Strategic Plan 2018-21
Making Connections, Creating Opportunities Craft Scotland, 15 Coburg Street, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6ET Craft Scotland is a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland no. SC 270245. A registered Scottish Charity no. SC 039491
Introduction
Craft Scotland is the national development agency for craft. We provide leadership for the sector, working to unite, inspire and champion diverse and high quality contemporary craft. We put makers at the heart of all we do, creating opportunities to practice, exhibit, sell and promote work, and to develop creative and business practice. Through exhibitions in Scotland and internationally, through our events programme, our partnerships and online channels, we encourage wider audiences to see, buy and learn about craft. We advocate for craft as a vital contributor to the cultural, economic and social well-being of individuals and communities.
Creative Scotland’s award of Regularly Funded Organisation (RFO) status has enabled us to make strong progress on our previous Strategic Plan. We are delivering an ambitious and growing programme of trade, retail and showcase exhibitions, training, events and activities in new venues across Scotland, the UK and internationally. These support professional development and enable wider audiences to connect with the best. We are active from Hawick to Shetland, working in a hospital, prison, museum and shopping centre, exhibiting in galleries and conference halls, and engaging all ages from young children to elderly people with glass, wood, paper, textiles, ceramics, plastics, furniture, jewellery and more.
Our new website (launching later in 2017) will promote makers and their work more effectively to a global market, providing richer content and making work of quality easier to find. New functionality will help us grow our online audiences and generate income. Our social media channels and e-newsletters will also champion the best that is happening in craft across Scotland alongside our own year-round programme.
This Strategic Plan was developed in consultation with the sector. Important inputs included the manifesto drafted at the 2016 Craft World Café event, discussion with the UK Craft Alliance and our international networks, and the advisory groups we have formed for makers and curators to challenge and review our plans. We also considered carefully the evaluation we undertake around all our events and activities with peers, makers and audiences.
Our Strategy delivers Creative Scotland’s Ambitions and Cross-Cutting Themes, and has been written in the context of their recent Creative Industries and Arts Strategies. Our Board and staff team regularly review the wider landscape along with our plans and progress, and a number of planning days have shaped our direction and priorities for 2018-21.
We are ready for the next stage in our growth and development, and positive about the potential we see. In today’s mass-produced, digital world, work made by hand with care, love and skill has huge significance. Tapping into the power of creativity supports personal development and well-being, employability, innovation and healthy communities. Our plans will help diversify audiences and the maker community, and encourage career pathways for growth, excellence and sustainability. We are ambitious for the craft sector in Scotland and how it can deliver economically, socially and educationally. This Strategy has been developed with confidence and optimism for the future of craft in Scotland and the role Craft Scotland can play in achieving it.
Fiona Logue, Director, March 2017
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Contents
1. Executive Summary 4
2. Craft in Scotland 6
3. Craft Scotland 7 a. Our Goal, Aims and Values 7 b. Current Activities and Impacts 7 c. Our Strengths, Weaknesses and Risks 10 d. Demand for our Activities 11 e. Our Audiences 12 f. Relationship with the Crafts Council 12
4. Future Plans 13 a. Our Aims and how we will Achieve them 14 b. Our Work Programmes 17
5. Governance and Resources 22 a. Staff 24 b. Premises 25 c. Capital expenditure 25
6. Outline programme 2018-19 26
7. Targets 26
8. Finances and Budgets 27
Appendices i. An overview of Craft in Scotland ii. List of Partnerships iii. Description of trade, retail and showcase events iv. Training Needs report v. Members of Board and Advisory Group vi. Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion plan vii. Budgets 2018-21
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1. Executive Summary
Craft Scotland is the national development agency for craft. Our goal is to make Scotland a place where craft is valued as culturally significant, essential to our economy and meaningful to our communities. Our aims are: a. To unite, inspire and champion craft in Scotland. b. To help makers develop their creative and business practice. c. To promote high quality contemporary craft practice nationally and internationally. d. To create a strong economy and infrastructure for craft. e. To increase and diversify the audience for craft. We also ensure our own organisation continues its development and sustainability.
We believe passionately in the skill and creativity of the makers in Scotland, the excellence of their work and their ability to experiment and incorporate new technologies and contemporary design with traditional techniques. The sector plays a significant role in contributing to economic, social and educational life in Scotland and has potential for greater growth, sustainability and relevance to a wider audience. Craft Scotland is well- placed to lead this progression, developing our own initiatives and working with others to create opportunities and an environment in which craft can thrive.
Our plans build on our recent successes and respond to demand. Some continue or develop current activities, while others are new initiatives. To fully deliver their potential, additional investment is required. We will make the case for increased support to Creative Scotland, and develop new routes to raise funds and generate our own income.
a. Unite, inspire and champion craft in Scotland
We will increase the profile and case for craft with a wider group of stakeholders, politicians, influencers, existing and potential funders. We will represent and promote craft through arts, cultural, heritage and other bodies in Scotland and beyond.
We will continue to administer and develop the Craft Curators’ Network, chairing twice- yearly meetings and supporting the development of its initiatives within our resources.
We will continue building profile and influence for the sector through high profile events and publicity. We will showcase the best in craft through news updates, films and features on our website, through our multiple social media channels and our regular e-newsletters.
We will expand our annual conference into a larger, international symposium every two years, starting in 2018 to complement the proposed Craft Biennale Scotland.
b. To help makers develop their creative and business practice
We will take a leading role in identifying the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) needs of makers and work with partners to ensure the right support is available to makers at all stages of their careers, recognising the diverse practices and aspirations of individuals. We will continue to support emerging makers through the Craft Council’s prestigious Hothouse programme.
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Our exhibition programme not only gives makers the chance to present work to personal and retail buyers, it challenges them to experiment and be ambitious. Our associated training events ensure they are supported in taking this step, and maximise the opportunities offered.
Our new website will provide makers the opportunity of enhanced profiles and will be supported by a new marketing campaign. We will continue to make makers aware of opportunities – including jobs, apprenticeships, residencies, exhibitions, workshops, funding and awards - through the distribution of our regular e-newsletter to 2750 subscribers.
c. To promote high quality contemporary craft practice locally, nationally and internationally. Our exhibition programme will offer makers the opportunity to participate in carefully selected retail and trade shows. These will be principally in Scotland and London, to maximise their impact and lasting legacy. We will look to attract new buying and commissioning audiences through our advocacy plan and marketing communications activity, looking beyond craft to the design world. We will continue to provide information to our annual 250,000 web visitors about the remarkable work being created in Scotland, through our redeveloped website, our social media activities and our regular e-newsletters. d. To create a strong economy and infrastructure for craft. We will create opportunities for makers to attract personal, retail and trade buyers from different sectors through our programme of exhibitions. We will also encourage and support others’ initiatives through partnership, advice, promotion on our website and social media. We will grow our understanding of the economies of the sector and establish benchmarks and targets through our new annual tracking study, which launched in February 2017. We will develop the e-commerce functionality on our website and test sales of work and potentially other income generation online.
We will support maker CPD and career pathways as above.
e. To increase and diversify the audience for craft. We will continue to present work to a range of UK audiences – personal and trade buyers, existing buyers and newer design-based audiences such as interior designers and architects. We will develop our Meet Your Maker programme strategically, working with fewer partners to develop deeper and longer-lasting impact. These will target specific audiences, including harder to reach audiences and those with creative learning needs, including younger people. We will use our online channels to profile makers with diverse practices, and promote activity to wider audiences and organisations who can reach new constituencies. Organisational Development and Sustainability We will ensure we continue to be fit for purpose, have good processes, governance and financial stability. We will nurture and develop our staff, and consider the possibility of funding two additional fixed-term roles to enable this challenging programme of work to be delivered and successful. We are signatories to the Scottish Business Pledge.
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2. Craft in Scotland
In order to build our plans for the development of craft throughout Scotland it is important we understand the current state of the sector, its opportunities and challenges.
Our role is to lead the sector and we do not wish to duplicate the good efforts of others. We have a role in helping others work together by enabling introductions, partnerships and the sharing of information. We identify the activities that only Craft Scotland, as the national agency, is best suited to and capable of delivering. We focus where we can provide leadership, inspiration and opportunities. An overview of the sector and the influences on it can be found in Appendix i.
Strengths Weaknesses
➢ Passionate people: makers and curators ➢ Lack of funds to programme galleries, for ➢ Moderate infrastructure of assets, including a curators to create new events, to promote work national development agency overseas ➢ Great talent in the sector ➢ Geographical inequality in activity and support ➢ Good quality work being produced by for makers professional makers ➢ Perceptions of craft against other art forms and ➢ Work well-received overseas creative industries ➢ Rich heritage and tradition in craft, which is ➢ Not enough people buying/investing in high- recognised worldwide quality craft, either individually or corporately ➢ Our inspiring landscape and vibrant cities, the ➢ Few commercial galleries promoting craft environment in Scotland and quality of life ➢ Too many craft fairs showing poor quality work that attracts makers at unrealistic prices, dilution of makers and ➢ A diversity of practices audiences ➢ Continual stream of new initiatives ➢ Succession planning, next generation of curators, makers and buyers ➢ Training not joined up through career pathways ➢ No National Centre for Craft where craft can be profiled throughout the year. ➢ People still working in silos and not communicating as best they could ➢ Makers not earning enough money, having sustainable practices Opportunities Threats
➢ Renaissance of interest in the authentic, ➢ Economic climate at home and abroad “handcrafted” and locally produced ➢ Competition for funding - Creative Scotland sustainable goods and other donors ➢ Involvement of craft in public commissions, ➢ Possible impacts of Brexit eg loss of European healthcare, community arts etc. Everywhere funding (Emergents programme affected?) one currently sees a focus on “fine” art ➢ Possible impacts of a second Referendum vote ➢ Success of new events: Handmade Edinburgh, ➢ Lack of undergraduate specialist courses Elements, proposed Craft Biennale Scotland, ➢ Low income of individual makers may force etc. skilled people to leave profession ➢ Potential to grow the buyer / supporter ➢ Review of Enterprise and Skills Agencies market (Emergents affected?) ➢ Build understanding of the role craft can play in wider industry and society
The SWOT analysis of the sector illustrates that despite many challenges there is huge talent and a great energy in the sector and much quality activity. It allows us to identify where our resources are best applied.
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3. Craft Scotland
Craft Scotland came into being in 2004 as a Scottish Arts Council project with a freelance Director. It is therefore still a young organisation and is evolving in response to and in anticipation of the needs of the sector. In 2008 it became a stand-alone audience development agency for craft. In 2013 the Board and staff re-examined the role of Craft Scotland, positioning it as the national development agency for craft in Scotland, putting makers and their work at the heart of what we do.
With three-year RFO funding for 2015-18, we have had a more stable platform from which to grow an ambitious programme, providing excellent opportunities for makers and audiences alike. We believe we have contributed greatly towards the wider craft and design renaissance and have done much to raise the profile and appreciation of craft being made in Scotland.
3a. Our Goal, Aims and Values
Goal We will work to make Scotland a place where craft is valued as culturally significant, essential to our economy and meaningful to our communities. Aims
• To unite, inspire and champion craft in Scotland. • To help makers develop their creative and business practice • To promote high quality contemporary craft practice locally, nationally and internationally. • To create a strong economy and infrastructure for craft. • To increase and diversify the audience for craft. Values Recognition: We believe in the skill, talent and commitment of makers in Scotland. Engagement: We believe audiences should have opportunities to see, enjoy, engage with and buy craft. Quality: We champion quality in all aspects of the sector and in our own activities. Ambition: We believe the sector can achieve its full potential through its ability to challenge and innovate in all areas. Collaboration: We recognise and appreciate those who share our objectives and partner with them to achieve more. Integrity: We run our organisation with integrity, make sure we are well-governed, financially stable and have a passionate and committed team. 3b. Current Activities and Impacts
This year (2016-17) we will have run almost 40 different events, delivered craft to an audience of over 90,000 people, generated over £150,000 in sales of craft, created 350 opportunities for makers and had 250,000 unique visitors to our website. Our further measures and targets are detailed in section 7. As leaders of the craft sector, we have advocated for craft in Scotland through our membership of and contributions to the World
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Crafts Council - Europe and the UK Craft Alliance; setting up and managing the Craft Curators’ Network; sitting on the steering group of Culture Counts; membership of the Scottish Government’s Cross-Party Working Group on Culture, etc.
We have built partnerships for our own events and identify and bring together other partnerships within the craft community. Our recent work at the London Design Fair with Emergents (the agency developing the Highlands & Islands creative economy) is an example of an innovative funding solution to maximise profile of craft in Scotland. Another creative partnership is being developed with Historic Environment Scotland, Forth Valley College and Artlink Central through one of our Meet Your Maker projects, and there are many more examples. (See appendix ii)
Our Director and team have significant numbers of exploratory meetings with people interested in the sector, provide information and answer enquiries, and attend events around the country to support makers and organisations.
We have sent out our “Opportunities” newsletters to 2,750 subscribers twice monthly, and our “What’s On” newsletters monthly to 5,800 subscribers. We have had 330,000 visits to the website where audiences can find information about makers and events throughout Scotland. We have initiated a blog series highlighting environmental issues as part of our Green Craft Initiative, and another series showcasing makers from diverse backgrounds. We secured funding from Scottish Enterprise to redevelop our website, so that we can improve navigation for users, offer enhanced profiles for makers, and develop new income generating opportunities.
Our events and exhibition programme in the 2016/17 financial year included:
• Summer Show, Edinburgh, August The fourth year of our successful selling show held during Edinburgh’s summer Festivals attracted record applications from makers, 4,000 visitors from home and abroad. Featuring the work of 32 makers and generating £20,000 of sales it remains a popular and core part of our programme.
• London Design Fair at London Design Festival, September A new initiative which received much critical acclaim, and was considered “best in show” by the organisers. This successfully showcased quality craft to a wider design audience, with a specially commissioned stand showing the work of 20 makers, in a ground-breaking collaboration with Emergents.
• Craft Scotland Conference, Dundee, October Our fourth annual conference presented inspirational speakers and stories from across the UK to 130 makers, curators and friends of craft, who also took part in hands-on workshops.
• Celebration of Ceramics, Visual Art Scotland, RSA Edinburgh, December Last year we introduced the new Craft Scotland prize for a work of outstanding design and craftsmanship – this year won by Andrea Walsh. The collaboration was extended to showcasing the work of three exceptional ceramicists, placing craft in a fine art context. The invited artists provided substantial work, beautifully displayed in an iconic central location.
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• Craft Scotland at the Biscuit Factory, Newcastle, November - January For the second year a selection of six Summer Show participants have been invited to take part in the Biscuit Factory’s Christmas presentation.
• The Craft Gallery at Scotland’s Trade Fair, Glasgow, January For the second year we have worked with organisers Springboard Events to highlight quality work handmade in Scotland within this established gift fair. 20 makers featured in 2016 generating orders totalling over £50,000. This grew to 26 makers in 2017, with an additional 20 makers visiting with a view to participating next year.
• Craft Scotland at the American Craft Council’s Baltimore Fair, February We are the first guest country ever to be invited by the American Craft Council to be showcased at this prestigious international fair, which is well known for its large audiences and sales. 20 makers participated in a highly successful event generating sales of over £100,000.
Creative Learning
• Meet Your Maker This rolling programme of demonstrations, residencies and workshops is part of our plans to diversify audiences and increase opportunities for participation. We have partnered over 35 different venues/organisations throughout the country over the last three years, giving over 10,000 people the opportunity to better appreciate the making process. Venues have included Corntonvale Women’s Prison near Stirling; the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh; The Living Memory Association at Ocean Terminal; Bonhoga Gallery in Shetland; the Borders Textile Museum in Hawick, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Professional Development
• An important part of our CPD activity is our support for makers to participate in the Crafts Council’s prestigious Hothouse business and creative development programme. Seven emerging makers are attending from February to May 2017 - our third annual cohort. We also supported four established makers through the Crafts Council’s Injection programme.
• Training is integral to all our programmes, including events for makers participating in our exhibitions to ensure they make best use of the opportunity before, during and after the shows. We also ran marketing workshops with Applied Arts Scotland, initiated mentor and mentee training sessions, and have a series of business development workshops underway with Scottish Enterprise.
• We have created a community resource area within our website, providing better information for makers.
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Other partnerships
• We supported the National Trust for Scotland and National Museum Scotland with the development of collections of craft inspired by their properties and collections, for sale in their shops.
• We worked with the Institute of Directors to present craft to leading business figures at their flagship premises in Charlotte Square.
• Our three-year tourism project has created joint opportunities for the tourism industry and makers. This is now complete, and leaves an online legacy of contacts and training resources.
3c. Our Strengths, Weaknesses and Risks
We share some of the opportunities and challenges for the sector addressed in the previous section. The analysis below is specific to Craft Scotland.
Strengths Weaknesses
➢ A unique organisation delivering valuable ➢ Reliance on Creative Scotland funding leadership ➢ Challenges in attracting other significant ➢ Confidence of a strong craft sector funding ➢ Leading a diverse network of partnerships ➢ Little profile outside the craft sector ➢ Bringing innovative providers to the sector ➢ Under-resourced for the current programme ➢ Committed Board and for potential opportunities ➢ Committed makers’ advisory group ➢ Taking on too many small projects that are ➢ Passionate and committed team that is not strategic incredibly efficient ➢ Too much information on website (@Oct 16) ➢ Well run and well managed ➢ Some makers do not need to engage with us ➢ Team expertise, knowledge and contacts in ➢ Challenge of measuring our success – the sector outcomes are often long term ➢ Sound financial position ➢ Clear vision and direction ➢ Identifying and testing new opportunities and initiatives ➢ Ability to turn opportunities into new strategic initiatives ➢ Excellent track record of delivery ➢ Our digital infrastructure ➢ Champion of fair pay for makers
Opportunities Threats
➢ Growing audience interest in craft ➢ Changes in economic environment ➢ More people running good craft projects – ➢ Changes in political climate – eg Brexit possible partnerships ➢ Reduced inflow of well-trained makers in ➢ International opportunities – new markets diverse disciplines through the colleges ➢ Income generation through new website ➢ More competition for funding for craft capability ➢ Add more value to existing activities ➢ Do fewer projects but better to leave legacy ➢ Strategic partnerships to add value to events ➢ New website allowing deeper engagement, better search function and focus on quality ➢ UKTI – trade partner ➢ Invitations to international events
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We maintain a detailed Risk Register, with the significant risks reviewed regularly by the Board. Where possible we have plans to mitigate the risks. The main risks are:
• Reliance on one principal source of funding • Loss of key staff • Impact of Brexit / wider economic environment
3d. Demand for our Activities
Craft plays a vital role in our society. It provides employment in a range of flexible ways to people either directly or indirectly using their craft skills. It is a key contributor to the Creative Industries - acknowledged as a vital cornerstone of the Scottish economy – and its development of skills and promotion of creativity encourages innovation across a wider cross-section of jobs and sectors. Innovation and understanding of materials is core to making and this is being applied more and more throughout industry. It contributes educationally through encouraging new practical, manual and imaginative skills which are invaluable in developing confidence, employability, and in many other contexts for all ages. It contributes socially through enhancing the environment aesthetically, stimulating wellbeing and a sense of achievement in participants at all levels. Community-based craft initiatives help improve the environment, build pride, develop social cohesion and can support cross-cultural integration. As the national agency we support and promote these benefits through the 3,350 craft businesses in Scotland.
We hold a unique place in the craft sector in Scotland as the only organisation that works across all disciplines and throughout the country with a remit to develop and support makers’ practices and to develop audiences.
We are also the international face of craft made in Scotland, representing our sector on the World Crafts Council and building relationships with craft agencies throughout the world. We share the intelligence gained through such relationships to help makers participate in and compete on a global stage.
We represent the sector on other cultural bodies and organisations including the UK Craft Alliance, Culture Counts, Scottish Government’s Cross-Party Working Group on Culture, and Skills Development Scotland’s Creative Industries Working Group. We provide information in response to enquiries and surveys, and comment on relevant reports.
We listen to the sector in a variety of ways to ensure that we are relevant to their needs, then review our activities accordingly. In addition to our Board we have an advisory group of 10 makers who review our existing programme and comment on our forthcoming plans. We helped establish and facilitate the Craft Curators’ Network, and helped organise their World Craft Café event in April 2016. This brought together over 60 people involved in the sector to discuss their future vision for craft, and our plans are informed by those views. We collect feedback from makers and audiences wherever possible, and evaluate all our programmes. We then review and amend activities in line with feedback as appropriate.
Demand for our activities is growing from makers who increasingly see the benefits of being associated with Craft Scotland. This can be a challenge as we cannot support many of the good quality applicants for events. For example we received 97 applications for our 2016
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Summer Show but could only feature 31 makers. This is particularly challenging for jewellers and textile artists, of whom there are many working at a high level in Scotland.
We have raised our profile with a number of national agencies over the last few years, including Visit Scotland, The National Trust for Scotland, National Museums Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, the Institute of Directors in Scotland, and the Scottish Tourism Alliance. Many are keen to work in partnership with us, creating excellent opportunities for makers but a challenging level of demand for our support.
We have over 330,000 visits to our website annually. These are both from makers looking for information and opportunities and other users looking for information on craft and “What’s On”. We have nearly 8,500 fans on Facebook and nearly 14,000 followers on Twitter, while our Instagram following escalated to 7,500 and Pinterest over 3,000. We have 2,750 subscribers to our fortnightly Opportunities newsletter and 5,800 to our monthly Craft News. We post details of over 1,300 events and opportunities each year.
We answer over 1,200 general enquiries by email and telephone each year, in addition to the ongoing conversations we individually have with makers, peers and partner organisations.
We are regularly invited to present Scottish craft at international events and shows. Invitations have recently included Baltimore in the US, Eunique at Karlsruhe in Germany, Révélation in Paris, and a Scottish Government/Visit Scotland initiative at Lorient Music Festival etc. Not all are a priority opportunity for our makers, but funding and resourcing currently restricts the number we are able to pursue.
3e. Our Audience
We have multiple audiences for our work including practitioners, peers and the wider public. In 2017-18 we will complete a fuller mapping of our audiences and develop strategies for communicating with each of them. In overview, our audiences are:
1. Makers, for whom we provide vital support and services. 2. Buyers, both personal and trade, serious and more casual 3. People who enjoy viewing craft and want to see more - either the makers at work or the final product. 4. People wishing to participate in craft. We do not run workshops but signpost to those who do. 5. We also aim to reach new audiences who have not yet discovered craft but would find interest or enjoyment in it. We will encourage the sector to engage widely and will work with strategic partners to widen our reach. These priorities are detailed in our EDI plan, Appendix vi.
These audiences are in order of priority for achieving our Aims.
3f. Relationship with the Crafts Council and other UK nations’ craft agencies
We have a close relationship with the Crafts Council, sharing information and knowledge and partnering on programmes such as Hothouse.
The Crafts Council was established 45 years ago as the UK’s national organisation for the promotion of craft. Historically they funded craft activity across the UK and previously
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The UK Craft Alliance brings together regular meetings of Craft Scotland, Craft Northern Ireland, Arts Council Wales and the Crafts Council, to ensure we are working collectively to promote and profile craft across the UK and to share our knowledge and resources.
4. Future Plans i. Our Strategy for 2018-21 will build on our existing ambitious programme designed to achieve our aims. Investment in our 2017-18 Plan will test some of the ideas we would like to take forward into 2018-21, and provide a sound platform from which to launch an enhanced programme. ii. In our development of this Strategy we identified many areas of opportunity. However, we need to match our resources with our ambitions, focusing on adding value to the strategic areas where we have established credibility. We will therefore undertake fewer tactical projects that dissipate our energies. iii. While we are a sector development agency, facilitating improvements through others, we also deliver certain projects ourselves. We do this where we see an important gap in provision or identify that we are the best organisation to drive an initiative forward. We believe this dual role is required. We do not expect a monopoly on all craft activity in Scotland, but strongly believe very positive outcomes and economies of scale can be achieved by investing in our centralised expertise and networks, to deliver with and for the sector, rather than duplicating resource elsewhere. iv. Our makers are a relatively small group: around 3,350 businesses, many of which are sole traders, practising professionally or semi-professionally, often part-time, with income supplemented by other occupations. There is a wide range of career stages, aspirations and practices. Our focus is on driving excellence and experimentation whether in exhibiting, retail or trade practice. While most wish to grow their income, they do not necessarily wish to expand their businesses by employing people. v. We have carefully reviewed Creative Scotland’s Creative Industries Strategy, its Visual Art Review and Arts Strategy and considered how we can support in the delivery of their aims. We feel we can make a particularly strong contribution to the following:
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• Invest together to grow sustainable creative businesses through collaboration and partnership working. • Increase international profile and status, opening pathways to global marketplaces. • Explore ways in which the vital contribution that artists and cultural producers make to society is visible and valued. • Establish a strong and up-to-date understanding of the different dynamics, operating contexts and business models that operate across the arts in Scotland. • Develop excellence and experimentation in professional creative practices. • Provide training for creative people and champion fair pay for them. vi. We will continue to develop strategic partnerships which allow us to work more effectively, create synergy, reach new audiences and find opportunities for makers. This has been a strength of our recent work and we will nurture existing and build new partnerships as appropriate. Working together with another organisation that shares our aims allows us to pool resources, making projects more financially sustainable, and to achieve more. Jointly we can send out a stronger and more impactful message about craft. A full list of organisations we have actively worked with over the last three years is contained in appendix ii.
vii. We will have further discussions with Creative Scotland to examine the idea of creating a National Centre for Craft. The need for such a centre is raised regularly - including at the World Craft Café day and at our own strategic planning sessions. There is a body of support for such an initiative and it would seem appropriate for the needs, potential models and feasibility to be considered. We feel Craft Scotland, as the national agency, are best placed to examine this. We are not at this stage advocating a centre but propose we seriously examine the idea. However we can only take a feasibility study further with specific additional project funding and support in principle from Creative Scotland.
4a. Our Aims and how we will Achieve them These are the key activities we will undertake to achieve our aims:
1. Unite, inspire and champion craft in Scotland
• Build profile for craft with key stakeholders, politicians, influencers, existing and potential funders and potential partners –for example Scottish Government, Creative Scotland, Culture Counts, CEO, SDS, UKTI, public and private galleries, collectors, possible corporate and charitable supporters etc. • Showcase the best of what’s happening in craft around Scotland on our website and develop our audiences for the content. • Develop a better informed professional sector with shared understanding of activities and opportunities. • Together with the Craft Curators’ Network, oversee the completion of work on shared manifesto and values for the sector coming from the World Craft Café event and share widely with the sector, funders, influencers etc. • With a skilled and connected leadership team we will represent craft in Scotland to other craft bodies nationally and internationally –UK Crafts Council and Craft Alliance, World Craft Council (Europe), American Craft Council in particular. • Maintain and deliver an advocacy plan, mapping our stakeholders.
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• Endorse craft in Scotland to other cultural, heritage, tourism and interested organisations eg National Museums Scotland, Visit Scotland, Event Scotland, British Council, Historic Environment Scotland, National Trust for Scotland. • Continue to administer and develop the Craft Curators’ Network, chairing twice yearly meetings to provide opportunities for knowledge exchange and act as an incubator for new ideas. • Develop partnerships with, support and advise other craft bodies as appropriate. • Build profile and influence for Craft Scotland and the sector through delivery of high profile events and publicity, this year focusing core resource on the UK, particularly London to maximise impact – see later chart. • Showcase interesting and inspiring makers’ stories and practices through monthly blogs and features on our website throughout the year and commissioning videos when appropriate. • Prepare for an international conference/symposium potentially linked to the proposed Biennale in May 2018 and consider other appropriate support for it.
2. To help makers develop their creative and business practice
• Leading and identifying the CPD needs of makers and working with partners to ensure the right support is available to makers at all stages of their careers, developing their skills and their professional practice. • Offer profiles on our website – new selective procedure from April 2018 to focus on quality. Enhanced, paid for profiles to improve content for makers and audiences, and build income. Our current directory will condense from around 1700 profiles to around 550 by end 2020-21 as a result. • Build partnerships with others already involved in training for makers eg Cultural Enterprise Office (CEO), Scottish Textile and Leather Association (STLA), University of Dundee and Emergents to map development pathways for makers and develop appropriate training programmes. • Create opportunities to promote makers’ work to a range of buyers through our exhibitions programme – see later chart, creating direct opportunities for over 100 makers. • Challenging and supporting makers to create work that is right for each opportunity in terms of scale, pricing, quality etc. • Training makers taking part in each event about how to get the maximum benefit from each opportunity, before, during and after the event and using our own resources and contacts to create greatest effect. • Continue to support makers through the Hothouse programme – cohort 7 involving seven makers running Feb – June 2017 and advertising for selection for cohort 8 in October 2017, to start Feb 2018 with places for six makers. • Work with Scottish Enterprise to stage several workshops on digital strategies and marketing and international strategies and overseas sales. • Post opportunities on our website weekly (approx. 1300 pa) and send out opportunities newsletter twice monthly to 2750 subscribers. • Continue to improve information for makers on our Community webpages through developing pathways for different career stages and advising on available training.
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• Maintain and update information on how makers can benefit from tourism and how to go about it on the Community pages.
3. To promote high quality contemporary craft practice locally, nationally and internationally.
• Run a programme presenting work at o London Craft Week, May (showcase and retail) o Summer Show, Edinburgh, August (retail) o London Design Fair, September (showcase, retail and trade) o Visual Arts Scotland (VAS), Edinburgh, December (showcase and retail) o Scotland’s Trade Fair, Glasgow, January (trade) o Collect, London, February (retail) See later chart, targets and budgets
• Continue discussions with UKTI with aim of securing funding for makers to exhibit at trade fairs internationally – principally New York Now and for Craft Scotland to support the delivery at such fairs. • Provide information about work from Scotland on our website, and through our social media activities and “What’s On” newsletter, as above.
4. To create a strong economy and infrastructure for craft.
• Create high quality opportunities for over 100 makers per annum to attract personal, retail and trade buyers from different sectors for their work through our programme of exhibitions – see later chart, and a further 250 opportunities to engage with us through our other activities. • Encourage and support other people’s initiatives through advice, promotion on our website and social media and occasionally a small financial contribution: eg Made, Edinburgh; the New Craft Society; Craft Biennale, Scotland; Elements. • Understand the economies of the sector through our new tracking study, developed and issued in February 2017 and annually thereafter creating a baseline against which to measure impacts. • Develop the new e-commerce functionality on our website following the launch in June 2017 and test sales of works on line– see budgets. • To explore the potential for low costs small loans within the credit union model.
5. To increase and diversify the audience for craft.
• Map audiences and plan how to reach them. • Present work at home, throughout the UK and (occasionally) overseas to a wider range of audiences – personal and trade buyers, traditional craft and new design- based audiences (including interior designers and architects). • Develop our Meet Your Maker programme strategically, piloting working with three or four partners more intensively - eg Young Scot, Historic Scotland and Glasgow Life to target new, harder to reach audiences, specifically younger people - see targets. • Use our new website to profile makers with diverse practices. • Promote events taking place in Scotland to a wider range of organisations who can reach new constituencies (eg Help the Aged, Glasgow Women’s Library, BEMIS).
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We have a number of distinct programmes of work that enable us to achieve our aims and all of them achieve multiple aims. In the planning and delivery of these programmes we consider our Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) objectives – see our EDI plan appendix vi. Here is an overview of that interaction:
Advocacy & Exhibition Website, Continuous Leadership and Events social media Professional Meet Your AIMS programme Programme and digital Development Maker Conference To unite, inspire and champion craft in Scotland X X X X To help makers develop their creative and business practice X X X X To promote high quality contemporary craft practice locally, nationally and internationally X X X X To create a strong economy and infrastructure for craft X X X To increase and diversify the audience for craft X X X
4b. Our Work Programmes
This section gives more detail by each of the work streams:
1. Our advocacy and leadership programme
• Represent craft in Scotland at the World Crafts Council and build relationships with other international craft bodies. • Be an active member of the UK Craft Alliance (Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Wales) and the Heritage Craft Association. • Maintain and develop relationships with the Scottish Government, government agencies, local authorities and other national organisations for the benefit of craft. • Continue to represent craft on the Scottish Government’s cross-party working group on culture, Steering Group of Culture Counts, Skills Development Scotland’s Creative Industries working group and other relevant groups and projects. • Take a leading role in the Craft Curators’ Network (CCN). • Identify and commission research as required – notably a new annual tracking study from February 2017, but also collaborating with the Crafts Council on joint projects where a UK focus is appropriate, and maintaining the repository established through the CCN. • Build more relationships with people and organisations of influence. • Produce a printed and online Annual Report to be sent to MSPs, Local Authorities and relevant influencers and opinion formers. • Deliver against our commitments as signatories of the Scottish Business Pledge, including ensuring fair pay for makers by ourselves and others using the services of makers. • Develop an advocacy plan and database to further develop aims, key messages, segmented stakeholders and communications channels.
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2. Our Exhibition and Events Programme
Presenting work at exhibitions and trade shows will remain a large and important part of our programme as it meets many of our aims – it creates opportunities for makers to show and sell their work and to make commercial contacts, it raises the profile of craft in Scotland and it develops new audiences for the work. We may do this directly, or facilitate makers to participate through partnerships or funding. We have carried out desk research on available shows and taken makers’ feedback. There is a plethora of opportunities both in the UK and overseas and the challenge is in understanding which are best for us to attend directly, which we should encourage/support makers to attend individually and which present less opportunity.
In the past we have focused on retail shows where makers sell direct to the public, as with our Summer Show, or to serious collectors, as at SOFA Chicago or Collect. This remains important. Many makers also wish to develop their business through trade orders. We have been working with Scotland’s Trade Fair for two years, and been in discussion with UKTI about how we might support this internationally. There is also the opportunity to showcase work from Scotland, outside a selling context, where the benefits will be longer term but will raise awareness and appreciation, national profile, reputation and value.
During 2018-21 we plan to continue our focus, started in 2017, on building the profile of craft in Scotland within the UK, focusing on London. This market is not yet fully aware of craft and design in Scotland, and offers many opportunities. With a limited budget we can maximise our impact on selected events building opportunities and relationships over time. We will work with partners – as with Emergents at London Design Fair (LDF) - to combine resources and budgets. We will also seek to reuse or repackage concepts to gain greater efficiencies.
International work remains under review. Makers are keen to build their international business - which we can address in part with events in the UK which attract global trade and private buyers. We will continue our discussions with UKTI and if we can attract their funding for international work then we have already identified the exhibitions that makers would be keen to attend. We will work with partners (eg Scotland Re:Designed) to secure opportunities for a wider range of makers. Similarly if the British Council offers opportunities, or the Crafts Council continues its UK showcases at Basel, Miami or Dubai, we will seek ways to ensure opportunities for our makers.
We attended the American Craft Council’s (ACC) show in Baltimore in February 2017 as their guest country. Makers in Scotland would not be able to attend this highly successful show as individuals. It has deepened our links with the US and was a significant income generation opportunity for both makers and ourselves. We are reviewing the event and will maintain a positive relationship with the ACC.
We also remain aware of possible strategic or political reasons for taking part in an overseas showcase of work. However we are very likely to require additional funding to respond.
Our outline programme covers Trade Shows, Retail Shows and Showcases (although some shows cover several types) and a full description of each and our approach can be found in Appendix iii. This programme allows us to develop audiences, in particular audiences who wish to buy or commission work for themselves or for their business. We will ensure the
Craft Scotland: The National Development Agency for Craft Page 18 widest range of prospective collectors are informed and engaged by also putting craft into design settings (as at London Design Fair) and look for other sympathetic audiences such as interior and fashion designers and architects.
Our annual programme in 2018-19 will form the base for following years:
Scotland’s Trade Fair, Glasgow Trade January Visual Arts Scotland Showcase January/February Collect, London Retail and Showcase February London Craft Week Retail and Showcase May Summer Show, Edinburgh Retail August London Design Fair Trade, Retail and Showcase September
3. Website, digital communications and social media
Our website remains at the heart of our marketing strategy and digital communications. It provides information to makers and audiences, and promotes makers in Scotland.
In 2016/17 we had over 300,000 visits to our site, with over 30% of visits coming from outside the United Kingdom. Our digital activities are our main tool for connecting the outside world to a wide range of craft in Scotland.
Scottish Enterprise have generously supported us to redevelop the website with improved design (in keeping with the content) and better navigation for all users.
Quality content will be enriched, to showcase craft, explain its value, and offer a platform for thought-leadership. Key issues will be explored, such as sustainability, disability and equalities, working with guest contributors who can reflect and advise from direct experience. Other content will explore craft’s contribution to innovation, design and tourism. It will also provide comprehensive guidance for makers and audiences in signposting them to other relevant organisations and online resources, including support for CPD. We will actively seek ways of linking to new organisations through our digital channels who can reach audiences new to craft.
There are currently profiles of over 1,600 makers on the site. However to ensure we provide a well-curated resource, which focuses on the highest quality events, activities, and makers we are streamlining the content we post and facilitate. The new directory of makers and craft venues will offer enhanced profiles which will be easier to search and be more informative. Makers will not be automatically included but will apply for assessment against a set of quality criteria. They will be required to pay a small annual fee for the profile, and ensure it is kept up to date. Revised targets for numbers of profiles on the site will be agreed.
Craft Scotland was an early adopter of social media and we have a substantial following on networks such as Facebook and Twitter. More recently we have embraced highly visual emerging platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram, and audiences are constantly growing through these channels. We have held bloggers’ events to promote our Summer Show, and this is effective in targeting a younger market. We will continue to embrace new opportunities as they become available and appropriate.
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Films of makers have played a large part in our programme, demonstrating craft practice in a dynamic way to a wider public. This culminated in the development of Craft Scotland TV in 2015. We will continue to use film as a key part of our communication strategy and will find ways to give films a greater reach.
4. Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
Supporting makers in their development and practice at all stages of their careers is a vital part of our activities. This Strategy sets out how we plan to do more in this area.
We have been concerned in the past not to duplicate what other organisations do, but have a growing awareness of gaps in provision - especially geographically, in the different life stages of a maker’s practice, and in some of the specialist support required. We took note of the report produced for the Craft Curators’ Network (see appendix iv) and believe there is a role for Craft Scotland to take a lead in addressing some of the concerns raised. This does not mean delivering all the training ourselves but taking responsibility for co-ordinating a programme of partner-produced support.
We will map out various learning and career journeys that makers might take and plot existing and needed resources against this - both online resources and new training programmes. Recent discussions with the Cultural Enterprise Office suggest they can support this work. However some additional project funding will be needed to scope and deliver specialist training. This will be part of a discussion and increased funding bid to Creative Scotland.
We will continue our current programme of CPD activities and add value where we can:
• Through all the opportunities we create for makers we aim to ensure that they receive appropriate training to be well prepared for and to get the best out of the opportunity. Training and debriefing days will continue to be integral to our programme of exhibitions. • We will enhance the information we provide for makers in the Resources section of our new website. • “Go and See” trips enable makers considering a show to visit it in advance, to understand what is involved, see the visitor market and review the offerings from their peers. We will continue to invite makers to visit UK events but will not run Go and See trips internationally unless we have a strong prospect of funding from UKTI, Emergents and/or Scotland Re:Designed. • We have placed makers on the Crafts Council’s highly regarded Injection and Hothouse programmes, aimed respectively at giving established and emerging makers guidance, support and mentoring in the development of their craft business. We have sponsored two places on Injection in the last two years and six on Hothouse for three years. Injection is currently under review by the Crafts Council. Hothouse has been a great success, giving participants growth in confidence, professionalism and practice. We promote the scheme, select the makers, co-ordinate training events in Scotland, suggest speakers and mentors, and fund travel costs for events in London. While it is expensive, we would not be able to develop and manage such a quality programme on our own. The makers also value making contact with
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colleagues throughout the UK. We had a record number of quality applicants for Hothouse this year, and plan to continue it for the foreseeable future. • We will be promoting more Scottish Enterprise digital training workshops in 2017 and 2018, linked to our new website funding. We will evaluate these and see if they can be adapted into the training pathways.
5. Meet Your Maker (MYM)
• This programme is an effective means of diversifying audiences. It takes makers out of their studios and into places where audiences can more readily see and engage with them. The aim is to develop new audiences and to build a greater awareness and understanding of craft. • The programme has developed over several years from a single weekend to a programme across Scotland – last year partnering around 16 venues. • We pay a share of the maker fees (up to 60% for new partners) and have successfully raised small amounts of external funding. • We now wish to focus more closely on reaching target audiences, as prioritised in our recent Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion plan. Such a wide-ranging programme is administratively difficult for our small team, and we do not wish to subsidise events that some organisations could now do themselves. We therefore plan to work with fewer, strategic partners - ideally three or four each year - in a more sustained way. • We will aim to roll out a pilot programme with the Young Scot Rewards programme for people between the ages of 12-25. Participants collect points for taking part in new experiences, which can then be exchanged for rewards. Points may be earned for example, by visiting craft exhibitions and sharing their reviews and blogs on the Young Scot and Craft Scotland websites. Rewards could include being part of a workshop session with a maker. • We have worked with Historic Environment Scotland for two years delivering very successful programmes involving local groups of adults with learning difficulties. These are based at Stirling Castle and involve Artlink Central and Forth Valley College. This will be repeated, expanding into a new project entitled ‘Our Place’ supporting young people to discover their local heritage, produce creative outputs in a range of media, then share and celebrate their work through performance, display and events. Craft Scotland will be their making partner. • We will review this approach at the end of 2018, with a view to continuing to work with a few specialist partners going forward.
6. Conference
• We have been running a conference annually since 2013. This provides a networking event for those interested in or involved with craft, bringing people together to talk about current events and ideas and to inspire them with a programme of exciting speakers sharing new stories and practices. • We have changed the location on a rotating basis to ensure some geographical spread, and have had both two day and one day conferences attracting on average 120 delegates each time.
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• To make attendance as inclusive as possible ticket prices are highly subsidised, with free bursary places for those who cannot pay. We have also worked with Emergents to offer travel bursaries to those travelling from the Highlands and Islands. • A conference continues to be an important part of our activities and we would like to develop it further, holding a more international conference every two years. Our next conference is scheduled for 2018, which may complement the proposed Scottish Craft Biennale planned for May to July 2018. It could provide a focal point around which to host the General Assembly of the World Craft Council, inviting the 20-plus members representing European craft bodies - an ideal opportunity to profile craft in Scotland to this influential audience. • In the interim years we will investigate the opportunities for other networking events or guest lectures, potentially in partnership with some of the Universities.
5. Governance and Resources
Our Board and Governance – we updated our constitution in 2012 to be accurate and reflect our current activities and legislation.
We have a committed Board (see appendix v) that works hard for the success of the organisation. We have a new Chair from 2016, and have been fortunate to attract a number of other strong new members. We will recruit further members this year and have created a matrix of skills and diversity to guide our choices.
The Board meets a minimum of five times a year and undertakes an annual review of strategy and plans. Reporting into it is the Finance & Remuneration Committee, which meets quarterly. Papers are sent out a week in advance of meetings, and minutes are approved and recorded.
We have recently reviewed our risk assessment, updated our governance calendar and financial procedures, developed a business continuity plan and an equalities, diversity and inclusion plan as well as reviewing many of our policies to ensure they are up to date and appropriate. We will keep these under review. We contract specialist services in ICT, book keeping, HR and Health & Safety.
Advisory Group
Our makers’ advisory group has replaced the Craft Bench we ran previously. The Bench had representatives of the various maker organisations (such as the Scottish Furniture Makers Association) but prompted little dialogue or feedback. In 2015 we disbanded this in favour of an Advisory Group to the Board that would be more active in commenting on and sharing our plans within the sector. The Group has ten members and meets twice a year. (See Appendix v)
Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion
We are committed to making craft essential to our communities and we consider this to be all embracing. We aim to imbed equal opportunities in all aspects of our activity, making EDI part of our normal working practice.
Our detailed plan and objectives helps us to focus and achieve more. We are working to a
Craft Scotland: The National Development Agency for Craft Page 22 plan for 2017-18 and our plan for 2018-21 is attached in Appendix vi.
We have undertaken some research into craft in BAME communities and understand the profile of makers coming through the education system into the sector. We monitor and report on the profile of our staff, Board and participants. We encourage all partners to have their own EDI plan and ask them to confirm if they have.
Through our Meet Your Maker programme we are developing strategic relationships with organisations that work with audiences that we would find harder to reach. This programme is the principle way we can proactively become more inclusive and therefore we are making a commitment to its development by appointing a part-time post to build more strategic relationships and manage the resultant projects. We trust we will prove the benefit of such a focus on the project, but the continuation of this post and programme into 2018-21 is dependent on increased funding from Creative Scotland.
We will address any development needs within our team to ensure we deliver our targets in this area. We are positively promoting good examples of diversity in contemporary craft on our website through our “Make Your Own Story” series. Workshops this year with Scottish Enterprise have been widely located geographically, to makers at differing stages of their careers and with diverse practices.
We are aware that the venue for our Summer Show is not fully accessible, and this is a concern. We have been given this space for free for the last four years by White Stuff – a prime central location for the month of August during the Edinburgh Festivals. They are currently unable to make the changes required as they do not otherwise use it as a public space. We are investigating alternatives, though there are few available at that time of year and these would cost upwards of £10,000. Our ability to move the show is funding dependent.
We know that the sector is already engaged with this topic. In the Creative Scotland EDI survey 135 people selected craft as their art form. This was 9% of the respondents which reflects a significant proportion of cultural practitioners. We will continue to encourage this engagement through our positive presentation of diverse practices.
Environment
We are committed to operating in an environmentally sustainable manner and will champion this behaviour amongst the craft community. Our Director is our environment champion, with support from all the team, notably the Office Co-ordinator who manages much of the recording. Key points to note include:
• we are registered as a Green office with Creative Carbon Scotland (CCS) • we set up the Green Craft Initiative with CCS in 2014 and promote it to makers • we have a series of blogs on the website from makers who can share their own environmental practice with others • we act as environmentally friendly as possible within our own office and on our travels • we encourage all our partners to have an environmental policy and plan and ask them to confirm if they have one
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5a. Staff
Our staff are our chief resource. All staff have up to date role profiles. They have an annual performance review meeting to set objectives and to create a personal development plan. The nurturing and training of our staff is important to us for the ongoing success of our organisation and we will invest in them to develop their skills and experience. We will continue to employ best practices in the management and development of our team.
We are a small professional team achieving excellent results. We have good experience and knowledge of craft in Scotland and the rest of the world and from feedback believe we have the support of makers and other craft-related organisations.
Our Director has been in post since January 2013 and has built the organisation and its reputation over that time. She is supported by an experienced Projects Manager and Marketing Manager. The Marketing Team manages our website and our communications. They promote not only the work of Craft Scotland but also all the work of and activities in the craft sector in Scotland. They will also manage the on-line shop going forward. The Project team manages the exhibitions, CPD and outreach programme.
Delivering our 2016-17 programme stretched our resources to the maximum. In order to achieve our ambitions going forward, we are investing in two new part-time appointments for 2017-18. One will focus on our Meet Your Maker programme, which is the main vehicle for the delivery of our EDI initiatives, and the other will focus on growing income through our new website. We hope to build these posts into our infrastructure for 2018-21. We understand that taking on staff is a big commitment however we believe that this is essential to the success of our future plans, which would otherwise have to be scaled back.
As we expand our activities we will review the support provided by the freelance Bookkeeper and the PA/Office Co-ordinator. However at this stage no increase is assumed.
We have built a small % increase to our salary budget year on year, to allow for inflation and ensure fair pay.
We are compliant with the new pension regulations, having a group auto enrolment scheme with Royal London. We currently make a 7% contribution to staff pensions and as such we do not need to make any further financial provision given the current guidelines.
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Staff Structure
Director
Bookkeeper PA/Office Co- freelance 7.5 hours ordinator p/t (0.6fte) p/w
Marketing Manager Projects Manager
Marketing Officer Projects Assistant
Marketing Projects
Assistant Assistant p/t , temp contract p/t, temp contract
5b. Premises
Our offices are leased at Coburg House, which runs until August 2019. We like the space and have negotiated a good rental rate. There is enough space to accommodate the two additional staff. We anticipate renewing the lease in August 2019 for a further three years, and have budgeted for a 10% price increase. However we will explore more cost effective options at this point, including shared or serviced office accommodation and the cost of storage space.
5c. Capital Expenditure
We do not forecast any significant capital expenditure over the next three year period.
We replace our computers on a rolling basis and will continue to upgrade as necessary; this has been built into our budgets.
We are incurring substantial expense in the development of our new website, which is externally funded. We therefore do not envisage any significant web costs in the duration of this plan. We have also recently invested in a new server, to allow for growth of activity and storage of files, and this should see us through until 2021 unless we experience exponential growth. Small display items for exhibitions are either hired or are purchased from the project budget.
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6. Outline Programme 2018-19
2018-19 April May June July August September October Nov Dec January February March Marketing-Content Marketing, Social Media amd Email marketing Marketing E-commerce Directory recruitment campaign - makers and places profiles PR PR PR Outreach Meet Your Maker Hothouse Hothouse CPD CPD and Training workshops London Summer London Scotland's Exhibitions Craft Week Conference Show Design Fair Trade Show Collect and Events Planning and development (P&D) VAS P&D Conference Tracking Research LCW survey survey SS survey LDF survey Study STS survey
7. Targets
We continue to review how we can best demonstrate our impact, which can be difficult to state numerically. Many of the benefits of our programmes are ones which are more qualitative, challenging to gather, or take time to materialise – such as orders from a trade show, or building the confidence of a maker.
We launched an annual tracking study in February 2017 to measure the growth in the sector. This is assessed through turnover and numbers of staff, amongst other measures.
We are aware of some weaknesses in our current measures – eg increasing audiences does not necessarily demonstrate which segments we are reaching. Our audience mapping will help us improve this. Below are the targets we can most confidently measure:
2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 targets targets targets targets
PARTICIPATION No of website visits 330,000 350,000 375,000 390,000 No of unique visitors 250,000 260,000 300,000 310,000 No of Facebook fans 8,500 9,250 10,000 10,750 No of Twitter followers 14,500 14,750 15,000 15,250 Pinterest 3,500 3,650 3,800 3,950 Instagram 7,500 7,750 8,000 8,250 Newsletter Subscribers 7,500 7,750 8,000 8,250 MYM Audiences 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,300 No of places represented on website 30 75 100 125
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT No of makers represented on website 150 300 500 550 Opportunities Newsletter subscribers 2,800 2,850 2,900 2,950 Makers on Hothouse programme 7 6 6 6 Makers attending event training 80 85 85 85 Makers attending other cpd events 120 130 140 150 Visit to resources section on website 10,000 12,000 13,000 14,000 Maker exhibiting opportunities 100 100 100 100 TOTAL 13,257 15,471 16,731 17,841
PROGRAMME Audiences for Exhibitions 64,000 66,000 68,000 70,000 Gross sales/orders from exhibitions £ 81,825 96,650 99,900 102,650 Nos of individual events staged 35 41 36 39
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8. Finances and Budgets
Our organisation must be financially stable and fit for purpose in order for us to deliver our goals. We take our responsibilities in this area seriously.
We have a history of managing our budgets well. We have reserves to cover our wind up costs. We have a healthy cash flow, with our reserves invested. We recognise the need to grow our income from sources other than Creative Scotland and have plans in place, building on our track record of improving earned income over the last few years.
Some income comes from makers, for instance through application fees, commission and new web profile fees. It is right that they should pay for opportunities that benefit them, but we always try to keep fees down, and balance what we charge in line with our goal to support and develop the sector.
We are signatories to the Scottish Business Pledge which means that we undertake to pay all employees at least the minimum living wage and will not use zero hours contracts. We use the Scottish Artists Union guidelines for paying makers for their time and services, for instance in the MYM programme, and promote these pay scales to others looking to engage makers. We reference the a-n/AIR guidelines on exhibiting fees where relevant, although our exhibitions generally require makers to pay to take part given the retail opportunity. We paid exhibiting and set up fees to the makers taking part in the craft showcase at Visual Art Scotland and would do so again in similar circumstances. Our budgets are based on these costs and fees.
The exhibition programme which has the best long-term benefits for makers unfortunately generates the lowest income. For example, London Design Fair is an excellent showcase - many makers generated new stockists and both they and Craft Scotland got positive media coverage, but it is not a sales-focused show. This is one reason subsidy is essential for our programme. We have tried to mitigate reduced commission income by charging management fees to deliver programmes on behalf of partners, such as Emergents and HES.
We hope to develop the relationship we have started to build with UKTI, which could generate funds for makers to attend international trade fairs and Craft Scotland a fee for administering these. However as this is currently very uncertain we have not included it in our Budget.
We undertook a large fundraising project in 2014 and although it raised a small sum for us for the following financial year, the return on investment did not make it worthwhile continuing. It was a valuable learning experience to realise that in the current climate we are unlikely to raise significant funds from trusts or sponsorship.
Our annual accounts are examined but not audited, as we are currently under the threshold. We may need to move to audited accounts over the next three years if our income grows. We have set up a trading subsidiary in case it is more prudent to channel some of our earned income activities through that in future. We are not currently registered for VAT but will examine the benefits of this.
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Budget commentary
Our total planned expenditure over 2018-21 is £1,543,847 which shows an increase of 22% over the 2015-18 period. We are looking to both Creative Scotland and our own resources to fund this increase.
We are seeking a grant of £1,118,958 from Creative Scotland which is 72% of the total expenditure and we will contribute £412,889 in earned income. The grant would represent an increase of just under 15% and our earned income will increase by 34% over the same period.
We have invested heavily into our programme in 2017-18 from reserves and designated funds from previous years. This is to allow us to test the scale of programme and some individual projects that we would like to deliver through 2018-21.
It will take this level of funding to continue the ambitious programme we have been developing through the last three years, culminating in 2017-18. We have created two new part time posts on temporary contracts in 2017-18 to enable us to carry out this programme, one to focus on and develop our Meet Your Maker outreach programme and the other to help maximise income from the new website. We hope to be able to continue these posts through 2018-21.
We plan to invest in PR as we have seen the benefits of how this can raise the profile of craft through a test on our recent project in Baltimore.
The major additional costs are in attending the major exhibitions – London Design Fair and Collect. We appreciate that they do require significant subsidy but know that they do the most to raise the profile of craft in Scotland and support makers’ creative and business development.
We are confident of our ability to generate additional income through paid profiles using enhanced functionality on our new website and from project management fees, a new source of income we have developed.
We appreciate the funding challenges Creative Scotland face. However we have ambitious plans that will deliver our aims and greater success for the craft sector in Scotland. These plans and the growth in activity and costs are tied to our strategic plan to deliver our aims and targets. As we already have a sound infrastructure to build on, a relatively small amount of additional investment will enable us to do much more. There is an economy of scale in building growth in the sector through Craft Scotland. Without it there will be lost opportunities for craft and makers in Scotland. Our full budget for 2018-21 is outlined in appendix vii.
2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 notes income Creative Scotland 325,300 325,300 325,300 325,300 at current level Creative Scotland to deliver strategic plan, growth request 48,250 44,626 50,183 av 14.7% over 3 years designated funds to deliver enhanced and reserves 19,418 programme Earned income 111,282 135,114 140,184 149,591 34% increase total 456,000 508,664 510,110 525,074 expenditure 456,000 508,664 510,110 525,074 15% increase surplus/deficit 0 0 0 0
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