On Wednesday 3rd April we held another funding accelerator workshop here in the Imagination Lab at Lancaster University. Continue reading Imagining a bright future
A Towering Success
We held our very first funding accelerator workshop in Blackpool on the 21st March (see what I did with the title of this post 😀 ) and it was very well received by all the new people who attended. Continue reading A Towering Success
Brantwood Bid Writing Retreat
Braving the northern England weather we, along with 19 bid writers, headed to Brentwood, Coniston in early March to get some time to write bids. Continue reading Brantwood Bid Writing Retreat
Action Amongst the Art
After our successful launch event at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery it was lovely to be back in such inspiring and grand surroundings for our February workshop.
Our theme for this session was “project development” so the morning discussion centred around how to organise projects so that they run smoothly and also how to scale them from pilots to full-blow projects. As usual there was lively discussion with lots of shared advice and support among the attendees. Continue reading Action Amongst the Art
An incredibly useful experience
From Rebecca Johnson, Arts and Heritage Manager, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery
I have found the experience incredibly useful in that it gives the time and space to pursue funding bids with a flexible and agile support system. The peer to peer element of the programme has been particularly interesting for me as it is easy to sit in your own silo and work with the funders and areas you have always used. For me working in the arts I am experienced at Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery fund bids, but from others I am learning new opportunities, thinking laterally and starting to dip my toe into other areas of funding that I knew nothing about. The space to discuss your ideas and plans and perhaps take them to somewhere you didn’t expect is wonderful, however this is a time consuming process and the 6 month period is not enough time to start to understand a funder, develop new collaborations and be successful in a funding bid.
I attended the first programme as a supporter to help an Arts council funding bid (which was successful) but found that on top of the successful small joint funding bid the other connections I made have helped develop new ideas and possibilities. I am aware that this process won’t be quick – there will be small quick wins but to get the big goal could take up to a year and I would very much like to work with ImaginationLancaster and Lancaster University throughout that time.