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tom fleming /creative consultancy / Analysis of the Current Approach & Delivery of Arts Award July 2010 www.tfconsultancy.co.uk

Contents tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

1. Introduction This short report is based on a sharp and targeted research exercise to assess the regional delivery mechanism for Arts Award (called the regional development programme). It is commissioned by Arts Council England (ACE). The Arts Award regional development programme currently serves several key functions within the Arts Award delivery model: - Regional advocacy: To raise awareness of Arts Award and encourage organisations and local authorities to consider running the award, including working in partnership - Communications & marketing: To promote Arts Award adviser training and to handle regional communications with trained advisers and other professionals - Training co-ordination: To co-ordinate a regional network of training agencies and maintain an ongoing training programme - Adviser support: To offer regional support to trained advisers between training and first moderation, including organising public moderations Regional development coordinators and managers work to the joint delivery plan agreed by ACE and Trinity Guildhall - who run and accredit Arts Award in partnership with ACE. The coordinators (or ‘agencies’) are managed by ACE and supported by Trinity. They work towards annual regional goals for trained Arts Award advisers and moderations of young people. They work in collaboration with the Arts Council’s regional offices, who may also indicate regional priorities for strategic work. • 1.1. Research Tasks • Our research explored how the current model delivers against the objectives set by ACE and introduces options for improving the model. • Research was based upon a set of in-depth interviews with Arts Award Regional Development Co-ordinators (RDCs) and Regional Development Managers (RDMs). It also involved ongoing conversations with ACE senior staff (Learning & Skills), ACE regional staff and the Arts Award national team at Trinity Guildhall. A full list of consultees is provided in Appendix 1. • 1.2 Research Outcomes • This report is for internal use only. Its purpose is to develop understanding of the current strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for the current Arts Award delivery model and to identify options for improvement. • This is not a full strategic report and it is not an evaluation of Arts Award. Its role is as a practical tool to help give clarity on current practice and to identify provisional options going forward. This comes at a critical time – with RDC/Ms currently contracted to April 2011 and the wider arts and education landscape undergoing substantial reform. This raises the stakes, making it all the more important that a clear and agreed path be drawn for Arts Award that maximises its qualities and improves its practical delivery. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

2. Arts Award – Current Delivery Model 2.1 What is Arts Award? Arts Award offers young people aged 11-25 the opportunity to extend their engagement with the arts, build creative and leadership skills, and to achieve a national qualification. Arts Award offers three levels of engagement: Bronze, Silver and Gold. All three levels provide an opportunity for young people to develop a portfolio in their chosen format and gain a nationally recognised qualification. Bronze Arts Award: selecting an art form, basic research, hands on involvement in activities and sharing knowledge gained. Results in Level 1 national qualification. Silver Arts Award: approximately 60 hours to complete, two units – arts practice and arts leadership, further understanding of chosen art form, community engagement, demonstration of arts leadership qualities. Results in Level 2 national qualification. Gold Arts Award: young people are expected to work as an arts practitioner, and extend their creativity, communication, planning, teamwork and leadership skills through personal arts development and demonstrating arts project leadership. Results in Level 3 national qualification and is recognised by UCAS (35 points). In January 2010 the programme entered its fifth year of operation. By 2007 it had already delivered its first 1,000 Arts Awards nationally and by 2009 this number had risen to 23,500. 2.2 Aims and Objectives Arts Award’s mission is to help young people”enjoy the arts, develop creative & leadership skills, gain a credible national qualification & find [their]creative future!” Arts Award aims to support young people who want to deepen their engagement with the arts, build creative and leadership skills, and to achieve a national qualification. It does this through its national delivery plan designed to help achieve target growth in participation within the year, as well as development work which supports both medium-term growth and objectives for reach, engagement and progression. The national development framework is supported by regional development frameworks (developed by the regional teams). tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

2.3 Arts Award structure ACE Head Office WEBSITE NATIONAL ACE Head of Arts Award Development Trinity Guildhall ACE Regional Offices Local Authorities Regional Development Teams E EM L NE NW SE SW WM YH REGIONAL RDM RDC RDC RDC RDM RDC RDC RDM RDC RDA RDA RDA Free- lance The Arts Award Regional Development Teams lead on strategic development and promotion of the award in their region, working closely with the Arts Council England, other regional bodies and local authorities. Several regions work through consortia to achieve this. The result is a carefully constructed team whose role is to raise the profile of the award and drive participation across the regions, working towards agreed regional goals. Training Agencies & Delivery Partners tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

2.4 Arts Award Regional Development Overview tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

3. The Experience of Delivery – the RDC Perspective • Below we summarise the perspectives of Arts Award RDCs, with a focus on practical delivery and management issues. These are based on interviews with RDCs. • 3.1 Roles, responsibilities & experiences • As indicated in Section 2 above, regional organisational structures vary. Generally, the Regional Development Coordinators (RDCs) work alone, and the Regional Development Managers (RDM) have an assistant. The RDMs are more experienced and have been there from the start of the programme. All work part time, and this ranges between 2.5-4 days a week. • The RDC/M usually works at a comparable levbel to an Arts Council officer (i.e. starting salary c £25k), although ACE officers have enjoyed better remuneration in recent years. Their main role is to develop and oversee a regional infrastructure for Arts Award delivery. This is to focus on raising the profile of Arts Award and driving participation across the region, embedding the Award within a broader arts education offer, establishing a sustainable support structure for the programme, lead/coordinate training provision, and lead development work for the Award (including supporting access and inclusion objectives). • Performance indicators include participation and Award statistics, sector range and geographical coverage, successful interventions in access and inclusion, the embedding of Arts Award as part of a joined up arts education offer, and sound financial management / value for money. Job progression & development When Arts Award first started, the RDC/M’s job focused more on building the profile and creating awareness of Arts Award. With time, the profile of Arts award has increased, which has in turn shifted the priority of RDC/Ms toward targeted advocacy and brokerage. Here the focus is often on specific people/organisations/local authorities/etc to increase take up. Thus the narrative has progressed from developing broad awareness of Arts Award to nurturing a strong affinity with the programme for core partners and those who are under-engaging but have the potential to become core partners. A key concern to RDC/Ms is balancing a drive for increased take-up with building deeper and stronger relationships in areas where Arts Award can have greater ‘transformational impact’. For example, by focusing on schools, opportunities to drive growth in take-up are most pronounced – particularly at Arts Award Bronze level. However, it might be argued that Arts Award offers greater impact for harder to reach young people and in contexts outside the classroom / school environment – such as via community organisations. Building relationships in this context is more labour intensive and thus demanding of the capacity and expertise of the RDC/M. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

This can mean reach and depth are achieved more easily / efficiently. However, there is also a danger here that the core message / focus of Arts Award is lost because it is not a ‘core business’ of the organisation. Management & Co-ordination Anticipated tensions between delivery and strategic development were not expressed to any degree by consultees. While RDC/Ms did describe the considerable pressure they are under to deliver growth in Arts Award take-up and to provide adequate monitoring to Trinity, they all described their relationships with ACE and Trinity as positive. For example: - All the RDC/Ms were very positive about their relationship with Arts Award Head of Development (Diana Walton), explaining that she is always available when needed and very supportive. Her role is particularly key for providing clear information on the overall direction and impact of Arts Award, connecting RDC/Ms to one another, and giving a bigger picture perspective of the role of Arts Award as part of a wider landscape of arts and education. - RDC/Ms were enthusiastic about their relationship with Trinity - who are always available to help and were described as ‘efficient’. The consistency of the Trinity approach was complemented (e.g. clear lines of communication, clarity of approach and good relationship with Trinity staff)). The only notable qualms centred on Trinity sometimes issuing tight deadlines on reporting, and that the reporting sometimes feels ‘one sided’ with scope for more feedback. Indeed, better use of monitoring materials for research and advocacy use would be welcomed. However, RDC/Ms were not as positive about their relationship with the regional ACE offices - although there were no major complaints. Issues include the sense that not all regional ACE officers are as aware/up to date with Arts Award as they could be. The relationship with regional ACE officers has also been described as ‘fragile’, with consistent contact difficult to achieve. This is in part due to recent ACE restructuring and the uncertainty surrounding that. • This can introduce a strategic dilemma for RDC/Ms: charged with driving take-up, opportunities to extend reach and develop deep relationships with harder to reach young people can be compromised. Given that the most rewarding part of the job is often described as where impact on young people is most tangible, there is a danger that some of the qualities of Arts Award are lost in the charge for take-up. • Indeed, with school take-up increasing in most regions, capacity is scarce to undertake more targeted development work. Here Arts Award is, to an extent, a victim of its own success – the greater the take up of Arts Award, the bigger the partnership and monitoring load, with reduced capacity to undertake development work a direct result. • This is the major productive tension at the heart of Arts Award: for it to have a sustainable business model, it will require growth and increased demand – e.g. through the development of Junior Arts Award. But growth reduces capacity and flexibility to target specific children / communities and to explore new delivery mechanisms. Also, arguably, growth can compromise depth and quality for children – especially beyond Bronze level. • It is worth noting here that the West Midlands’ organisational structure provides greater flexibility to balance reach and growth. Based as it is on a team of freelancers, the RDM is able to bring in capacity and expertise to offer a bespoke service. Here greater scope is available to focus on ‘growth’ when necessary alongside deeper relationships outside schools. It also provides greater scope for developing targeted research and intelligence on the impact and presentation of Arts Award. (The success of this model can be partly attributed to the RDM’s experience and in depth knowledge of the sector.) • By contrast, but also of merit, where Arts Award is delivered through an existing arts organisation (such as CCE, ADO) – e.g. CAPE - opportunities to embed it within a wider set of arts development tools are increased. tom fleming / creative consultancy / tom fleming /creative consultancy /

The lack of capacity is cited by RDC/Ms as the major impediment to undertaking management and coordination tasks as effectively as desired. This varies by region – for example, relatively urban areas do make promotion and then recruitment rather more efficient, but at the same time demand may be higher which requires capacity to respond. • By contrast, rural areas require greater capacity to drive up and then sustain demand. Of course, most regions do have a mix of urban and rural areas, with access issues varying across large geographic areas. In this sense, a lot is required of a part-time post if reach, growth and a depth of relationship are to be achieved and if Arts Award is to be effectively embedded within a wider arts and education landscape. • Indeed, given that the successful delivery of Arts Award depends on arts organisations and individual practitioners playing an active role in delivery and development; and given the substantial partnership working this requires; it is clear that the capacity of RDC/Ms to undertake the required broad range of tasks with the intensity and continuity required, is in most cases simply not available. • However, capacity also varies by experience and length of tenure. Broadly, RDC/Ms in post the longest have the strongest and deepest partnerships, a clearer understanding of the context for their work, and greater appreciation of the wider arts and education landscape. In turn, this reduces the day-by-day need to develop new partnerships and understand the complexity of the context in which they are working. Thus capacity seems to increase over time. • Overall though, there are some basic tools that would free-up capacity to deliver the RDC/M role. For example, all the RDC/Ms have to send out welcome emails and standard electronic communications. Simple provisions such as a basic template which they could download from their online sharing system (through Trinity) which each region could then personalise would prove to be a time saver. • In addition, a refreshed Artsmark programme that positioned Arts Award as a key ingredient for successful arts education provision, would provide a motivating factor for the take-up of Arts Award – independent of the direct efforts of the RDC/M. Broader options are explored in the final section of this Paper. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

Communications & Marketing Overall, the national ACE approach to promotion and advocacy was recognised as delivering significant value ‘on the ground’, as RDC/Ms work to drive up demand for Arts Award and build deeper partnerships with arts organisations, schools etc. The Communications & Marketing manual was cited as a key tool, as were the four annual bulletins and the website – which play a vital role in establishing the narrative for the programme, although some comment was made on the need for a ‘louder’ and more persuasive campaign. There was also concern that although the website is regularly updated, some partners only look at it once and are therefore unaware of how Arts Award is constantly changing. In addition, all RDC/Ms go to regional and national conferences, networking events and individual meetings to promote Arts Award. This is to mix straightforward promotion – where the aim is to raise awareness of Arts Award and signpost potential partners to the set of outcomes it can deliver; with targeted advocacy, where specific local authorities, officers, and organisations are engaged. Here some frustration was expressed – where, for example, RDC/Ms would welcome more support from regional ACE officers to broker relationships with arts organisations and to impress upon them the value of delivering Arts Award as part of a continuum of arts education. A key part of building the profile and narrative of Arts Award is to translate monitoring information into a description of the value and impact of the programme. This really needs to be delivered at a national level – providing top level outcomes and delivering a description of the programme with a required level of authority and range. • At a local level, limited impact can be made. The West Midlands has taken the lead here. As a flexible team, investments have been made in expertise to undertake monitoring and impacts research. This has, for example, shown that greatest impact is made through a targeted approach where Arts Award focuses on harder to reach children who are not as active as others in the mainstream school environment. • In turn, as growth in Arts Award has taken place, capacity to deliver such targeted work diminishes. Had this type of research been developed at a national level, knowledge on how to balance agendas through Arts Award, and how best to embed it within a wider arts and education offer, might have been more forthcoming. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange Most RDC/Ms are well connected in their regions and have regular access to key partners in arts and education. However, capacity issues mean opportunities for dedicated learning and professional development are scarce. However, at a national level, they are starting to benefit from the new mentoring scheme where the more experienced Arts Award RDMs are mentoring the newer ones. This also encourages more knowledge exchange between the regions. Currently, RDC/Ms meet twice a year, and rarely communicate at other times. All regions were very keen to have some kind of system in place to facilitate knowledge exchange (possibly a forum on the online shared database operated by Trinity). Currently access to Diana Walton provides much-needed knowledge and awareness on broader arts and education issues; but a more structured and intensive approach to RDC/M peer learning would be welcomed. In almost all the regions, the most important and productive relationship is with one or more organisations which work very closely with the RDC/M for effective delivery. In some cases, where the RDC/M is hosted by an arts organisation (such as a CCE ADO), collaboration opportunities across the arts are much more accessible and Arts Award is presented as one of a set of important tools. In other cases, the RDC/M has to work hard to nurture strong partnerships with primary delivery organisations, which in turn provides the collaboration and knowledge exchange the host organisation was an important partnership. E.g. links to CCE, ACE or other creative education organisation. Links to local authorities are seen as the most problematic mainly due to the churn of arts officers, inconsistent approaches to arts and culture across local government, and the often inflexible and inaccessible culture of large local authorities. Again, a stronger working relationship with ACE officers, plus a national promotional push for Arts Award, would be conducive to a better working relationship with local authorities. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

4. Strengths of the Current Regional Delivery Model A community of very committed and focused individuals who deliver a high value service for a relatively small investment and with correspondingly little capacity. A dedicated profile / presence for Arts Award in each region – ensuring a continual push for increased take-up and strengthening relationships with delivery / strategic partners. A management structure that enables a coordinated offer, with Trinity undertaking a clear ‘delivery management’ approach and ACE embedding Arts Award within a wider arts and education landscape. A robust communication structure – with sharp and updated descriptions of Arts Award, plus clear roles and responsibilities for RDC/Ms. Flexibility of model: with scope for Arts Award to be driven at regional level by an organisation(s) or individual(s), with strengths and weaknesses for both approaches. Increased take-up, range and reach; plus greater buy-in from strategic and delivery partners (e.g. arts Award recognised by UCAS). Arts Award has benefited here from the overall growth in profile of arts and creative education. Improved monitoring – e.g. regional intelligence maps – which enable ongoing review and assessment. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

5. Weaknesses of the Current Regional Delivery Model Capacity: RDC/Ms are not able to balance an approach that focuses on rapid growth with one that focuses on extending reach and providing transformational impact for harder to reach young people. Clarity: The role of Arts Award and the benefits it can provide are not consistently and accurately described. While up to date information is readily available (e.g. on-line), RDC/Ms at times struggle to keep pace. It also seems that where Arts Award is delivered by an organisation, its discrete role and impact is not as sharply presented as by ‘stand alone’ delivery partners. That said, in organisational contexts, Arts Award tends to be better connected to other arts and education programmes / platforms. Collaboration & Partnership: Perceptions of the Arts Award’s ‘place’ in ACE’s agenda are at odds – ACE officers consider Arts Awards features quite prominently in their priorities/agenda but RDC/Ms generally feel ACE officers could be better versed on Arts Award and its continual development. Relationships with local authority officers are under-developed and often subject to shifts in capacity and strategic focus of different local authority departments. Collaboration and knowledge exchange between RDC/Ms could be improved – building on the annual residentials and the mentoring programme – although insufficient capacity is the greatest impediment to collaboration. Monitoring and knowledge development: While Trinity runs an effective monitoring programme, a large proportion of the information and data on impact is not presented to RDC/Ms. Indeed, RDC/Ms would welcome more regular updates that provide evidence on impact and ‘value’. This in turn would help to ‘sell’ Arts Award to potential delivery partners. Take-up: Although Arts Award has shown year on year growth, it has still proved challenging to increase the delivery role of arts organisations – not least RFOs. The cost and strategic benefit for delivery is not as widely accepted as desirable. This is a serious concern if a sustainable business model is to be developed. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

6. Opportunities for the Current Regional Delivery Model Position Arts Award to the heart of core arts and education delivery programmes for young people – e.g. as part of an SLA with an RFO. Also position Arts Award as a core ‘must have’ for Artsmark status. This is to accelerate take-up and make Arts Award a ‘core business concern’ for funded arts organisations. Explore opportunities to commit RFOs or CCE ADOs to deliver Arts Award across each region. This would require each delivery organisation to have a properly trained, up-to-date and credible Arts Award representative who also has a rich appreciation of the wider arts and education landscape. It would also require a stronger working relationship with regional ACE officers and a clear SLA relationship with Trinity. Set targets for ‘reach’ as well as growth. Here Arts Award can be positioned as a provider of major value for harder to reach young people and should be embedded within arts education programmes that target such individuals. Improve collaboration and knowledge exchange between the regions – and build in capacity for this to be possible. Centralised knowledge development will play an important role here: generating data and intelligence that can be used at a regional level. Improve the salary level of RDC/Ms to the equivalent of a middle-ranking ACE officer – to incentivise posts and attract more established and connected individuals to any new posts. Undertake a full summative and formative evaluation of Arts Award to provide robust and rich data and intelligence (to be used as an advocacy tool) and develop a full options analysis for Arts Award post April 2011. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

7. Delivery Options Going Forward • With existing contracts with Arts Award RDC/Ms set to expire in April 2011, consideration of future options for delivery is required urgently. This research has shown that the current regional delivery structure for Arts Award is broadly effective, albeit with major limitations on capacity, and the drive for growth challenging even the most flexible and skilful officers to maximise the impact and value of the programme. • A regional delivery model does in theory cost more than a national approach, yet, Arts Award still does not have the reach and clarity of profile for a purely national approach to succeed: the personalised, flexible approach of regional officers gives the programme roots and ‘on the ground visibility’ that would be lost via a national approach. That said, some elements would benefit from a bigger national push – e.g. for evaluation and the promotion / dissemination of data and intelligence. • Therefore, assuming a regional approach can be preserved, opportunities need to be explored to more effectively integrate and embed Arts Award into a ‘continuum’ of arts education provision. Options here include: • - Building capacity of RDC/Ms to better perform a strategic and delivery role. For example, by outsourcing monitoring (as in the West Midlands), increasing the frequency of national bulletins, building a more ‘Arts Award savvy’ role for ACE officers. • Positioning dedicated Arts Award staff in an ADO/RFO with a direct remit to increase organisational take-up of the programme and better connect it to a wider arts and education landscape. • Establishing SLAs with arts organisations to drive growth in specific areas – e.g. Junior Arts Award, harder to reach young people, and potential adult learners. • Developing a direct management structure between Trinity and delivery partner arts organisations. • Improving knowledge exchange and collaboration between delivery partners – on Arts Award but also across key areas of the arts education landscape. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

Appendix 1: List of Consultees Wherever possible, interviews were carried out with RDC/M and Arts Council representatives from all regions. However, some interviews were not able to be arranged mostly due to time restrictions (e.g. RDCs working part time or out of the office) and other factors such as being new in post or maternity leave. tom fleming /creative consultancy / tom fleming / creative consultancy /

tom fleming / creative consultancy /