Oldham MBC and its Cultural Partnership have commissioned management consultants Knight Kavanagh & Page (KKP) to develop a performance management system to monitor the impact and progress of their initiatives aimed at increasing adult participation in the arts, drama, music and creative activities across the borough.

The performance management system and its associated local authority stretch target, believed to be a national first, are of particular importance to Arts Council England (ACE) and the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).  The commitment to a systematic review of performance rather than a one off survey will enable the local authority and Oldham's Cultural Partnership to better understand changes in the nature of participation and the effectiveness of the programmes they offer.

The project's origins lie in the 2004 survey of participation in sport, the arts and creative activities conducted for the North West Development Agency (that was also managed by KKP).  This is understood to be the largest such survey in a single region and gathered information on the participation habits and drivers of 11,600 adults and over 56,000 young people.  The results of this and related local auditing have given Oldham MBC the confidence to include an arts stretch target in its Local Area Agreement. 

Kevin Shaw, Chief Executive of Oldham Coliseum and Chair of the Oldham Cultural Partnership, commenting on this unique project said, "The performance management system is something that the Authority can be proud of.  It reflects our commitment and belief in the partnership's capacity to increase participation in cultural activity over the coming years; a point underlined by the decision to set the first national local area agreement arts related stretch target.  Data and intelligence generated by the evaluation will play a central role in future decisions to be made by the local authority and the Cultural Partnership".

For further details, please contact:

Peter Millward               

Principal Consultant

0161 764 7040