Keeping ‘true north’ in difficult times

As a frugal 2024 draws to a close, we have been reflecting on the effects of austerity on the many organisations we work with. One of the most concerning is the negative impact on the material delivery of their social mission. Many are having to prioritise revenue generation at the expense of their plans to increase social impact and inclusivity.

Intentions are good – most are talking the talk, and from the heart. But many are finding that something, somewhere has to give. And it is problematic that this is not widely discussed, out of concern about the potential risk to funding.

There is, in other words, real danger for the sector’s collective capacity to walk the walk when it comes to becoming genuinely more inclusive and realising its true potential to make places more “liveable” for all.

Struggling to manage the triple bottom line

Much of The Audience Agency’s work is in evaluation and understanding social impact. It is geared towards helping organisations navigate a particular formulation of the “triple bottom line”.

That is, striving to achieve financial sustainability which ensures staff, artists and freelancers are properly remunerated, building cultural-creative credit for quality of ideas and the craft of their execution, while also contributing real social value in their communities.

Expectations of organisations’ capacity to balance these lines have risen while income has fallen – and we’ve seen first-hand, this last line is the one most often compromised.

Earmarked funds are a lifeline

Of course, purpose-specific grant funding with longer term commitment – like National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Places and Arts Council England’s Priority Places – plays a key role in supporting work on social justice or with overt social impact, giving change a real chance.

This kind of ringfenced funding is evidently driving ambition and innovation and is important in the context of reduced capacity, for the valuable learning it brings to the wider sector.

One to watch is Leicester’s new cultural strategy, which promises rich learning around how the UK’s first plural city can reshape its public heritage in ways both democratic and distinctive. But elsewhere we have also seen examples of project funds awarded for social outcomes being siphoned into just keeping the lights on.

Social mission, social model

In any case, social purpose is ideally something shot through the whole model, rather than a patchwork of stop-start side projects.

We are all big fans of Birmingham-based, We Don’t Settle, their model is mission first – campaigning for social justice and the creative rights of minoritised young people, part-funded by advising the arts, cultural and heritage sectors on inclusive governance and youth voice, which contributes further to mission.

Similarly entrepreneurial East Street Arts run the Arts Hostel as one part of their sustainably circular model. MAIA is another Brum-based mission-first organisation, that has a long-term plan for Abuelos (meaning ‘grandparents’ in Spanish).

Abuelos is an Art Hotel, that would take the cultural sector’s hospitality spend and reinvest it back into community, grassroots groups and independent artists. It’s a £2.5m world-class capital project.

Don’t ask what your community can do for you…

But if this sounds a stretch for more traditional cultural organisations, all have assets to sweat. Even without ready cash, most can put at the disposal of their local community spaces, skills, contacts, knowledge and more.

While many organisations loudly emphasise their status as charities and worthy causes, this sounds a whole lot better alongside an ask back to the community: what can we do for you?

Shout out to Leeds’s Thackray Museum of Medicine, for example, an independent museum with high revenue targets, who have nevertheless asked that question of their locals in Harehills and, as a result, make their ‘core’ spaces available to community groups and individuals, for socialising, events, workshops and discussions in a flexible way.

We are also a big champion of Eltham Library; asking “what can we do for you?” is both their philosophy and practice, guiding their whole programme and facilities.

Staying focused and staying around

Organisations that don’t over-reach resources and continue their commitment over the long term tend to get the best results. Take The Portland Inn project in Stoke-on-Trent, that has been working in a small area for years – with the result that they really know their communities and have been able to adapt and grow together in a way that has real impact.

Again, it comes down to really understanding your assets – and being open and inventive about how to use them. Our experience suggests it’s better to do something focused, lasting and properly reciprocal rather than boom and bust.

Share your platform

Another less tangible asset is the ability to act as a platform – to help broker, showcase, encourage and value the work of others. We really love First Light Festival’s Battery of Ideas, for example. Lowestoft’s new NPO took over a former Tesco building to host local creatives and give them a space in which to prototype and test new creative ideas.

Look out too for the upcoming publication of the evaluation of Leeds 2023 – their Neighbourhood Hosts model of community empowerment is tested and replicable. It worked in a similar way but sensitively tailored to different parts of the city.

Importantly, these initiatives show how this kind of creative investment brings the best kind of dividends – benefits to those neighbourhoods as well as scalable ideas, goodwill and partnerships.

We all think sharing the responsibility with others is an opportunity. There are some strong examples, including an interesting partnership between 15 of Scotland’s regional theatres who are experimenting co-producing co-programming to build relationships with in local, less engaged communities.

Distributed leadership

And although it’s a longer topic, the common factor shared by those on course is frequently a distributed leadership style, the “many-headed beast” as David Micklem describes it in which creative and social responsibility are shared.

One example is Chol – a woman-led theatre company on a caring and creative mission with communities in Yorkshire, who operate through the democratic and inclusive ‘Chol-operative’ model.

Resolutions for 2025

In no way do we want to sweep the funding shortfall under the carpet. But at the same time as calling for the right level of finance into the cultural sector’s uniquely valuable triple bottom line, we also celebrate the leadership of organisations which are keeping to their true north.

As we look to 2025, new year’s resolutions might ideally include some honest conversations about what’s achievable and the level of cultural investment our communities deserve. But they might also include some imaginative rethinking about the way we use our assets, involve our communities and collaborate in the name of social purpose.