Audiences Wales Ltd, working in partnership with Ticketing Cymru, The Circuit and Creu Cymru, wishes to commission a consultant/s to support the development of a scoping study investigating the potential for establishing a single ticketing hub for Wales. The work is intended to promote Wales-wide collaboration by enabling partnerships in the fields of audience development, ticketing and new technology.The major part will establish a situational analysis, a blueprint for the functionality that will be required to carry out the scheme and/or suggestions as to the most appropriate way forward for Wales, an outline of potential set-up and on-going costs and a critical path analysis of the actions needed to complete the project. FEE: £4,000 The second part, after consideration of the blueprint, will identify potential funding possibilities over and above funding from the Arts Council of Wales. This will include any funding criteria, timescales and a likelihood of funding being secured. FEE: £1,500 To receive more information on both or either part of this Study, please email Louise Amery – lla@aber.ac.uk, or call on 01970 622889 Closing date for submissions: Monday 26th February 2007 Work to be completed by early April 2007 FURTHER INFORMATION: The Creation of a Single Ticketing Hub for Wales A creative marketing initiative that makes a real, sustainable difference to arts organisations and audiences across the whole of Wales through the use of innovative models of partnership, enterprise and new technology. 1. Project Description Introduction Audiences Wales, Creu Cymru, The Circuit, and a newly established collaborative organisation, Ticketing Cymru, are working in partnership to produce a Scoping Study which will investigate the potential for establishing a single ticketing hub for Wales. The purpose of this is to encourage arts organisations across the country to work together in the fields of audience development, ticketing and new technology, and funding has been secured via an application to the Arts Council of Wales, to further this Study. The Study will be three-fold. Firstly, we are conducting a needs analysis with venues and companies across Wales to establish their ticketing needs; secondly, we will be commissioning a consultant to investigate the technical possibilities for such a collaborative approach; and lastly, we will be asking a consultant to identify potential sources of funding to enable such a project to be implemented. Audiences Wales is an agency dedicated to increasing access to the arts and cultural sector in Wales. They provide a range of tactical and strategic marketing services for a wide range of organisations, from opera companies to galleries, to amateur theatre companies and museums. Their primary aim is to understand arts audiences and potential audiences better, so that they can work with their partners to improve marketing communications, spreading the message more widely amongst the public, and encouraging greater levels of engagement with this essential part of life in Wales. Creu Cymru is the Touring Agency for Wales, established by, and run on behalf of, theatres and arts centres across the country. Since its inception in April 2001 its membership has grown to 44, reflecting the diversity of the organisations it represents. Through its activities it aims to: develop the provision, accessibility, presentation and vibrancy of the performing arts in Wales; encourage significant growth in arts attenders and provide positive experiences of the arts to both present and new audiences. The Circuit is a consortium of the main professionally managed venues in Mid Wales, covering a wide geographical area: Theatr Hafren in Newtown, Wyeside Arts Centre in Builth Wells, Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, The Welfare in Ystradgynlais, Theatr Felinfach near Lampeter, Theatr Mwldan in Cardigan, Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Theatr Ardudwy in Harlech. Venues are linked by the common features of Mid Wales – rurality, access, economic, social, cultural and linguistic factors. They are the presenters of professional product across various artforms and the presenters/enablers of community and amateur performance. Ticketing Cymru is a newly constituted group formed to pursue the creation of a single ticketing hub for Wales with the following objectives: to promote and foster the development of Wales-wide, collaborative and partnership initiatives in the field of ticketing and new technologies; to act as a focus for ticketing and new technology, centred on communicating with customers and selling tickets for arts and entertainment organisations across Wales and to widen access across the cultural community to ticketing and data resources Background The idea of the creation of a single ticketing hub for Wales is not new. Indeed it is embedded in the current Arts Council of Wales Action Plan: ‘Delivering our Priorities for Access to Excellence for Audience Development. CP1. Availability; Encouraging organisations and individuals to work together across Wales to maximise opportunities for people to experience the arts. Objective 3. Investigate the potential for a shared, Wales-wide, on-line ticketing and box office system that would maximize opportunities for people across Wales to find out what’s on and book tickets.’ Rapid advancements in new technology and the progression to web-based forms of architecture provide real, sustainable possibilities for expanding, not just current ticketing provision in Wales, but opening up possibilities to arts organisations and audiences previously disenfranchised through high costs. Great strides have been made in recent years in analysing ticketing data, but this can only ever be as good as the data collection methodologies allow. We are looking for ways to engage the wider sector, so that amateur theatre companies performing in chapels, mobile cinemas, small festivals, galleries etc will, for the price of a half-page advert in a listings magazine, have access to a tailored service of ticketing, data collection and analysis, which can be added on to the more established venue sector to provide real insights into audience behaviour. We are also interested in investigating new types of business model. For example, a model where organisations would buy into the scheme by licence and by support agreements, negating where possible the huge initial costs and tailoring the product to the needs of the customer. This would enable small organisations, festivals, touring companies etc to invest in the ticketing and data solutions they need in the most cost-effective way possible. Details of The Scoping Study As outlined above, the Scoping Study will be conducted in three parts. Following on from an initial needs analysis (conducted by Audiences Wales), the major part will establish blueprints for the functionality that will be required to carry out any future development scheme, outlines of potential set-up and on-going costs and a critical path analysis of the actions needed to complete any such project. Next, after consideration of the blueprint, we will be looking to identify potential funding possibilities over and above funding from the Arts Council of Wales, and potentially looking to WEFO (the Welsh European Funding Office) or the Welsh Assembly Government directly. This stage must include any funding criteria, timescales and a predicted success rate. Outputs will include: <sum> Clear recommendations for the way forward <sum> Evaluation of consultations with ticketing suppliers <sum> A proposed business model or models <sum> Recommendations for on-going management of the project and positioning within the industry, in Wales and beyond <sum> Identification of any potential barriers (financial, political, technical) to the success of the project <sum> Evaluation of the readiness of the sector to move forward collectively with the project <sum> Identification and assessment of a wide range of funding options The scoping study will start in March and it is anticipated that all three parts will be completed by the end of April 2007. The first consultancy contract (technical specification and evaluation) to inform the study is budgeted at 8 days consultancy at a daily rate of £500, with a total fee payable of £4,000. The financial/funding review is allocated a 3 day consultancy again at a daily rate of £500, i.e. a total fee of £1,500. The consultants will be supported by the project partners, who will be in regular contact with arts professionals throughout Wales to garner feedback on the potential of the project, through existing networks such as Creu Cymru, Audiences Wales, the Circuit, Arts Marketing Association, and through contact with UK wide Ticketing associations and groups. They will also stay in regular contact and liaison with key ACW staff who are interested in the progress of the project. Further, as outlined above, Audiences Wales will carry out a thorough needs analysis with the sector prior to the commissioning of consultant/s which will feed-into and inform the study‘s outputs. The scoping study will also be informed by The Knowledge project (Audiences Wales’ data analysis programme using the Vital Statistics software. The brief will need to clarify how any ticketing hub will work alongside existing facilities including projects like The Knowledge. The partners will ensure that project planning and activity is supported by consultation and monitoring. The partners, in conjunction with the Project Consultants will develop a thorough and effective research and development process which will allow potential users to be fully involved in the planning activity. |
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| Louise Amory e-mail: lla@aber.ac.uk |
Tuesday, February 13, 2007 |
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