Distinctiveness Distinctiveness can make all the difference between local success and failure.
nef consulting is the ground-breaking advisor to public and private sector organisations, on integrated performance management, environmental and social impact evaluation, and work and well-being business psychology. We provide rigorous extra-financial measurement, inter-disciplinary analysis and cutting edge solutions, to optimise future value for money and sustainability in economic decision-making. Our clients and partners benefit from our unique lineage to nef’s (new economics foundation) twentyyear history and influence as a pioneer of corporate accountability, sustainable development and socioeconomic well-being. 3 Jonathan Street, London SE11 5NH, United Kingdom T: +44(0)20 7820 6364 F: +44(0)20 7820 6301 www.nef-consulting.co.uk
Promoting Long-term Economic Success nef consulting offers a practical socio-economic analysis tool that identifies and enhances the distinctiveness of towns or cities to promote thriving communities and sustainable economic growth. Building on genuine distinctiveness promotes long-term economic, social and environmental wellbeing that is authentic, locally driven, and sustainable. Community and economic regeneration efforts can be significantly improved by preserving and extending the ‘distinctiveness’ of a place. nef consulting has a tested proprietary methodological approach that draws on local distinctiveness to help make important decisions about urban development and regeneration projects. Distinctiveness studies present a series of practical recommendations for action with defined benefits to enhance an area’s distinctiveness for long-term economic benefit. Many of these require little or no additional resources. Recommendations are achievable, rooted in the local context, and are consistent with enhancing local distinctiveness. They offer a mix of ‘quick wins’ and longer-term approaches and initiatives. To date, nef consulting has delivered eight distinctiveness studies for use by private sector developers and local authorities to inform their consultation process, as well as to guide developments in a way that reflects and promotes aspects of local distinctiveness. Findings can be integrated into immediate development plans and can be used to inform longer-term branding to underpin marketing and investment efforts.
Introduction to Distinctiveness Every place (village, town, city, or civic space) has distinctive assets. However, many of these assets are often hidden and difficult to measure using conventional economic techniques, like for example, measuring the asset of a place being ‘friendly’. Many of these forgotten or hidden assets underpin the long-term success of a place. Although distinctiveness is not easily defined in advance of studying an individual town or city, the following maxims reflect nef’s understandings and experience of the phenomenon: • Distinctiveness of a place must be authentic. That is to say, what is distinctive has genuine, often historic, roots in a place.1 • Distinctiveness is not neat. The phenomenon is often fuzzy and overlapping. • The distinctive assets of a place are more than just economic, and can include common memories about a place, or a sense of good neighbourliness. • An important measure of distinctiveness is what local people themselves feel is distinctive. Reflecting this insight in consultations and practical developments leads to a communal sense of pride and ownership. • Small phenomena are frequently as important as large phenomena when measuring distinctiveness. It is often the cumulative minutiae of a place that make it distinctive, and these can be recorded and realised as more tangible economic assets. • Developing and sustaining distinctiveness often requires collaboration and partnerships with local institutions, as well as practical initiatives that bring local stakeholders together. nef’s distinctiveness studies build on these maxims to uncover practical measures to enhance a place’s distinctiveness, and build long-term foundations for built developments and regeneration programmes.
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Distinctive Assets nef’s approach to distinctiveness involves identifying distinctive assets that help to create a strong brand and selling point. These assets can be summarised under several themes: • Economic vitality: This is the lifeblood of a town or city and is affected by almost all other assets. Key factors include vibrant locally owned, and locally managed enterprises, and good routes from education into employment. • Local identity: Assets that help constitute local identity are central to local distinctiveness. nef’s approach examines a community’s sense of positive self-awareness and examines local residents’ feelings of local distinctiveness. Assets can include a strong community spirit, a culture of friendliness or neighbourliness, and a strong and unique local brand that is borne of history and experience. • Heritage: The history and heritage of a place are central to shaping and building local distinctiveness. Heritage assets may include artefacts and history related to different occupiers and rulers, distinctive architecture, and the particular economic history of an area. • Destination: Identifying what attracts visitors to an area is important in enhancing distinctiveness. Examples of key factors include a reputation for good shopping, a tradition of holding events and festivals, and the presence of good parks and public spaces. • Culture: Everywhere has cultural activity but some places have greater activity and cultural vibrancy than others. Cultural assets include music, sports, arts, crafts, theatre and media, as well as language and dialect. • Leisure and nature: Natural beauty and leisure can be important for marketing and for enhancing local people’s sense of well-being. Assets can include: exceptional natural beauty; the presence of rivers, lakes and canals; the existence of good walking, riding and cycling trails; and venues for leisure activities such as swimming pools and leisure centres.
Why Distinctiveness Matters As nef’s Clone Town Britain 2 surveys demonstrated, many towns and cities in the UK are becoming more and more alike – identical retail offers, declining essential services, and a creeping feeling of ‘cloneliness’. Identifying and exploiting an area’s distinctive assets promises a step change in both the internal and external perceptions of a place; it also offers the chance to build real long-term differentiation to help drive investment and to create greater local pride and enhanced well-being. Identifying and drawing upon the distinctiveness of a place is vital to creating thriving communities and successful long-term regeneration programmes. Also, the process of engagement to discuss distinctiveness promotes a sense of civic buy-in and local pride. There has been a general loss of distinctiveness on the UK’s high streets. The emergence of Ghost Towns and Clone Towns in which the ‘sense of place’ and social capital have been eroded result in serious social and economic costs. The reduction in locally owned retail businesses creates economic weakness as money flows out of an area to distant corporate headquarters, and local needs no longer determine decision-making. The homogeneity of the high street also reduces diversity and consumer choice with the non-availability of specialised goods and services. Crucially, this trend also reduces the distinctiveness of a town or city and leaves it more exposed to changing fashions and price competition from apparently identical places. Building on a town or city’s distinctiveness promises to enhance its competitive advantage by creating greater points of differentiation and local buy-in. By ensuring that distinctive assets are carefully identified, it is possible to celebrate and develop authentic aspects of distinctiveness in which developments can be rooted. nef consulting Distinctiveness
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Methodology Distinctiveness studies use an analytic framework that is grounded both theoretically and empirically. The approach draws on nef’s pioneering work and that of other key organisations, including Common Ground, the Civic Trust, and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the latter based in the USA. Distinctiveness studies use several empirical methods to accumulate data and perform comprehensive analyses: Detailed desk research and socio-economic analysis. This includes examining local strategies and plans, local history, economic indices, and information from the Council and other local, regional, and national sources. • Surveys: online surveys and surveys with local people in the street. • Interviews with key local stakeholders, for example independent retailers. • Clone Town Britain survey. 3 • Participation workshop. Distinctiveness studies are conducted in three principal phases: Data and Research; Test and Refine; and Report and Recommend. This process has been built and refined over a number of studies. Experience tells us that the process can be tailored to meet client needs, and to reflect the characteristics of people and place.
Phase 1: Data and Research Data Audit, Gathering and Analysis • Ascertain what relevant data is available and what studies have been conducted. • Identify key organisations to engage during participation phase. • Define scope of data needed, and identify gaps. • Create data matrix to track all data gathered. Questionnaires and Engagement • Create questionnaire and distribute to establish local people’s views and visions. Collate results. • Meet key organisations and seek their input. • Research makes use of detailed qualitative data collected via questionnaires and interviews with stakeholders targeted comprising: • The general public. • Retailers in the town. • Local groups and authorities. The questionnaires provide powerful qualitative insights and findings. Conclusions drawn from the questionnaires are a valuable source of local evidence about (a) what does and does not work in a place, and (b) what is distinctive about a place. Research activity • Conduct a Clone Town Britain survey for principal shopping areas. • Identify initial list of key assets, e.g. culture and facilities. • Gather historical information. • Conduct inventory of: Conservation Areas; Scheduled Ancient Monuments; listed buildings and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, as these are likely to provide key focal points in terms of distinctiveness. Interpret the data • Characterise distinctiveness ‘themes’. • Identify how this distinctiveness can be used to create improved brands and positive associations. • Create presentation to test ideas.
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Phase 2: Test and Refine • Organise and facilitate participation workshop. • Test initial findings with local organisations and questionnaire respondents. • Refine analysis and initial recommendations.
Phase 3: Report and Recommend • Identify key approaches, initiatives, projects and community activities that fit with the data gathered in Phases 1 and 2. • Recommend practical measures to reinforce and build on the distinctiveness of a place. • Recommend key partners to achieve results. • Write report and deliver to client. • Presentation to client on findings and next steps.
Timetable A comprehensive distinctiveness study takes eight weeks from initial commissioning to presentation of the final report.
Data Gap Analysis Identify Key Local Groups Develop Questionnaire
Distribute Questionnaire Weeks 1 to 2
Data Gathering and Analysis Asset Identification Weeks 3 to 4
Clone Town Britain Survey Questionnaire Analysis
Further Asset Analysis Weeks 5 to 6
Identify Initial Interventions Participation Event Refine Recommendations
Write and Deliver Report Weeks 7 to 8
Results Presentation
Follow up and Next Steps Week 9+
Figure 1: Timeline with Key Tasks In Week 9, a presentation of the results and recommendations are given to the client following the delivery of the report in Week 8. This provides an opportunity to receive feedback and discuss the implementation of recommendations and next steps.
Delivering Distinctiveness The results of the distinctiveness study are presented in a detailed report that examines the assets of a place and contains practical initiatives to enhance distinctiveness. A number of ‘quick wins’ are identified alongside longer-term initiatives. Recommendations vary in terms of scope and resources required, but all are critically examined to ensure that they are practical, achievable and consistent with the objective of enhancing local distinctiveness.
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References 1 Marketing and associated messages must be authentic. “The less control a company has over its marketing message, the greater its credibility,” says Edelman PR executive Pamela Talbot in The Economist [31 March 2005]. In fact, according to Saatchi & Saatchi’s chief executive, Kevin Roberts [same article]: “Marketing departments must accept that brands no longer belong to them, but to the people who use them.” This understanding of authenticity has profound implications for places that are seeking to exploit their distinctiveness. Marketing messages need to come from the bottom up, and should be underpinned by local understanding. Put simply, distinctiveness has to be ‘real’. 2 Conisbee M, Kjell P, Oram J. Bridges-Palmer J, Simms A, Taylor J (2004) Clone Town Britain: The loss of local identity on the nation's high streets (nef: London). 3 Conisbee M, et al (2004) op. cit.
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