What would this august body of classical musicians want with us and our tenants' groups and neighbourhood associations? How little I knew.
It always surprises me that there aren't more partnerships around. This is particularly true for third sector organisations in the current climate, when funds are tight and it's even more important to mark yourself out from the crowd, what better way than to team up with someone to pool your resources and maximise your impact, as well as creating something new in the process? Partnering up with the right organisation can lead to all sorts of opportunities for both parties, and can be a real case of the whole being much more than the sum of its parts...
I saw a brilliant example of this first hand when I went to work with Frankie* at North Manchester Regeneration in 2002. For several years before this Frankie and her team had been developing lots of links with local community/arts groups in the area, then they had the brilliant idea of approaching the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra? I have to admit I was a bit gob smacked when I heard this. What would this august body of classical musicians want with us and our tenants' groups and neighbourhood associations? How little I knew. As it turned out they wanted everything to do with us, and here's why...
It works both ways
What was clear to Frankie’s small team in North Manchester was that a partnership between a large well established institution and a small local group works both ways, with clear benefits to each party. In this case, the BBC Phil, like many other well established orchestras, theatres and galleries, has a real and urgent need to develop and maintain new audiences for the future. This is a very serious business. The average age of people regularly attending this type of event is such that in a decade or two many of them will no longer be around.
A precious resource
Realising this, the team knew that what had been built up in North Manchester was very precious indeed. They had developed relationships with a wide range of local groups. And when I say 'relationships' I don't mean that they had simply entered them on a database, I mean that trust and understanding had been built over several years. They had worked with these groups on various projects, they had listened to their concerns and understood where they were coming from. This sort of work is common to many grass roots third sector organisations and because they do it everyday, because it's 'what they do' they often don't realise how valuable it is - and valuable not only to them and the people they serve, but to others as well.
A bold idea, off the wall and popping up all over the place
Too many people in the third sector seem to me to think that organisations like the BBC Phil may seem out of reach, but when you think about it - whilst in this case the orchestra has a wealth of fantastic artistic and technical expertise, they don’t necessarily know how to go about building a audience outside of their usual target area in North Manchester. They particularly aren't going to know how to engage several hundred people from Harpurhey in a symphony. But out in the third sector there are people who do.
‘The Pop-Up Project, as it was known, was a bold idea, a bit off the wall and certainly out of the box, but it worked and before I arrived to work with the Regeneration Team a three year programme of projects and events had been negotiated with them. It began with small groups of musicians staging impromptu mini concerts and operas around the area - in a hospital, a pub, a park, building partnerships with these venues along the way. As well as one of the most surreal events I have ever witnessed: the day the BBC Phil took over ASDA in Harpurhey.