We are proud to announce two new development opportunities for members and non-members of the Co-Creating Change network:
Project 1: Young Foundation’s Accelerator – Advocating for my co-created work
Project 2: Replica Commissions
An overview
● Have you ever thought that what you do is amazing?
● Is it co-created with brilliant people and does it have a large social impact?
● That it is a project/programme of work that could/should be happening in other locations?
● Is it work that could be replicated and the change that you are making could be made on a larger, possibly, national scale?
● It may not have happened because of capacity issues, not knowing how to advocate for your work on a larger scale or just not being sure that it could transfer
We know that there are a significant amount of arts and creative practices that exist all around the UK that bring people together to address some of the most challenging issues we face today.
These two new projects are here to support organisations to better advocate for their work and be able to replicate and adapt in new locations in order to increase their social impact and better match the scale of the social and environmental problems we are all facing.
Project one
The Accelerator – Advocating for my co-created work
How will it work?
We are looking for up to 15 groups/organisations to work with us and The Young Foundation in the early part of this year. We want to work with existing groups who think that they have a model that could be replicated. Over a period of 10 weeks we will look at what does it mean to scale up your work and how might you advocate for it. There is no cost to participate: the project is funded through the CCC project and includes some support for travel to attend the sessions.
The Young Foundation will run 5 sessions, one every fortnight, from midday to 6 pm (depending on where the cohort comes from we may change some of the session venues to be more accessible) at the Young Foundation in Bethnal Green starting on Monday 20th April 2020. The sessions will cover multiple topics including:
1. Does your project have a social value and how could you “sell that”?
Outcomes might be:
- An understanding of your theory of change and how it will support your organisation to articulate it more clearly.
- Developing your proposition for different audiences, being confident to clearly share your offer.
2. What’s your relationship to the work and how committed are you to sharing it with others?
Outcomes might be:
- A personal reflection of your own and your organisations relationship to this work.
- How ready are you to share it, how does that feel and what happens if the model changes.
- What conditions need to be in place for you to be able to lead on this and share your knowledge and passion? How to know when it is time “to let go”?
3. What impact does your work have and which characteristics of the work are core to its success?
Outcomes might be:
- A data collection model that will support your work and enable you to share it with other interested stakeholders/partners in a clear way.
- Identification of core characteristics of your work and being able to “sell them”, identifying what the core is and how to “package up” your core offer.
4. Exploring the actual demand and need for your project.
Outcomes might be:
- Time spent in a supported way researching who your partners might be, who already supports and pays for the change that you are working towards creating.
- Looking at cross-sector partnerships and how they can be co-created and brought together.
5. How could you share your model?
Outcomes might be:
- Exploring which route you would like to take. Is it growing your organisation, replicating your model or establishing national alliances with your desire for social change and impact?
- At the end of this project you will have spent time exploring whether your work is replicable, how you might replicate it, who with and how to advocate for it in a small supportive group.
These sessions may well change depending on the needs of the cohort; the sessions will be bespoke to the group.
Participants can request support for travel. We can offer up to £100 per day per organisation for travel costs.
Project two
Replica Commissions
We are going to award up to 5 commissions that we think could be replicated. It may be that some of these commissions have not come through Project One.
Co-Creating Change and the Young Foundation will work with the 5 commissions for replication in a structured and supportive way.
There is a total of £150,000 in the commissioning pot, and there is no minimum or maximum amount for which you can apply for. However, we imagine most successful applications will be for between £20,000 and £30,000.
We welcome applications from a broad spectrum of arts/cultural partners and non-arts organisations. It is not essential to have been part of The Accelerator – Advocating for my project to apply, but we hope that the journey through this project will encourage people to feel confident to apply for a Replica Commission.
How will the Replica Commissions work?
We will start with five intensive sessions over 5 weeks, starting on Monday 5th October 2020 in London at The Young Foundation.
The Young Foundation will project manage and deliver these sessions, drawing on external experts from the arts and social sectors for each specific session, as required. At the end of these workshops we would expect participants to have a:
- An understandable, ‘lay persons’ way of describing your work and projects.
- A type of “manual” and publication of each organisations model/idea/practice.
- A model and framework for capturing social impact and change, in a way that feels authentic and meaningful and can be used as a tool for improvement of your offer.
- A realistic financial plan for scale / pricing for your work.
- Assessment and understanding what other partners and stakeholders might need to be ready to work with you, what ground work needs doing and where is the demand for your work/project.
- A viable, appropriate model for sharing/scaling your work that aligns with your organisation’s values and has a sense of ‘ownership’
As part of this project we will also produce resources, toolkits, written outputs and host a learning event to share with the wider CCC network sector.
After these 5 intensive sessions the replica commissions will begin. Commissioned projects are expected to be completed by September 2021.
How can I apply?
Project 1: The Accelerator – Advocating for my co-created work
Applications for The Accelerator – Advocating for my co-created work will be in the form of a short (no longer than 2 pages) EOI from your organisation outlining:
- Who you are and your experience of co-creation
- What is about your project that you think can be replicated and how has it been co-created?
- What social impact or change has your project made?
- What is your scale of ambition in replicating it /scaling it up?
- Why this project will be useful to you as an organisation?
- Your commitment/availability to attending the sessions (timeline below)
EOI’s to be sent to cocreatingchange@bac.org.uk by 5pm on Friday 27th March 2020. Decisions to be announced by Friday 10th April 2020.
Compulsory intensive sessions as follows (12pm-6pm):
Session 1: 21st April 2020
Session 2: 5th May 2020
Session 3: 19th May 2020
Session 4: 2nd June 2020
Session 5: 16th June 2020
If you already know that there is a specific session you cannot attend, please provide in your EOI details of the team member you will cover the session for you.
Project 2: Replica Commissions
The application process for the Replica Commissions will be published on the 18th May 2020 – watch this space.
It is anticipated that some of our learning from The Accelerator – Advocating for my co-created work will inform this application process.
Deadline for the Replica Commissions to be submitted at 5pm on the 29th June 2020. Applications to be sent to cocreatingchange@bac.org.uk
Panel interviews for the Replica Commissions to take place on the 13th July 2020.
Decisions to be announced by the 20th July 2020.
Our principles and ways of working
Co-Creating Change and the Young Foundation are committed to working in a co-created way.
All sessions will be delivered in a way that is generous, collaborative and a sharing of knowledge and ideas.
The sessions will be interactive, hopefully fun and a safe space established for all participants! The sessions will involve listening and sharing, being able to offer and accept feedback of your ideas; this is not always easy but will be essential to move forward and advocate for your work.
Background
Why these projects?
Initially we thought we would just deliver the Replica Commissions. However, we felt that there were lots of arts organisations who would value time spent with others understanding the value of their work and working towards how to advocate and potentially replicate their existing projects. Not all organisations who take part would want to, or be ready for Replica Commissions, but would be in a position where they would be better able to “sell” their work, advocate for what they were doing and feel confident about that.
The Co-Creating Change Replica Commissions are part of a national programme and network called Co-Creating Change. Co-Creating Change explores, champions, grows, spreads and promotes a better understanding of what co- creation is, how it can be done, how we can grow and spread this practice and why we think it’s an essential tool for tackling some of the toughest challenges we face today. Co-Creating Change is facilitated by Battersea Arts Centre, and you can read more about it on the project website here.
All Co-Creating Change Commissions aim to demonstrate and explore the crucial role arts practice and creative process can play in addressing some of the most urgent social and environmental challenges we are facing as a society today.
See which projects have already been successful with previous funding (now closed), the Project Commissions:
– Cohort 1
– Cohort 2
– Cohort 3
Why co-creation?
Co-Creating Change is interested in co-created practice, which shifts the arts and cultural sector beyond a narrow model of arts participation (“come and join in with what we do”) towards a wider, more inclusive model of co-creation (“come and create”). Co-creation challenges old hierarchies which have often existed within arts participation work, in which the arts and cultural partner can be seen as the authority, and community members as learners and beneficiaries. Co-creation instead provides a process in which the diverse strengths, interests and knowledge of everyone involved are central to the work.
What is our definition of co-creation?
Co-creation is a co-operative process in which people with diverse experiences; skills and knowledge come together and work in non-hierarchical ways to address a common issue.
Co-creation is a way of working which recognises that:
● We desperately need new and different approaches and ways of thinking to address the multiple challenges many of our communities currently face.
● These approaches must be collaborative and inclusive, and involve from the very beginning people who are often excluded from finding and developing solutions.
● The creative process must shift power, agency and decision-making towards people and partners who are most keenly affected by these issues, so they are able to inform, explore and shape ideas which are based on real lived experience and knowledge.
For any enquiries about these projects please contact marinas@bac.org.uk .