tour operator which has indicated it would be interested in researching the feasibility of adding the Festival to their portfolio of tours for 2009.

‘ We were very pleased to discover the concerts were spread around the county and not all in Lincoln. We particularly patronised the ones near us.’

Festival attendee from Aslackby

Image below: Lincoln and Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival – FESTIVAL

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The creative industries have the potential to challenge people’s perceptions and understanding of the environment, prompting dialogue, debate and collaboration between the arts, business and those people and organisations who care for the environment. Using arts and creative industries to educate and highlight environmental messages in a stimulating and creative way, ‘eco-artists’ can create socially relevant art that will encourage wider public engagement in sustainability and protection of our natural environment. More directly, public artworks can enhance the natural environment – helping to create a sense of place, as well as providing iconic features in rural locations. In doing so, public art can help to develop a sense of public ownership and responsibility for public space – with artists making an important contribution to the creation of quality public spaces.Raising environmental awareness and enabling enterprises and organisations to minimise their impact on their surroundings formed a central theme of the LCSI programme. All the beneficiaries were encouraged to respond to the environmental agenda, and many rose to the challenge. Every beneficiary was signposted to environmental workshops, run by partners from

the eco-support organisations Green Lincs and BEST. The vast majority followed up their workshop attendance by taking steps to minimise the impact of their business on the environment. Green Lincs and BEST have also been willing to make site visits to give one-on-one support:

• Green Lincs provides businesses with the opportunity to improve environmental performance, realise associated cost savings and ultimately contribute positively to environmental sustainability.

• BEST (Business Environmental Solutions and Training) provides free assistance to East Midlands small and medium enterprises in resource efficiency and sustainability. As shown in the following case-studies, two of the FESTIVAL beneficiaries – the Small World Festival and the Skegness Kite and Xfest – have proved that being environmentally sensitive need not be complicated or costly.

Leaner and greener11 ‘ Being a member of the Assocation of Festival Organisers has given us the opportunity to talk to the organisers of a whole range of festivals, and opened our eyes to the need to change our practices and up our game.’

Susi Mulligan, Chair, Wolds Collective

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Small World Festival – FESTIVALOver the past decade, The Wolds Collective – a group who work together at Badger Farm in the countryside beyond Louth – has established an ambitious annual programme of events and festivals, which includes the EcoFest and the Small World Festival. The Wolds Collective prides itself on its eco-credentials – the Badger Farm buildings are powered by a wind turbine and ‘earth-loos’ have recently been added to the site. The Farm takes a thoughtful, green-led approach to all its activities. It grows its own willow and supports a creative enterprise, The Basket Case (also a LCSI beneficiary). The Small World Festival runs from the Friday evening to the Sunday afternoon and features a diverse variety of live music and dance ranging from Celtic to reggae to blues. In addition to the live performances, drumming, dance and craft workshops are available to all festival goers and their children. In 2005 the Wolds Collective acquired the use of an additional three acre field just up the road from Badger Farm for use as a car park and additional camping field. This meant that the Festival could grow, generate more tickets sales and become more sustainable. These developments see the expansion of Badger Farm’s visitor facilities, whilst food stalls and a licensed bar provide essential food and refreshment.

The whole LCSI team has worked with The Wolds Collective. A robust business plan which encompasses their broader ambitions to create a new community arts facility, with an emphasis on helping people with special educational needs has been researched and written. The need to raise the profile of the Festival has been addressed by developing a new website – www.woldscollective.co.uk – plus a range of promotional material for the festival and the wider activities of the Wolds Collective. As part of the support package, LCSI enabled the Wolds Collective to become a member of the Association of Festival Organisers. This has helped the organisation to grow and develop by networking and learning from other festivals – on issues such as stewardship and sponsorship – as well as presenting great opportunities to find new talent. The Wolds Collective has also taken advantage of the Go See field research trips.In its turn, the Wolds Collective has supported the development of the creative economy, offering work to a number of the enterprises in the LCSI network, including musicians, bands and a website designer. It has also contributed to the push to get all

beneficiaries to up their green credentials. BEST, the Nottingham Trent University’s ERDF-funded programme, which worked with LCSI to enable beneficiaries to become more environmentally friendly, commissioned the Wolds Collective to create a case-study about its activities. The study was used by BEST as part of their workshop programmes.In a relatively short period of time, the Small World Festival has become another of Lincolnshire’s niche market festivals. Year on year, the Festival is mentioned in national publications and on international websites, ensuring both direct profile for the Festival, and ensuring Lincolnshire’s tourism offer continues to diversify and grow.In 2007 the Small World Festival attracted 534 day visitors and 228 overnight stays on the Badger Farm site. The Wolds Collective is confident that 2008 will see attendance figures increase again by at least one third.

Skegness Kite and Xfest – FESTIVALThe Skegness Kite and Xfest team promote the green agenda by respecting and working with natural elements of wind and sea to provide spectacular healthy outdoors activities. Their powerkite school also uses the natural elements and promotes respect for nature and the environment, teaching students how to use the power of the wind. As a FESTIVAL beneficiary the Skegness Surf and Kite Academy attended one of the BEST workshops organised by LCSI, and gained awareness of how their event could save energy and further protect the environment in future events. The use of recycling banks was encouraged during the 2007 festival. This will be continued at future events. Only two small generators were used for the whole of the festival. But ambitions are even higher than this.As a result of the Academy’s green credentials and promotion of an outdoors healthy lifestyle, it has won sponsorship for Xfest 2008 from energy giant Centrica, which is building two wind farms off the east coast. The organisers plan to use this as the primary source of power for the festival as soon as it becomes available.


Images left: Badger Farm, Lincolnshire – FESTIVAL. Photography by Alan Fletcher.


Through LCSI, money has been invested in local community projects and public art. Investment in artists, writers, musicians, performers and arts organisations has resulted in acclaimed new pieces of work and new events, installations and performances in communities across the county. The combined effects of LCSI investment and the engagement and commitment of other organisations have generated a number of positive outcomes for Lincolnshire and its residents:

• Increasing individuals’ self-confidence and sense of self-worth by engaging in positive activities.

• Extending residents’ involvement in social activity through community involvement in the development and delivery of local festivals.

• Stimulating interest in the arts and creative industries, both as a pastime and as a positive career opportunity.

• Contributing to the educational development of children and young people.

• Developing pride in local traditions and heritage.

The LCSI programme has acted as a catalyst for the development of the cultural offer of Lincolnshire through investment in community arts organisations and high-profile public art installations. This investment has contributed to the regeneration of deprived communities and led to further investment in the cultural infrastructure of the county. Specifically commissioned art works have contributed to the distinctiveness of two rural towns, helping to create a sense of place and contributing to the wider regeneration of some of Lincolnshire’s most deprived communities. These have also contributed to community cohesion, bringing communities together and fostering good relationships between different age groups, cultures and beliefs. Two new public art works have been funded:

• DEN – a project to build a large seating and play area with landscaping in the grounds of St John’s Church in Gainsborough, West Lindsey. The works provide a new green space and form part

of an ambitious development of the redundant church as a visual arts and community resource.

• Lost in Louth – a witty and innovative signage project to signpost local inhabitants and visitors to the newly renovated Gatherums green space in the centre of Louth, East Lindsey. Each of these public art works have contributed to the local distinctiveness of the area, and directly led to the increased use of open spaces, as well as enhancing the cultural tourism offer. The process of commissioning and completing the two major new artworks has not been without its challenges. The organic nature of the artistic process required time to enable artworks to evolve and to respond to the specific issues that each project sought to address. The time-limited nature of the LCSI programme also presented difficulties in securing planning permission in time for each of the projects to be completed.

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Images below and right: Lost in Louth by Rupert Clamp – ENHANCE. Photography by Alan Fletcher

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Lost in Louth – ENHANCEThe lively and inventive Lost in Louth ENHANCE programme was commissioned by the Gatherums and Springside Community Group with support from Ground Work East Midlands, East Lindsey District Council and project administrators Heather Connelly and Lucy Lumb. Artist Rupert Clamp designed a witty signage project. The artwork is a visual pun which references traditional heritage ‘blue signs’ to encourage local residents and visitors alike to become aware of, use and enjoy the Gatherums – a hidden green space right in the centre of Louth. When they were alerted to the ENHANCE scheme, the community group had already secured the funding needed to repair and widen the pathways leading into and through the Gatherums, and install new seating and planting. ‘Lost in Louth’ comprises a series plaques located around the town signposting the way to the space. Clamp researched the commission by stopping people in the street and asking them to tell him the way to the Gatherums. He took care to capture their exact turn of phrase, delighting in the

use of dialect and local lore where he found it. Each of the resulting signs is a direct quote from one of the people he interviewed. Commissioning for the public realm was a new area of activity for members of the Gatherums Group. The programme has involved them in a whole range of discussion and community consultation to shortlist and appoint the artist, secure planning permission and agree hand over of ownership of the completed work to East Lindsey District Council. As a result, the group has become more business-like in its approach to marketing, negotiation and financial record keeping. They used ENHANCE as a lever to secure funding from other sources, including Arts Council England and Awards for All, to enable the evolution of ‘Lost in Louth’ to be artist-led. This in turn meant that members of the community have had the opportunity to engage creatively with the work whist raising the profile of the community.

‘ Without LCSI, the Lost in Louth project would never have happened. The funding inspired us to develop a truly creative project. We had a very real need to raise awareness of the Gatherums and Springside area, but it also helped us to lever additional funding from Grants for the Arts, Arts Council England and Awards for All to deliver a wider range of community events to accompany and promote the permanent art works. The LCSI team helped us to make this happen. Their support has been invaluable. It has been a big learning curve, but one we feel has been truly worthwhile.’ Janet Hawson, Chair of Gatherums and Springside Regeneration Group

DEN – ENHANCEGainsborough is a recovering market town in the midst of regeneration, following on from the collapse of its engineering industry. Many buildings – warehouses, factories and churches – are redundant and have either been knocked down or re-purposed. The Church of St John the Divine in South-West ward is one such building. In its heyday it was a popular parish church playing an energetic role in the community – regularly drawing a congregation of 500 and running an enterprising mix of activities and events – including choirs, a band and societies. Then with the collapse of the town, it was declared redundant and stood empty for many years, surrounded by streets of run-down terraced houses inhabited by families who register high against indices of deprivation. It was recently purchased by Bend in the River, the town’s ambitious contemporary gallery and managed studio provider, and made over to Slumgothic Ltd and renamed X-church.

‘ The church is one vast, flexible space. Space is the key. Most residents of the ward do not have much space, be it personal, inside, outside or public. Slumgothic Ltd believes that giving the community access to space can only be a good thing – it allows people to relax, breathe, and stretch a little. DEN was conceived in this spirit – an outdoor space where people in the habit of rushing past their neighbours in a hurry can stop, talk and play. The intention is that it will actively contribute to community cohesion. DEN drew inspiration from innovative play schemes in Scandinavia, robust spaces where children’s imaginations are released. The thinking was that given its gritty environment a subtle solution would work best.

For DEN we wanted a straightforward, spade’s-a-spade, physically robust solution that just worked in a self-evident kind of a way. We are aiming for a new, arts-charged building as deeply embedded in its community as the original church, around which the ward was originally built.’The plan is that DEN will be the foundation stone upon which the whole re-development of St John’s will be built. It has been designed and delivered by the same designers working on the church and the rest of the grounds, ensuring an integrated vision for the project. DEN was developed in partnership with the Gainsborough Play Association (GAPA). During summer 2007 the Performing Arts Club started, and 50 local kids have become members. Plans for 2008 include using DEN for small-scale outdoor productions, puppet plays and story telling. X-church is steadily evolving into a place that communicates care and positivity to its community. It is a force for good behaviour in an area characterised by anti-social behaviour. It has turned a corner. Crime and vandalism around the church are significantly reduced. It is over a year since a used needle has been found. If there are noisy kids around now, the chances are that they are members of the Performing Arts Club.

‘ DEN demonstrates how a derelict and run-down area can be transformed into green space and a play area for local children.’

Marcus Hammond, Slumgothic Ltd

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‘ The intention is to return it to the community of South West ward and wider Gainsborough as a revitalised arts and community building. X-church will become a place where visual arts and other things can happen.’

Images on this page: X-church, Slumgothic Ltd – ENHANCE. Photography by Alan Fletcher

Broadening horizons and increasing access to the artsIncreasing access to the arts in rural areas is rarely straightforward. Rural areas share some of the same issues as many urban areas but some problems, such as remoteness from basic public services and poor public transport are particularly acute in rural areas. These issues make it much more difficult for people to access the richness and diversity of Lincolnshire’s cultural offer. The LCSI programme has been able to support cultural organisations that have had a positive impact on rural communities. For example, the Beacon Artproject is enjoying success in taking rural audiences to diverse and unusual venues for artwork across the county.The Beacon Artproject has not only broadened access to the arts – it has also enabled local people to access heritage sites and buildings that are not normally open to public, further broadening the appreciation of the cultural offer of the county.

Beacon Artproject – FESTIVALJohn Plowman and his wife Nicola moved from London to Lincolnshire. They bought a derelict chapel in Wellingore that offered an opportunity to create a big open space in which to live and work. Having moved from the bustle and multitude of galleries and arts facilities in London, the difficulties of accessing art in the large and remote county of Lincolnshire became obvious very quickly. From this realisation emerged the idea for the Beacon Artproject – if it is difficult for a rural audience to get to see art, why not take the audience to the art?The Beacon Artproject was launched in 2004. The Project took its mission literally – taking audiences on coach trips around heritage sites in rural Lincolnshire where innovative artworks are shown. The idea of using heritage sites as exhibition space reflected an understanding that artists do not need conventional gallery spaces to show and look at art. Originally intended as a one-off, the success of the project and continued support from LCSI and other funders, including Arts Council East Midlands, has enabled the project to run annually – reflecting the innovative and high quality work that is tackling head-on the problem of accessing art in rural areas. In its first year Beacon attracted almost 800 participants, increasing to more than 1,000 for the 2007 edition.Beacon’s 2007 edition, held on the east coast in Mablethorpe, benefited considerably from a relationship with Wolds Words Festival (another LCSI beneficiary). Joint marketing and publicity ensured deeper media penetration, whilst widening the audience base of both Festivals.

Enhancing community vibrancyIn addition to supporting physical developments and investment in arts-led community organisations, LCSI has helped generate and/or sustain important benefits for local communities through raising the profile of arts and culture and through cultural rebranding to attract new business and boost tourism. LCSI has played a part in the ongoing work to enable the town of Sleaford to use culture to transform this market town as a centre for arts and cultural activity. By working closely with artsNK, LCSI’s commitment to invest has enabled the establishment of a new cultural festival for Sleaford. This helped the development of the arts in the town and has generated economic benefits through the attraction of visitors and expenditure. FESTIVAL provided core funding to secure a consultant to advise the Sleaford Festival Group, to build resources for the festival itself and to embed it within the community of Sleaford. LCSI FESTIVAL consultants also worked with the Sleaford Festival Group to produce a plan for the sustainable future of the festival. The plan included securing ongoing support from Sleaford Town Council and a number of local businesses.The first Sleaford Arts Festival took place in September 2007 attracting an estimated 2,000 people. A strong commitment

to creativity underpinned the Festival design, evident in the procession which, picking up on the dragon sculpture that sits in the centre of Sleaford, had a fire eating theme. Responses from those attending the Festival indicate it has helped generate a real sense of pride in the town. Similarly, the Wolds Words Festival has raised aspirations in Louth – and has directly contributed to the establishment of new public art projects in the town via the Lost in Louth artworks. LCSI support for the performing arts has also increased the provision of artistic performances across Lincolnshire with grants awarded to five performing arts organisations, helping to expand provision and enable performances to be delivered to a wider audience across the county. The Rhubarb Theatre Company is a prime example of how LCSI support has broadened access to the performing arts – particularly amongst children and young people.

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Image below: Sleaford Arts Festival – FESTIVAL

Rhubarb Theatre Company – GROWRhubarb Theatre Company was established in 2000 as a theatre and drama resource for Lincolnshire, taking theatre workshops into schools and communities around the county. Their work has an important role in children’s development, helping to build self-confidence using fun and educational theatre games. Rhubarb is now a full time Children’s Theatre Company touring throughout the East Midlands – bringing the theatre to venues as diverse as family centres, youth clubs, schools, art centres, castle grounds and museums.LCSI has played a part in Rhubarb’s transformation. One of the LCSI business advisors worked with them to re-examine and re-focus their business. This resulted in the development of a three year business plan to guide the development and

expansion of the company. In addition to the advice provided by GROW, the directors of Rhubarb were able to improve their own skills, by attending training days on a variety of business topics including finance, marketing and business planning.Rhubarb pitched successfully for one of the LCSI financial grants which allowed Rhubarb to publish ‘SHHH’, a storytelling book that extended the creative cachet of their work and introduced a sustainable publishing arm to their portfolio. The book had an immediate impact on the company’s turnover. Publishing the book and the opportunity to attend LCSI networking events has raised the profile of Rhubarb, leading to increased access to new venues for their work.

‘ Rhubarb Theatre found LCSI’s advice, support, networking and training to be invaluable.’ Kirsty Mead, Rhubarb Theatre Company

Image below: Rhubarb Theatre Company – GROW

Image below: Beacon Artproject – FESTIVAL. Photography by Simon Steven


LCSI has given the creative and cultural industries in Lincolnshire an identity. Rather than being a collection of disparate creatives, agencies and arts organisations, there is now a sense of a thriving and dynamic creative industries sector in Lincolnshire. The creative and cultural landscape of Lincolnshire has changed significantly over the three years – and LCSI has been a catalyst for some of this change.LCSI does not claim to be responsible for the presence of the creative enterprises and organisations in the county –many existed before LCSI came along, and others have developed independently over the past three years. Rather, the initiative has played an important role in bringing agencies, organisations and facilities together in a way that has not happened before in Lincolnshire.LCSI’s success as both a strategic enabler and as a central source of support and guidance to creative industries across the county has led to the creative and cultural industries having a much greater profile in the eyes of public agencies, local authorities and the sector itself. The sector is now recognised as having a key role to play in the economic and social development of the county, and has been identified as a priority sector in the Economic Development block of the new Lincolnshire Local

Area Agreement (LAA) – the new contract with the Government setting out the priorities for the county. The LAA also highlights the need for further broadening of arts, cultural and heritage activities in the future. In this study, the economic and business development impacts of investment in the creative industries. LCSI directly supported 80 creative enterprises, 23 cultural festival editions and two public art programmes of the county’s 2000 creative enterprises and 100 cultural festivals. The impact of this investment clearly demonstrates that further investment in a higher proportion of the sector in the future would generate greater impacts.Cultural tourism and the creative industries need to be valued for their capacity to enrich individual lives and to strengthen local communities. Cultural value and economic growth are understood to be interrelated: the LCSI experience has demonstrated that the development of both cultural tourism and the creative industries is not only an economic driver, but also a means of building a sense of place and local distinctiveness.

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‘ As with cities and counties throughout the UK, Lincolnshire has recognised the important role the creative and cultural sectors play in social, cultural and economic regeneration. Lincolnshire’s creative enterprises now possess a confidence not to be found a decade ago. They have an identity and profile that is enabling their businesses and festivals to contribute to county and regional economies. Lincolnshire is a much richer place to live, work and visit due to the sector’s increased confidence.’ David Lambert, LCSI

Image left: Sparkhouse, University of Lincoln – SEED. Photography by Alan Fletcher

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Over the past three years LCSI has played an important role in developing the creative and cultural landscape of Lincolnshire. Each strand of the programme has been successful – and the support has been valued, not least because it provided a form of support that was not previously available in the county.The investment has enabled the continued survival of many small creative businesses in the county, and has encouraged and helped new businesses to form. This support has enabled beneficiaries to be better equipped and skilled to compete in the marketplace, and to overcome the challenges many face in operating in such a large and predominantly rural county. Throughout the three years of the LCSI programme, there has been a steady coming together of festival organisations. They have demonstrated that they are more forward looking and optimistic about their future, in part due to FESTIVAL support to underpin organisational development. It is, of course, important to stress that the success of the festivals is above all due to the commitment and dedication of their organisers. Often volunteers, it is these people who are the real drivers of the diverse range of festivals and events that take place across the county every year.

Those who have benefited from LCSI support have highlighted the value of networking and professional contacts, raising the profile of the creative sector in the county and the help LCSI has specifically targeted to start-ups and small businesses. This has provided many of them with advice, support, business development and investment appropriate to their individual needs and their commercial and creative ambitions.Beyond the immediate impact of the programme on the creative businesses and festivals supported, the initiative has enabled a culture shift in the profile and appreciation of the creative and cultural sectors as drivers of economic and social regeneration. This is reflected in the on-going commitment to the sector amongst agencies and local authorities across the county – from the sector’s inclusion in Lincolnshire’s Local Area Agreement and an increased profile in local authorities around the county, to the commitment of partners such as Lincolnshire Tourism and Lincolnshire Enterprise to the continued development of the sector. LCSI has successfully achieved many of its original objectives – in some areas, over achieved. It has been successful in establishing a focal point for the creative industries in Lincolnshire, creating a higher profile for the sector, improving business practice, and stimulating a more coordinated approach to supporting the sector.

Sustaining change: post-LCSI14

Image right: The Terrace, Lincoln. Photography by

Alan Fletcher

Image below: Michael Sanders,

Artist, being measured for a suit

in Louth for a new performance piece

– GROW. Photography by Alan Fletcher

41

Looking to the futureWith the investment made through the LCSI programme, many businesses and other creative organisations across the county have been assisted to identify and overcome problems they faced in seeking to develop their businesses and festivals. Increased connectivity has contributed to overturning the barriers created by the vast size and rural character of Lincolnshire.However, the sector still faces many challenges. The creative organisations and businesses that have not been supported number many more than those that have received support. This is, in part, due to the amount of funding available, and in part due to the restrictions of European funding in terms of the geographic locations (defined by postal codes) in which funding could be spent.There is an on-going need for continued investment and support for the creative industries all across Lincolnshire – and there is potential to achieve much more, capitalising on the building blocks of LCSI. Having laid the groundwork for the continued success of the creative industries and having raised expectations amongst those active in the sector, there is a danger that with the end of the LCSI programme there will be a loss of momentum.Festivals in particular, have ongoing concerns over fundraising to ensure the continuation of events into the future. In recognition of this LCSI is working with Lincolnshire Tourism on a plan to hand over the baton of support. Active work is in hand to place a new Festival Forum under their wing, with support from local authorities and regional stakeholders. The Forum is envisaged as a collaboration of key festivals providing opportunities for joint marketing, training and capacity building. Following a special networking event to discuss the Forum concept, a group of leading FESTIVAL beneficiaries attended the AOIFE (Association of Irish Festivals and Events) Conference in Ireland in November 2007. This field research demonstrated

the benefit of establishing an on-going festival support organisation further. Meanwhile, Lincolnshire Tourism is advocating the value to the tourist economy of the county.What LCSI has shown is that the creative and cultural industries need a dedicated champion to provide central strategic leadership to ensure the sector does not re-fragment back to its pre-LCSI state.Beyond the business development and co-ordination needs of the sector, there are a range of important issues that continue to limit the growth of the sector. Addressing these issues requires a co-ordinated approach to ensure the continued success of Lincolnshire’s creative industries.In considering the future of the sector, the following priorities must be addressed:

• The appointment of a creative and cultural industries champion is needed to provide leadership at a senior level to drive the sector forward.

• Co-ordination of business support services and further supply chain development through a central gateway.

• Support for closer integration of business-related and arts-related services.

• Stronger linkages between festivals and tourism.

• Improving graduate retention in the county.

• Increasing affordable incubator workspace.

• Promoting Lincolnshire as the home of a successful and dynamic creative industries sector.

• Joined-up working across local authorities, agencies and organisations.

There are new and exciting developments that promise to benefit Lincolnshire’s creative and cultural industries including:

• The Coastal Action Zone is attracting the investment of significant resources to raise the economic performance and enhance the cultural, sporting and creative offer of coastal Lincolnshire.

• The SEAS project – a high-profile, European project supported by Arts Council England and East Lindsey District Council – will bring leading cutting-edge arts practice to the coastal strip.Such initiatives offer real opportunities to capitalise on the success of LCSI in galvanising the sector and in bringing greater recognition and focus to the creative and cultural industries.



Measure 1.2 Financial Support for SMEs and the Social Economy

Outputs Target Actual Variance

No of SMEs receiving financial support 24 24 --

No of new start SMEs receiving 6 8 +2 financial support

Results

Gross new jobs 6 7 +1

Impacts

Net additional employment 1 1 --

Net employment safeguarded 24 27 +3

Environmental outputs

% SMEs signposted to 100% 100% -- environmental support

Equal opportunities outputs

No. of SMEs assisted from 8 15 +7 targeted groups

Female owned SMEs assisted 7 14 +7

New start businesses assisted 1 2 +1 from targeted groups

No. of new businesses started 2 5 +3 by women assisted

ICT outputs

% of financial interventions leading 50% 100% +50% to enhanced use of ICT

Measure 1.3 Business development support for SMEs and community enterprises


No of SMEs assited 56 56 --

No. of new start SMEs assisted 10 12 +2

Results

Gross new jobs 10 10 --

10% increase in turnover in SMEs 10% 78% +68% assisted in 12 months

Impacts

Net additional employment 21 -- -21

Net employment safeguarded 35 58 +23

% new starts surviving 75% 100% +25% after 12 months




No. of SMEs assisted from 22 31 +9 targeted groups

Female owned SMEs assisted 20 27 +7

New start businesses from 3 5 +2 target groups

New start businesses owned 2 5 +3 by women

ICT outputs

% ICT Business support delivered 100% 100% --

Other indicators

3 New clusters created and supported 3 10 +7

New Creative Networks (Pools) est. 3 11 +8

Measure 3b.1 Sustainable rural communities


Image improvement schemes 3 2 -1

Local festivals 23 23 --

Results

New jobs created 15 -- -15

Impacts

% Increase in visitor number to festivals 15% 65.5% +50.5%

% increase in SME revenues 15% -- -15% in vicinity of project



% of festivals involved in 20% 42% +22% environmental schemes


No. of specific community groups 3 8 +5 assisted from target groups

ICT outputs

% financial interventions leading to 90% 100% +10% enhanced use of ICT

Other indicators

Formally constituted festival 5 5 -- organisations

ERDF output summaryA

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The economic analysis is based on the concept that expenditure by those attending the festivals, together with any associated subsidy, enters the local economy. The exception is where the spending is on goods or services provided by out-of area businesses temporarily operating in Lincolnshire. Festival organisers have provided an indication of the extent to which resourcing of festival organisation takes spending out of the local area but, in the main, festival organisers have a policy of local procurement where possible. For this reason we have assumed that much of the expenditure is retained within the county.An analysis of the impact of these festivals on the local economy was undertaken utilising data gathered from the festival organisers and the evaluation studies that have been produced for each festival. A framework was assembled to calculate the economic impact of festival attendees on the local economy based on data relating to visitor numbers, types and estimated levels of primary and secondary expenditure generated. This includes direct ticket purchase, spending on travel and accommodation, food and drink, festival merchandise and other shopping.For each of these elements, related to each of the festivals, differential factors were selected to take account as far as possible the known characteristics of the attendances. Using data of the value and impact of tourism in Lincolnshire carried out by Global Tourism Solutions (UK) Ltd and their STEAM (Scarborough

Tourism Economic Activity Monitor) model, estimates of expenditure were calculated for each festival, and aggregated to provide an estimated total of expenditure in the county. On this basis, the direct and indirect impacts were assessed.Where possible we have sought to divide festival goers into three categories:

• Local attendees (assumed to spend an average of £10 per head.

• Day visitors (assumed to spend an average of £25 per head) .

• Staying visitors (assumed to spend £41 per person per night). The estimates of impact also take account of the fact that direct spending in the local economy induces further economic activity. Wages paid to staff are recycled in part into local purchases, supplies bought from local companies create further purchases by suppliers, of which some will be locally sourced. This multiplier effect is complex and there are no hard and fast rules about the extent to which tourism spending induces further activity in a local economy. Based on a review of studies elsewhere in the UK (focussing particularly on other largely rural communities), a conservative estimate of the multiplier factor is appropriate.

The most detailed UK study of this effect to date has been the Scottish Tourism Multiplier Study (1992), and guidance from that has been followed here. Taking into account the range of factors covering different modes of expenditure, an overall multiplier effect of 1.26 has been incorporated to estimate the induced effects on turnover in the local economy.The gross impact of festivals derived from the above approach have been adjusted to reflect factors such as leakage, deadweight and displacement. The figures presented in the main body of the report represent the additional economic activity that would not otherwise have happened without the festivals taking place.Necessarily, a good deal of estimation is involved, since hard data is not available for all these factors. Where estimates have been necessary, a conservative line has been taken.

Method for estimating festival impactB

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Alan Lowes Alan Lowes GROW www.alanlowes.com

Abalino Dance Theatre Alice Cade FLOURISH Dance www.abalino.com

Amanda Coleman Amanda Coleman GROW www.amandacoleman.co.uk

Anwick Forge Fran Mackereth/Tim Mackereth GROW www.anwickforge.co.uk

Alexis Rago Alexis Rago GROW www.alexisrago.com

Art on the Map Mandy Baker FESTIVAL www.artonthemap.org.uk

Ashi Marwaha Ashi Marwaha GROW www.ashimarwaha.com

Festival of Bathing Beauties Michael Trainor/Helen Matthews FESTIVAL www.bathingbeauties.org.uk

Beacon Artproject John Plowman/Nicola Plowman FESTIVAL www.beaconartproject.com

Bharat Khandekar Stringed Instrument Specialist Bharat Khandekar FLOURISH Art on the Map www.stringedinstrument specialist.com

Bob Armstrong Bob Armstong GROW www.bobarmstrongartist.co.uk

Blow by Blow Productions Andy Blow GROW www.blowbyblow.co.uk

Busy Pencils Keith Marron FLOURISH Art on the Map www.busypencils.co.uk

Bruce Duncan Encaustic Art Bruce Duncan FLOURISH Art on the Map www.bruceduncanart.co.uk

Centre for Asian Performance Arya Madhavan/Shreenath Nair GROW

Charlotte Lister Charlotte Lister GROW www.charlielisterglass.co.uk

Cold Hanworth Forge & Blacksmithing School Bob Oakes FLOURISH Art on the Map www.coldhanworthforge.com

Dan McCaughern Dan McCaughern GROW www.danmccaughern.com

Dead Pixel Cash Garman/Anthony Brooks/Ben Holgate SEED www.dead-pixel.co.uk

DD Designs Denise Dean GROW www.dd-designs.co.uk

Denis Woodcraft Denis Woodcraft GROW www.deniswoodcraft.com

Dream Catcher Paul Sutherland/Afifa Sutherland/Charles Cooke/ Joe Warne SEED www.poetrymagazines.co.uk

Electric Egg Steve Hatton/Neil Baker SEED www.electricegg.co.uk

Forge Arts Graham Perkins GROW www.forgearts.co.uk

Gainsborough Riverside Festival Angela Porter/Shirley Hill/ David Dobbie FESTIVAL www.west-lindsey.gov.uk

Gary Woods Gary Woods GROW www.garywoods.co.uk

Green Bean Dance Katie Green FLOURISH Dance www.greenbeandance.co.uk

Heyes Ensemble Nikki-Kate Heyes GROW www.heyes-ensemble.co.uk

Holdingham Bears Barbara Daughtrey GROW www.holdinghambears.com

Inside Out Dance Company Kayla Dougan Bowtell GROW www.insideoutdance.co.uk

James Fleming James Fleming GROW www.shype.co.uk

Janet Schooley Janet Schooley GROW www.janetschooley.com

Janet Waring Janet Waring SEED www.janetwaring.com

Jaq McCaughern Jaq McCaughern GROW www.jaqmccaughern.com

Jivefusion Andrew Deighton FLOURISH Dance www.jivefusion.co.uk

John Lincoln John Lincoln FLOURISH Art on the Map www.art-insight.co.uk

LB Ceramics Lizzie Brown FLOURISH Art on the Map www.lbceramics.com

Libby Battaglia Performing Arts Libby Battaglia FLOURISH Art on the Map www.libbybattaglia.co.uk

Lincoln Academy of Dramatic Arts Jennifer Birch GROW www.lada.org.uk

Lincoln and Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival David Cox/Cathy Platt/ Rod Callow/Viv McVeagh FESTIVAL www.licmf.org.uk

Lincoln Pen Company Steve Kendall GROW www.lincolnpen.co.uk

Little Big Designs Wayne Thornton SEED www.littlebigdesigns.co.uk

Lincolnshire Dance Keyna Paul FLOURISH Dance www.lincolnshiredance.com

Lyn Lovitt Lyn Lovitt GROW www.lynlovitt.com

Mary Mary Mosaics Sarah Graves SEED www.marymarymosaics.co.uk

Michael Nicholls Michael Nicholls GROW www.michael-nicholls.co.uk

Mick Paine Mick Paine GROW www.mickpaine.com

List of beneficiariesC

45


Michael Sanders Michael Sanders GROW www.eastcomplex.com

Martin Griffiths Martin Griffiths FLOURISH Art on the Map www.martingriffiths.net

Moonjump Andy Cowe GROW Art on the Map www.moonjump.biz

Music in the Marshes Steve Hendry/Pete Connor/ Mark Merrifield FESTIVAL www.marshmusic.co.uk

Gambia Afrobeat Mahtar Sohna GROW www.gambiaafrobeat.co.uk

Nigel Sardeson Nigel Sardeson FLOURISH Art on the Map www.sardesonsculpture.co.uk

Paul Sutherland Paul Sutherland GROW

Peter Montgomery Peter Montgomery FLOURISH Art on the Map www.artistpetermontgomery.co.uk

Peter Moss Peter Moss FLOURISH Art on the Map www.petermoss.me.uk

Richard Devereux Richard Devereux GROW www.devereuxart.co.uk

Riverbank Studios John Gray/Helen Webber FLOURISH Art on the Map www.riverbank-studios.co.uk

Rogersforge Studio & Gallery Roger Lee FLOURISH Art on the Map www.rogersforge.co.uk

Rosalyn Spencer Rosalyn Spencer GROW www.rosalynspencer.co.uk

Amie Slavin Amie Slavin GROW www.roughdiamondproductions.co.uk

Rhubarb Theatre Company Kirsty Mead/Philip Mead GROW www.rhubarbtheatre.co.uk

Skegness Kite & X Fest Christina Redford/Helen Parsons FESTIVAL www.skegx.co.uk

Sleaford Arts Festival Debbie Scott/Elaine Knight FESTIVAL Sleaford Town Council www.sleafordartsfestival.co.uk

Small World Susi Mulligan (chair) FESTIVAL www.woldscollective.co.uk

Slumgothic Marcus Hammond ENHANCE www.bendintheriver.co.uk

St. Cuthbert’s House Rachel Denton GROW www.stcuthbertshouse.co.uk

Stage Academy Donna Squires FLOURISH Dance

StageCAM Media Shaun Hepple/Stephen Winter SEED www.stagecam.co.uk

Streetbeat Movement Academy Julie Lowe/Hayley Evans FLOURISH Dance www.streetbeatma.co.uk

Streetz Ahead Theatre Artz Adele Dewell FLOURISH Dance

Sue McGough Performing Arts Sue McGough FLOURISH Dance

Syncopated Sounds Co Ltd Heather Kay Benson and Crauford Thomson GROW www.54-north.co.uk

Tales from the Heartwood David Judd/Joy Pitt GROW www.talesfromtheheartwood.co.uk

Tape Noise David Wright FLOURISH www.tapenoise.co.uk

The Basket Case Susi Mulligan GROW www.woldscollective.co.uk

The Big Sky Card Co. Ann Evans GROW www.bigskycard.co.uk

CREDO Andrea Martin/Jeremy Webster FESTIVAL Celebrating Collections www.lincolnshire.gov.uk

The End Room Steve Leaning FLOURISH Art on the Map www.theendroom.co.uk

The Gatherums and Springside Regeneration Group Janet Hawson/Jean Howard/ Rod Baddon/Lucy Lumb ENHANCE www.creativeregeneration.com www.gatherumsandspringside.blogspot.com

The Mini Morris Company Liam Robinson FLOURISH Dance www.minimorris.co.uk

Theatre Maker Al Muir GROW www.theatremaker.co.uk

Tom Mulligan Tom Mulligan FLOURISH Art on the Map www.celticlincs.co.uk

Tim Rinaldi Furniture Tim Rinaldi GROW www.rinaldifurniture.co.uk

Vision 4 Brian Altoft GROW www.vision4.tv

Ping Creative Wayne Lockwood GROW www.pingcreative.co.uk

West Lindsey Churches Festival Mirella Clark/Mike Gough FESTIVAL www.churchesfestival.com

Anya Ison Wallace Dance Anya Ison Wallace GROW www.danceuk.org

Wolds Words Nicki Gardner/Debbie Dennis/Keith Butters/Melanie Joy/ Ruth Neller/Sara Beasley/ Hannah Wood FESTIVAL www.woldswords.org.uk

Zoo Tracy Wright GROW www.zooceramics.co.uk

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Adroit would like to thank the following:

Lucy Lumb The Gatherums and Springside Regeneration Group

Marcus Hammond Slumgothic Ltd

Angela Porter Gainsborough Riverside Festival

Christina Redford Skegness Surf and Kite Academy

Helen Matthews Mablethorpe and Sutton Tourism Forum

John Plowman Beacon Artproject

Mandy Baker Art on the Map

Mirella Clark West Lindsey District Council – West Lindsey Churches Festival

Steve Hendry Marsh Music Ltd

Susi Mulligan Small World

Peter Moss

Gary Woods

Kayla Dougan Bowtel Inside Out Dance Company

Alexis Rago

Amie Slavin

Andy Blow Blow by Blow Productions

Ashi Marwaha

Barbara Daughtrey Holdingham Bears

Kirsty Mead Rhubarb Theatre

Lyn Lovitt

Mick Paine

Tim and Fran Mackereth Anwick Forge

Wayne Lockwood Ping Creative

Neil Baker Electric Egg

Jonathan Platt Lincolnshire County Council

Sara Bullimore Lincoln City Council

Mandy Ramm Lincoln City Council & Creative Industries Workspace

Nicki Gardner East Lindsey District Council

Penny Baker Lincolnshire Tourism

Andrew Sissons The Prince’s Trust

Sybil Burgess Independent Consultant

Will Bedford Lincolnshire Enterprise

Richard Hadley Festival Forum

Nick Jones artsNK

Simon Wesley Business Link East Midlands

Andrew Stevenson University of Lincoln

Tina Smith & John Cairns Arts Council England East Midlands

Steering group members

Mandy Baker Art on the Map

Penny Baker Lincolnshire Tourism

Barry Higham Boston District Council

Sara Bullimore Lincoln City Council

David Popple South Kesteven District Council

Clare Edwards Design Factory

Elaine Knight artsNK

Nicki Gardner East Lindsay District Council

Nick Jones artsNK

Mandy Ramm Lincoln City Council

Kate Mear Lincoln City Council

James McVeigh Arts Council England East Midlands

John Owens and Simon Wesley Business Link

Mary Powell Lincolnshire County Council

Marcus Hammond Bend in the River

Andrew Sissons The Prince’s Trust

Tina Smith Arts Council England East Midlands

Andrew Stevenson University of Lincoln/ Sparkhouse Studios

Alison Walker West Lindsey District Council

Brian Winston Lincoln University

LCSI steering group membersD Impact study

consulteesF

LCSI Team

David Lambert LCSI Programme Originator

Jonathan Platt Lincolnshire County Council, Head of Heritage, Regeneration and Improvement – Liaison Officer

Brigid Howarth & Susie O’Reilly Project Managers

Rachel Hoyles Administration

Kevin Jebson Business Advisor

Pete Mosley Business Advisor

Richard Hadley FESTIVAL consultant

LCSI project teamE

47


Additionality Additionality is the extent to which funding generates benefits that would not have occurred without the grant, subsidy or technical support.

Beneficiary A business or organisation that receives a financial grant or subsidy, or technical support.

Capacity building A commonly used term for initiatives which are designed to improve the ability of communities, businesses or groups of individuals to take the lead in their own social and economic development.

Clustering An industry cluster is a grouping of related industries and institutions in an area or region. The industries are inter-linked and connected in many different ways. Some industries in the cluster will be suppliers to others; some will be buyers from others; some will share labour or resources. The important thing about a cluster is that the industries within the cluster are economically linked, they both collaborate and compete and are, to some degree, dependant upon each other; and ideally, they take advantage of synergies.

Creative industries The creative industries are those industries that are based on individual creativity, skill and talent. They are also those that have the potential to create wealth and jobs through developing intellectual property.

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Set up in 1975, ERDF is designed to stimulate development in less prosperous areas of the European Union.

Only certain parts of Lincolnshire, defined by post code, were eligible to benefit from ERDF assistance during the 2000-2006 round of ERDF. Furthermore, the support offered by ERDF to LCSI, could

only be offered to those in the full ERDF areas (as opposed to the transitional areas).

The full ERDF areas included all of North Kesteven, West and East Lindsey Districts and certain wards of Lincoln City and Boston. FESTIVAL was funded under a rural support measure, which did not cover any part of Lincoln City

Financial Grants Funding awarded to start-ups, creative industries and cultural organisations.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Gross Domestic Product is a measure of the total economic activity occurring in an area. It is made up of the total value added of activities which produce goods and services; incomes earned from the production of goods and services; and expenditure made in consuming finished goods.

Gross Value Added (GVA) GVA is an indicator of wealth creation and measures the contribution to the economy of each individual producer, industry or sector in the economy. It is generally regarded as the best measure of the sum of economic activity within an area.

Local Area Agreement (LAA) Agreement made between central and local government in a local area lasting three years. Their aim is to achieve local solutions that meet local needs, while also contributing to national priorities and the achievement of standards set by central government.

LCSI Lincolnshire Creative Solutions Initiative.

Multiplier effect The ‘multiplier’ is a concept from economics based on the idea that money which enters an economy has a cumulative impact on the economy in the way people spend and re-spend money. According to the multiplier effect, more re-spending in the local economy means a higher multiplier effect because more income is generated for individuals and organisations in that local economy.

Networking The methods by which individuals, businesses and agencies are linked to each other through formal and informal relationships, events and other methods of communication.

NESTA The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts was set up by Act of Parliament in 1998. Its purpose is to help create a vibrant, dynamic culture and economy by supporting and promoting innovation and creativity in the UK.

Regional Economic Strategy (RES) The East Midlands Regional Economic Strategy, published by East Midlands Development Agency, sets the framework for ensuring the long term sustainable economic growth of the region, supported by a range of actions to ensure the vision is achieved.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) SMEs are small-scale entrepreneurial private enterprises: they are usually defined as having less than 250 employees, but most have far fewer.

Financial subsidies Monies spent to the benefit of creative enterprises and start-up businesses by Lincolnshire County Council.

Supply chain The supply chain is the flow of materials involved in producing a product from start to finish. A supply chain, logistics network, or supply network is the system of organisations, people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer.

GlossaryG

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Jonathan Platt Head of Heritage, Regeneration and Improvement Lincolnshire County Council County Offices Newland Lincoln LN1 1YL

T 01522 553294 E [email protected] www.lcsi.org.uk

Image: Peter Moss – FLOURISH. Photography by Alan Fletcher

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lincolnshire creative solutions initiative: celebrating sucess

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