Scale and impact partnerships

Partnership is in Channel 4’s DNA. The organisation The following table gives a brief outline of some British When Channel 4 screened its Britain’s p24 The Landshare is a Channel 4 website that p56 was born out of a partnership between creative of Channel 4’s 2009 partnerships and provides details Association Forgotten Children season, it approached matches people who have land to spare commissioning talent and independent producers, and of where readers can find more information elsewhere of Adoption the British Association for Adoption and with people who have fruit and vegetables & Fostering Fostering to seek expert advice on devising they want to grow. One of many partner partnership remains at the core of everything we do. in the report. tests for potential adoptive parents. The organisations, The National Trust is planning outcome was so successful that a re-edited to make available enough land to provide It is the most effective – and cost-effective – way for DVD of the programmes has been made a thousand new allotments. us to develop talent, to foster skills, to empower available as a training tool for social workers individuals and families, to reach out to communities in the field of adoption and fostering. and to explore new ways of delivering public benefit in every part of the UK.

The Arts Council, The Big Art series was the biggest and most Front 2009 saw Warp X, the low-budget film p10 The Art Fund, Big high-profile group of public art commissions cover company that partners Channel 4 with the Art Trust & local ever seen in the UK, with major financial UK Film Council, Screen Yorkshire, East and regional support from Arts Council and the Midlands Media and Optimum Releasing, YouTube A commercial joint venture to stream “catch- p67 agencies and Art Fund and with the support of local produce Paul King’s Bunny and the Bull, up” programming from the TV schedules authorities authorities and regional agencies in England, which won a British Independent Film and classics from the Channel 4 archive. , and Northern Ireland. An Award; and Tiger Lily’s She, A Chinese, Channel 4 The Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, p50–51 For Channel 4, it’s another way of reaching independent Big Art Trust ensured that the directed by Xialou Guo, which won the BRITDOC funded by Channel 4, raises finance for its audiences and generating ad revenue. For quality of the art, the integrity of the Golden Leopard for best film at the Locarno award-winning documentary films by YouTube it’s a ground-breaking opportunity commissioning process and the Film Festival. partnering with dozens of funders. to stream full-length programmes. management of Big Art’s legacy could be kept separate from the constraints and pressures of the programmes themselves. TRC Media Channel 4 is the main sponsor and partner p16 Screen West 4iP has partnered with Screen West p72 of TRC Media, based at the Channel’s Midlands Midland’s £5m Digital Media Fund to co- To celebrate the launch of Big Art, Channel 4 Scottish headquarters. It provides an invest in new ideas and new businesses commissioned a huge ‘4’ outside the Channel 4 information resource and training support across the over three years. building in . The structure was for small independent production Tools supported to date include Talk about “dressed” by different artists – with the final companies throughout the nations and Local, which gives local communities incarnation by a student competition winner regions of the UK. a fresh online voice in their local affairs, (see the front cover). and Help Me Investigate, that enables a pioneering crowd-sourced approach The Big Art Project website was supported Blipfoto, Channel 4 and Blipfoto – a new photo–sharing p16 to investigative journalism. by who collaborated National Theatre website – teamed up with the National on a range of online video and features of Scotland, Theatre of Scotland and Scottish Screen to spotlighting the rich mix of public art Scottish Screen mount a major competition to unearth new activity across the country, as well as photographic talent in Scotland. helping amplify the success of the Big Art Mob by rolling it out to arts and disability The Home Office A binge-drinking storyline in Hollyoaks p52–53 groups and to young people in schools, led the Home Office to build an online colleges and beyond. partnership with Channel 4. This online collaboration addressed the problem of Building on the long-established relationship under-age drinking, enabled actors to blog with Arts Council England, 2009 saw a new in character and helped raise awareness partnership established with to among 12 and 13–year–olds about jointly fund a season of films for More4 Arts, binge drinking. Crossover Channel 4’s 4iP partnered with cross-media p74 showcasing the excellence of the arts in training organisation Crossover to develop England. The first film,The Royal Ballet in new forms of participatory public Cuba, was broadcast as part of a Christmas service media. celebration of dance on More4. Further films will follow in 2010. National Film Channel 4 contributes financially to the p75 and Television NFTS as part of its training support for the School film and television industries.

Skillset Channel 4 helps sustain the creative and p75 technical quality of the UK’s media industries through its funding for and partnerships with Skillset, the media industry’s training organisation.

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