Developing a Cultural Strategy and Report for Wigan Borough

Wigan Council is one of the ten local authorities that make up Greater Manchester, and as such is a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). The Council provide over 700 services for local residents, and includes a range of cultural services (Arts Development, Libraries, Museums, Archives and Parks). Private and third party providers working within the cultural sector provide further diversity and strength to our cultural ecology, some of whom are supported through the Council’s Deal for Communities Investment Fund, notably partners such as The Old Courts, The Turnpike CIC and Wigan STEAM.

Our ambition is, through working with our partners, to continue to deliver high quality, accessible and engaging cultural events and activities across our borough. Through the development of a Cultural Strategy, we aim to support the growth of our borough’s cultural sector, realising long term economic and health benefits. Wigan Council provides strategic leadership for culture and the arts, working to provide investment in local provision.

Wigan Council invites tenders for consultancy services to deliver research, consultation, write the borough’s Cultural Strategy and outline strategic direction for the whole of Wigan Borough.

The successful tenderer will be required to:

* Work with representatives of the cultural sector within Wigan Borough to gain insight into issues at a grass roots level and to understand range of cultural activity in the borough and the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.

* Work with key officers of Wigan Council across cultural, economic, health, educational and environmental services to understand the importance of culture in its broadest of sense.

* Effectively map existing cultural activity in the borough, highlighting areas that are culturally isolated.

* Work with us and stakeholders to develop and draft a Cultural Strategy that represents the needs of the cultural sector, and which links to the Council’s tourism strategy and associated work areas including health, education and the environment.

* Deliver a detailed report which outlines the existing cultural offer and suggests recommendations for partnerships with cultural organisations outside of the borough, across GMCA and further afield.

This project is jointly funded by Arts Council England and Wigan Council.