Culture Strategy Activation Event Roundup

• Music Venue Alliance – A model for Sheffield?

• Unearthing Our Joy with Utopia Theatre

• Funding Support Day

• Co-Create the Hub and Spoke Model

• Activating Sheffield Culture for Children & Young People

• Screen South Yorkshire: Building for Growth

• Thriving on Creativity in Sheffield

• Music Marketing Toolkit Day

• Community Connections Evening

• Culture & Climate: Sheffield’s Response

• Culture in Space

• Freelancer Skills Series (9 workshops)

Feedback

• 67% of respondents said they had made a new contact.

• 66% of respondents said they had heard about work that they are interested in.

• 63% of respondents said they had learnt something useful.

• 41% of respondents felt they had contributed to a developing idea.

• 42% of people found out about the event via direct email, with 23% coming via the culture bulletin.

• We also asked: ‘Was this event was a successful catalyst for connection, discussion and collaboration between attendees?’ This got an average score of 4.3/5 or ‘Strongly Agree’.

• To provide a forum for peer-to-peer support and information exchange between venues.

• To develop a unified voice for the sector in Sheffield, helping to shape the conversation around grassroots music, city developments and the nighttime economy.

• To improve relationships between venues, residents, the council and local/national stakeholders.

• Promote Sheffield’s music venues and the grassroots music community.

• There is a desire for a step change in how culture is approached as a city and a strong sense that people across the sector want to help and support this work.

• We have a clear indication of support for the recruitment of a new sector group if the processes around it are open, transparent and inclusive.

• The established networks in the city are adapting and organising to become better connected to the communication channels that we’re building.

• The challenge of networking everyone around the strategy is complex. As a team working within the Council, we need to continue efforts to build trust with the sector at all levels.

• The language used to describe this new model needs reviewing. 'Hub and Spoke' is unclear and open to misinterpretation. Speaking about a 'central hub' denotes a holding of power, which is contrary to what the model is hoping to achieve.

• Our expectations for how a new sector group would work were questioned. It became clear that it might struggle to unite those focused on high-level strategy and investment with those working directly to deliver arts and culture in Sheffield’s communities.

• Network building / networking opportunities

• Coaching

• Marketing and personal brand building

• Digital / media confidence

• And of course, the perennial topic of fundraising / budgeting / money management

• Testing a new evaluation framework on selected projects

• Planning towards ‘A Year of Creative Health Sheffield’

• Securing future Creative Health Sheffield networking events

• Strong appetite for cross-sector networking events, especially ones that facilitate connection across disciplines, sectors, and communities.

• Interest in structured networking formats: speed networking, guided activities, roundtables, and collaborative workshops.

• Desire to connect freelancers, organisations, and communities.

• Requests for platforms/events that facilitate partnership-building.

• Calls for events that focus on practical skill-building: marketing, evaluation, funding, digital tools, and business development.

• Specific skills sought:

  • Evaluation and impact measurement

  • Funding application support

  • Marketing & social media

  • Tech skills for creatives (websites, streaming, AI)

  • Working in health/care settings ('health speak' for creatives)

  • Mentorship and early career support were also highlighted

• Ongoing need for funding advice, support for funding applications, and insight into available opportunities.

• Requests for a centralised info hub or 'one-stop shop' for resources, opportunities, and networks.

• Interest in more targeted events around:

  • Music (including industry & grassroots)

  • Theatre & dance

  • Visual arts

  • Screen

  • Creative health

  • Children & young people

  • Night-time economy

• A desire for more industry-focused surgeries or forums, particularly with council involvement.

• Emphasis on community-led and embedded culture.

• Requests for events that:

  • Involve underrepresented groups

  • Celebrate local cultures (e.g. carnival, cultural exchange schemes)

• Interest in locally-rooted events, from neighbourhood gatherings to cultural fairs.

• Strong engagement with the creative health agenda, including a desire for more:

  • Peer learning and network-building

  • Training for working in health and care settings

  • Focus on mental health, trauma, addiction

  • Info on research, evidence gathering, and evaluation

  • Training on 'health speak' for creatives

7. Cross-Cutting Themes

• Suggestions for events aligning with broader aims:

  • Sheffield’s continued delivery of the culture strategy

  • Climate justice and sustainability

  • Inclusion of Children and Young People

  • The continued improvement of communication and organising across the sector

• Desire to connect local initiatives through greater networking and communication.

• Growing networks:

  • Larger scale events with 80+ attendees work brilliantly for networking and building new connections, but are less effective when trying to facilitate focused discussions and actions.

  • Activities that encourage people to move around the room and engage in conversation are great for breaking the ice and sparking interaction.

• Delivering action:

  • When it comes to problem-solving or action-oriented conversations, smaller groups (under 40 people) are the most effective. This can be achieved either by hosting more intimate events that bring together specific focus groups/professions/or those with shared interests, or by creating breakout roundtable discussions within larger events, each focused on a specific theme or challenge.

• Presentations:

  • Short, sharp PowerPoint presentations work best, especially when used as a springboard for deeper conversation rather than as standalone content.

  • Important presentations should be supported with information up front.

• Timekeeping:

  • Timekeeping helps keep audiences engaged and events on track, but if an agenda is too packed it can lead to a rushed event or eat into valuable activity time.

  • If the information delivered is essential to prior activities / discussions then it should be allocated additional time to ensure its delivered effectively with time for questions/interaction.

• Facilitation:

  • A skilled facilitator is invaluable to keeping discussions on track, drawing out useful insights, and helping shape actions from the dialogue.

• Catalysts for Action:

  • The most impactful events have led to a tangible follow-up, either by creating/strengthening networks or by bringing together people to recognise shared challenges and explore collaborative solutions.

• Planning and development of a Digital Hub for culture in Sheffield.

• Planning and producing a video series celebrating culture in Sheffield. Contact murray.wood@sheffield.gov.uk if you want to find out how to get involved.

• Planning and development around the 'Culture Strategy Action Group', with the aim of launching recruitment in May.

• Planning and development of a new grant scheme 'bridging the gap', with the aim of launching a call out in May.

• Planning a fresh tender to deliver a freelancer skills series of workshops and networking events throughout 2025.