Festivals Toolkit: Introduction

Welcome to the Festivals' Online Toolkit for Derbyshire.  These pages provide advice and guidance on how to manage, sustain and develop arts festivals in Derbyshire and Derby City.

The toolkit covers all stages from developing the initial concept through to the evaluation, and includes details of regional contacts and examples of good practice. 

Planning

The Toolkit aims to give you the practical information and guidance you need to run an efficient and professionally organised event. It has been specifically designed for Derbyshire based organisations or individuals who currently organise festivals, or those who are thinking about setting up a new festival. The Toolkit’s emphasis is on planning; the saying "Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail" is certainly applicable to festivals. The Toolkit can be used for getting started, developing your festival over the first few years and helping you to become sustainable in the long-term.

Festival consultation

Some scoping research was carried out in January 2008 through questionnaires circulated to festival organisers and by a phone survey of possible users. This revealed that the majority of festivals in Derbyshire are seeking advice principally on how to ensure continuity in their income streams with the majority seeking advice on income from the private sector and the public sector.  Grant-making trusts was also as an area of interest.

Audiences are an important aspect too, with festival organisers seeking advice on artistic programming, including educational activity, and how to develop the cultural diversity dimension within their festivals.

Governance and staffing are critical to the effective delivery of all of the above and as a consequence the Toolkit will offer advice to ensure that a festival has the appropriate legal structure and that management of staff and volunteers match best practice. The aim here should be to ensure that volunteers and paid staff are managed so that they will deliver their best to the festival whilst deriving positive benefits in return for their work.

About the Toolkit

This Toolkit was collated as a one-stop-shop resource for festivals, so that festival organisers can access basic resources and information by visiting just one website. The Toolkit draws together a range of existing Toolkits and online information sources with a range of hyperlinks and supporting documents and supporting documents, including:

See the Websites and Contacts page for a full list

The Authors of the Toolkit

The Toolkit was compiled by two independent consultants, Tiina Taatila and Christopher Maughan, appointed by Derbyshire County County Council with funding from the Rural Action Zone (RAZ) Pathfinder funding.

Tiina Taatila is a freelance arts consultant specialised in festivals and marketing. She has a strong knowledge and understanding of the creative industries sector, having worked for a number of festivals, local authorities and other not-for-profit organisations in the UK and abroad. In the past she has managed Wirksworth Festival (visual and performing arts festival in Derbyshire) as well as Wellington International Jazz Festival in New Zealand. She has been a Board member of the British Arts Festivals Association (BAFA) and is heavily involved in the development of the festivals sector. Tiina also holds an MA degree in Arts Management and a BA (Hons) degree in Marketing and Event Management. For further information contact Tiina on 07880 642 894.

Christopher works within the Arts Management subject team within the Faculty of Humanities at De Montfort University in Leicester. He is one of the leading researchers in Europe on the development and life-cycles of festivals. He is currently a recipient of Arts Council funding for development of specific pieces of work on festivals, and he is also the co-ordinator of the European Festivals Research Project.

Disclaimer

Please note that neither Derbyshire County Council nor the authors can accept any legal responsibility to users of this information or for the contents thereof. The inclusion of links to websites of suppliers of services to festivals should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any company or its products or services. All links are included in good faith but festivals should satisfy themselves that the products or services are appropriate to them before entering into any contracts or acting on advice that they may receive.


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