Brixton Live: Web development brief 1. Context: Project overview and partners Kettle Partnership has been awarded a grant by Arts Council England to deliver Brixton Live, a website and mobile application that focuses on developing new and existing audiences for a range of cultural organisations based in Brixton. This project is a pilot demonstration of concept that will be delivered in partnership with six local cultural organisations and three Local Authority departments: Raw Material, Oval House Theatre, B3 Media, Photofusion, 198 Contemporary Arts, Independance, and Lambeth Arts, Libraries and Archives services. The Brixton cultural offer is extensive but, as acknowledged by the partners participating in this project, fragmented. Brixton Live will connect cultural organisations through a single common factor their location and make the range and extent of the cultural offer in Brixton both more apparent and more easily accessible to audiences. Brixton Live will allow the partners to reach a wider potential audience, getting their message across to people involved in other cultural activity in Brixton. It will build on the strong place brand in Brixton, already promoted through locally grown initiatives such as the Brixton Pound. The pilot has the potential to be extended to more organisations and businesses within Brixton, and is also a template that could be used in other places. Brixton has recently benefited from publicity generated by the new restaurants and bars in Brixton Market creating a new destination for Londoners. However the area has always had a good proportion of visitors to its cultural scene, from music at the Brixton Academy and the many other clubs and venues in Brixton, to films at the Ritzy Cinema. However, these visitors are not always aware of all the other cultural events and activities taking place in the neighbourhood. The situation is similar for local residents, who may be aware of some cultural activity in the area but have no easy way to see the full cultural offer. The online platform should also allow audiences and organisations to share ideas and develop events online; and to make recommendations to potential audience members based on the cultural products users they have accessed. By bringing together existing audiences from a range of cultural venues and local businesses there will be opportunities for each organisation to access many different audience segments, and for audiences to hear about and try something new. As part of the project we are commissioning The Audience Agency (national audience development agency) to establish a baseline of current audiences for culture in Brixton and we intend to use the web application to gather more information both existing and new audiences. Additionally Kettle will be carrying out a survey on the technical abilities of current audiences (what devices are being used and where people currently go to online for information on the area and cultural activities). Brixton Live Ambitions: To gather useful data on audiences for culture in Brixton from both residents and visitors. 1
To generate publicity for breadth of cultural activity in Brixton To create an online resource that is innovative and sustainable with the facility for further development in the future. 2. Project timeline Phase 1: January April 2013 Confirm technical delivery schedule and testing phase for the online application. Gather content for technical build (cultural activity and events gathered on a shared web platform) Confirm strategy for promotion of online platform via mainstream social media sites Agree evaluation framework and timetable Agree communication methods and responsibilities Phase 2: May August 2013 Concept testing with reiteration phase Usability testing with target groups (Kettle Partnership will recruit the groups) Specific training for partners: in uploading content Training for the Young Promoters 1 to support the launch of the site, training would comprise of content management Evaluation update Phase 3: Sept 2013- Jan 2014 Launch of online site Evaluation update Phase 4: Feb 2014 Final evaluation Dissemination of learning and best practice 3. Functionality The Brixton Live website should: not replace partner websites be optimised for mobile access allow users to be rewarded, for example with discounts and offers, in exchange for attendance and feedback. display associated content (for example, a talk at a local archive might have an associated exhibition at neighbouring gallery), providing opportunities for organisations to access different audience segments provide the facility for instant evaluation and feedback on events. 1 Young Promoters: will be a group of young people recruited from the youth programmes run by the partner organisations. The intention is to support a small team to design and carry out a media campaign to promote the launch of Brixton Live 2
enable the public to submit suggestions for activities to inform future activities and programming. Partner organisations could test audience appetite for these suggestions and their own new programming through using existing web applications such as www.eventbrite.co.uk etc. A key aspect of the vision for the site is to gather audience data by focusing audience groups (young people, older people, families, young professionals etc.) with recommendations on activities based on audience data, obtained through sign up to the site, booking history. include a dynamic, geo-locative map showing the location of partner organisations and other key places of interest enable the public to filter events by date to create a personalised evening/day in Brixton link to social networking sites to widely promote and enable users to share events have detailed background analytics to help inform future development comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines comply with data protection legislation 4. Context Kettle Partnership will co-ordinate the over-arching content, but it should be easy for all partners to add and update content. Content will consist of listing and information for events and activities staged by partners as part of their regular programmes. Partner organisations will select content, as they are experts in their own fields and know how to reach their own particular audiences. Partners will also be encouraged to develop joint offers or events that reflect the links created between those involved, to draw on each other s audiences. Content will be overseen by Kettle Partners to ensure it meets standards of consistency, clarity, and accuracy and that the partners are taking the opportunity to develop links between their activities where possible in order to actively attract audiences from one venue to another via shared themes. Kettle Partnership will also oversee the process of feedback, helping organisations to identify areas for audience feedback where they would be able to respond to constructive and creative comments, enabling the development of a closer relationship between organisations and their audiences. 5. User experiences The following are four sample user experiences, illustrating ways in which we envisage the Brixton Live working. User experience (1): Someone who attends fringe theatre in London books for a play at the Oval House Theatre. They see a link on the Oval House website to Brixton Live, which they click. This shows them that Brixton Library has a regular reading group that is looking at work by the author of the play they are seeing. Having not known about either the location of Brixton library or its activities, they attend a wider range of the cultural facilities in Brixton and let others know through Twitter/Facebook updates linked back to the Brixton Live App. 3
User experience (2): A Brixton Library book club regular (who has been asked to sign up to Brixton Live) is sent an email letting them know that there is a photography exhibition at Photofusion (around the corner from the Library) and that, if they are interested, there is a talk planned to take place at the time the book club session ends they can sign up to the free talk (using Eventbrite). The book club member encourages his/her friends and fellow book club members to go along. Having attended the talk the group of friends are asked to text their thoughts on the current talk and ideas for future ones. User experience (3): A young person who is involved in 198 s Creative learning programme, is sent a text or email letting them know that Independance has just launched a new dance programme inviting them to take part; maximising the potential experience for the young person and highlighting pathway opportunities. User experience (4): A visitor to Brixton who has arrived to specifically to go to Brixton Academy, is able to look online to see what is going on in Brixton while at work they will see what other events might be going on before the gig (exhibition opening, event in Brixton market) which they can go to prior to the gig and also see what kind of restaurant or bar they would like to go to after the gig. The visitor stays longer in Brixton and spends money in locally run businesses. 6. Design & aesthetics We require a Brixton Live logo, with basic style guide on fonts and colour schemes that can be used for this work. Kettle Partnership will run a branding workshop with partners to feed into this design process. Websites that perform a similar function: Offwestend.com similar concept of making culture accessible via a site that compiles information from small theatres in London. Not as geographically specific as Brixton Live. Not a design exemplar. Southlondonartmap.com brings together lots of small galleries on one site, covering several neighbourhood-sized areas. Artsmap.org.uk arts in Pennine Lancashire on a single site. Design fairly clear. visitcopenhagen.com where you can build up your own profile and look at others for ideas of where to go, plus the idea of a Copenhagen ticket Websites examples for design ideas: Londonist.com very clear, Wordpress based site http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/ - striking design, easy to use 7. Intellectual property Project and web tool / site model As detailed in the Arts Council England bid, this project is a pilot demonstration of concept that lends itself to adaption and adoption, and could be easily expanded to new 4
geographical areas. It will pilot a model with the potential not only to be extended to a wider group of organisations and businesses within Brixton, but also as a template to used in other locations. The copyright and intellectual property for the model for the project and web tool for the Brixton Live shall rest with Kettle Partnership. Kettle Partnership is a not for profit, social enterprise and any profits made from this model will be re-invested to benefit the communities it serves. Brixton Live brand, website and content The copyright and intellectual property for the Brixton Live brand, website and content shall rest with the Brixton Live project partners. 8. Budget Bids over 28,000 (inclusive of VAT, and two years web hosting) will not be considered. Value for money will be part of the assessment criteria for bids. However, if you feel that there are additional functions or features that you could offer that would benefit Brixton Live beyond the scope of this brief then please feel free to include them, clearly indicating these costs as optional with your tender. We may be able to fundraise for this additional work, though it may have to be as a second phase of web development. 9. Tender timeline Please submit an electronic copy of your tender to info@kettlepartnership.com by no later than 17.00 on Friday 22 nd February 2013. Interviews will take place in Brixton, London during the first 2 weeks of March 2013 10. Tender requirement: The tender application should include: CVs of the staff working on the project Number of days allocated to each activity (e.g. meetings, design, build, testing, training) A full break down of costs against time and resources A concept that explores web application and traditional online site Examples of previous work that are relevant to the Brixton Live project, with contact details of referees that we can contact prior to the interview stage 11.Contact If you have any questions about the brief please contact Leah Whittingham, Director, Kettle Partnership: leah@kettlepartnership.com. 5