Wakefield Museums audience development review & plan commission We are looking for an experienced audience development specialist to carry out a review of Wakefield Museums audience development potential and to develop a 3 year plan to increase the profile of our museums and increase visitor figures. Context: Wakefield Council’s Museum service has recently been successful in securing funding from the Arts Council England’s Renaissance Strategic Support Fund to commission a programme of audience development initiatives to increase the profile and audiences to our museums and to increase visitors and users of our services. We are going through a significant period of change and redevelopment: the recent opening of Wakefield Museum in October 2012, Castleford Forum Library and Museum in autumn 2013 and the redisplay of Pontefract Museum in 2014 / 2015. During this period of change we need an audience development plan to help us reach our core audiences and point us in the right direction to begin to widen our audiences. We need an audience development review and 3 year plan to deliver the following: - A review of what our venues ‘offer’ is (and what it should / might be) - A review of our current audience development work and how this can be improved or changed - A 3 year plan that helps us reach our core audience and gives us foundations to widen this audience. - The facilitation of a workshop with the Museum Team to discuss staff views and ideas on audience development. Deliverables - Review of Wakefield Museum (WM) audience development (‘what is the offer’ , web presence, social media, printed material, press releases, Wakefield One visitors, Wakefield visitors, The Hepworth Wakefield visitors) - Review of Castleford Forum Museum (CFM) audience development (‘what is the offer’ , web presence, social media, printed material, press releases, Castleford Centre visitors) - Review of Pontefract Museum (PM) audience development (‘what is the offer’- to inform redevelopment , web presence, social media, printed material, press releases, Pontefract Centre & castle visitors) - Impact of review of regional audience development research on Wakefield Museums target audiences - Report of findings, summary and 3 year audience development plan to be prepared - Presentation of findings to Wakefield Museums team and the Council’s Communications Team. - Please note that the implementation of the three year plan will be carried out by Wakefield Council. Fee A fee of no more than £3,500 (plus VAT if applicable) payable on receipt of an invoice and paid in instalments as agreed. Timeline September 13 October 13 November 13 December 13 Jan 13 Feb 14 Selection Review & Plan Report findings and plan How to apply? To apply for this commission please send the following information to [email protected] by 12 noon on Monday 26 August 2013: - Outline of how you propose to carry out the commission including timeline for producing a final report and presentation. - Budget outline for delivering the work - Details of your experience in audience development work - Details of two referees for work you have completed recently Following a shortlisting successful candidates will be invited to attend an interview in September (TBC) at Wakefield One, Burton Street, Wakefield, WF1 2DD. Additional information There may be additional scope to assist with delivery of audience development plan Please note that Wakefield Council’s Museum service will also be commissioning a review of museum visitor information collected over the past five years by Calderdale, Wakefield, Kirklees, Bradford and Leeds Council’s Museum services. .