Member News: King’s Lynn Co-producing events with Young People, Call for Co-producers

Background Discover King’s Lynn is the Business Improvement District for King’s Lynn Town Centre. Our aim is to create a town centre of which we are all proud, where businesses thrive, new and creative opportunities are encouraged , and visitors choose to return again and again. To fulfil our aim we want to foster a greater sense of pride in the town, and help generate feelings of vibrancy and optimism. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UK SPF) is the UK Government’s long term funding stream to replace EU structural funds. It is intended to help support the UK Government’s Levelling Up policy.  The Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk has been allocated funding from the UK SPF and has chosen to invest in three priorities, including Communities and Place. This project will support the delivery of intervention E6 – Local arts, cultural, heritage & creative activities For further information about the West Norfolk Shared Prosperity Fund go to West Norfolk SPF In addition to the above, King’s Lynn is the recipient of £25m from the Towns Fund. Three of the five Towns Fund projects in King’s Lynn will stimulate and support the creative industries. Most notably, through the regeneration of the Guildhall and setting up of a Creative Hub, as well as the Riverfront project, which will provide infrastructure and new spaces to support year round events. For more information about the Town’s Fund projects go to  Vision King’s Lynn Through our involvement in the Towns Fund and engagement with local business as a Business Improvement District, we know that employers are struggling to recruit and retain young people, and that young people feel dissatisfied with what the Town has to offer them. We want to use this project as a starting point to engage with young people who work in the Town, to build a sense of pride and relevancy, and provide an opportunity for their voice to be heard. Brief We are looking for a co-producer to work with young people aged 18-30 who work and / or live in King’s Lynn town centre, to develop and deliver up to 6 events or “happenings” in the town. Through participation and co-production, the aim is to start to redress the perceived balance of focus from heritage and history towards the present and future. We want to contribute towards strengthening social connections amongst young people in King’s Lynn, and building a sense of local pride and belonging.   As a Business Improvement District, we have been tasked by professional services businesses to find ways to motivate and encourage young professionals to become invested in the Town and base their career here. We think we have a legitimate remit to engage with young people who work in King’s Lynn to gather their ideas and support them to make change happen. Arts and Culture is a good way to do this. Our target audience will be young people aged 18-30 who work for a business in King’s Lynn town centre and /or who live within the Town centre. We will connect with local partners to ensure a wider participation of young people in this age bracket, particularly those who might be more difficult to engage due to mental health issues or low self-esteem, or because they are neither in employment nor education. Benefits of this project in the short term

• Greater sense of connection with the Town Centre
• Greater sense of personal satisfaction and self-worth through connecting with others and contributing to a wider social benefit
• Boost to sales for some night time economy and hospitality businesses who might get involved in trial events.

Med-long term

• Change in perception of the Town by young people
• Boost to footfall as consequence of the event
• Boost to local economy by using local businesses to support the delivery of the event
• Increase in PR for the Town
• This event and piece of work could be the catalyst for other actions led by and / or for younger people in the Town.

Guiding Principles We’d like to highlight some guiding principles that underpin this project. Environmental sustainability – we want to ensure that the whole process, from engagement activities through to the final events are undertaken with minimal impact on the environment. Supporting local businesses – as a Business Improvement District we aim to use local businesses in our projects as much as possible in the purchasing of goods and services. Inclusivity  – it is important to us and our funders that all aspects of this project are accessible and welcoming to all young people within the target age group. About you We are looking for a co-producer with demonstrable experience of working with young people in this age group and with a broad experience of organising and designing events of all shapes and sizes.  You will be creative, energetic and approachable, with knowledge about cultural “happenings” in other parts of Norfolk, England and beyond that might be used as examples to inspire and generate ideas. Project Timelines These are the project milestones as set out in the project proposal that was approved by the Borough Council. The end point of 31.3.24 is non-negotiable.

• Appoint Co-producer – early September
• 1^st event – by mid October
• Reflections on 1^st event – by end October
• 2^nd event – November
• 2 seasonal events – December
• 1 event – January 2024
• Final event – March 2024

Budget The budget for the co-producer and events is £7,800. There are separate budgets for marketing, promotion, young people expenses, and meeting space. Requirements If you are interested in delivering this project, please respond via email to Vicky Etheridge, BID Manager, [email protected] with the following information by close of play on Monday 28^th August, with potential interviews on Wednesday 6^th September.

• Your experience and examples of previous, relevant work
• Your approach to engagement, particularly at the start of the project to get young people on board.
• How you will measure the impact and success of each event and work with the young people to use these reflections to shape the next events.
• Your costings and key milestones.
• Any resources or support you might need from Discover King’s Lynn to undertake this work.

  Please set out the above on headed / branded paper and return via email. We look forward to hearing from you!