We are looking for a consultant or organisation to research how arts and culture in the UK is supporting young people by mapping key trends, best practice and existing work in the UK.
About this opportunity
We are looking for a supplier to:
- Provide a clear picture of key stakeholders, influencers, organisations, locations and approaches in the UK arts and cultural sector, including trends and barriers.
- Inform a deeper understanding of UK practice in relation to who, how and where.
- Make recommendations on how the British Council’s Culture Responds programme could potentially complement, support and collaborate with the UK arts and cultural sector in this area.
Scope of this research
- Focus on young people aged 11 – 24.
- Across the 4 UK Nations.
- Cultural provision inside and outside of school.
- Activity that is tailored towards supporting local young people and places in the UK facing social and economic challenges with a focus on outside of London.
- We are particularly interested in approaches that forefront local, inclusive, participatory, young people-centred/led ways of working. This includes initiatives which champion co-design and collaboration between young people and organisations to effect longer-term and sustainable change.
Qualifications required
- Strong up to date knowledge across the 4 UK Nations of the cultural sector’s work with and for young people.
- Knowledge of the policy and funding landscape around culture and young people across the four UK Nations.
- Knowledge and/or experience of a range of inclusive practices around culture and young people.
- Experience of researching young people’s cultural programmes in the UK.
Budget
The maximum budget for this work is £20k inclusive of VAT.
Deliverables
By 10 March 2023 (with a first draft by 15 January 2023) the appointed supplier will be required to deliver an engaging and accessible report which can be shared easily using British Council Research branded temples. It will include:
- An executive summary
- Summary of the purpose, objectives and questions
- Methodology and limitations of the research
- Methodology and limitations of the research
- Synthesised findings
- Conclusion
- Recommendations
- Appendices (with information on desk research, organisations, etc.)
- Accessible headline findings on the report in a PowerPoint presentation.
In addition, the appointed supplier will be expected to:
- Organise an inception workshop to further understand the requirements and research objectives, plus gather any relevant insight or information from the British Council including any identified reports and previous research.
- Provide an inception report which includes the delivery and planning for the research.
- Discuss progress of the research by telephone with the British Council (minimum of twice a month) against a timeline agreed at the outset.
- Workshop to test the findings and discussion at draft report stage, this will include peer review feedback on the report that will be given by the British Council.
- Present findings for British Council colleagues during two internal meetings (1 hour slot per session) before the end of the contract.
- Use British Council branded templates for the final report and slide deck.
This research is being commissioned by the Culture Responds Team who form part of the British Council’s Arts business area. Our Culture Responds programme runs projects around the globe that support under-represented groups to determine and participate in their own cultural life and increase their own cultural representation.
Application timeline
| Deadline for clarification questions (where you can ask questions about the opportunity via In-Tend) | 5pm BST on Tuesday 26 September 2023 |
| Deadline for submission of proposals by potential suppliers | 5pm BST on Monday 16 October 2023 |
| Contract concluded with the winning supplier | By Friday 27 October 2023 |
How to apply
This page shows a summarised version of the brief. For a full outline of the research commission, download the Request for Proposals document.
To apply, complete a Supplier Response Form and a Pricing Approach. The Supplier Response form asks you to answer a series of questions, and the pricing approach covers your project budget. Register (if you have not already) for free on our procurement platform In-Tend to ask us any clarification questions, and to submit your application ahead of the deadline.